Dracula (1958)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Bram Stoker (novel) and
Jimmy Sangster (writer)

Release Date:

8 May 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't Dare See It...Alone!

Plot:

After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle (apparently somewhere in Germany), the vampire travels to a nearby city...

Plot Keywords:

Eccentric | Gothic | British | Count | Lawyer

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Doctor Van Helsing
Christopher Lee	...	Count Dracula
Michael Gough	...	Arthur Holmwood
Melissa Stribling	...	Mina Holmwood
Carol Marsh	...	Lucy Holmwood
Olga Dickie	...	Gerda
John Van Eyssen	...	Jonathan Harker
Valerie Gaunt	...	Vampire Woman
Janina Faye	...	Tania (as Janine Faye)
Barbara Archer	...	Inga
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	Dr. Seward
George Merritt	...	Policeman
George Woodbridge	...	Landlord
George Benson	...	Frontier Official
Miles Malleson	...	Undertaker

Also Known As:

Dracula 1958 (USA)
Horror of Dracula (USA)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18981) | UK:12A (re-rating) (2007) | Norway:16 (1958) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1958) | West Germany:12 | Sweden:(Banned) (1958-1970)

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Dracula was filmed between 11 November 1957 and 3 January 1958. The film premiered at the Warner Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 8 May 1958 and took in $1,682 on its first day. In Britain, the film opened at London's Gaumont Theater 22 May 1958.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Van Helsing says the little girl looks like a teddy bear. The movie takes place in 1888 and the term "teddy bear" was not coined until 1902.

Quotes:

Count Dracula: I am Dracula and I welcome you to my house. I must apologize for not being here to greet you personally, but I trust you've found everything you needed.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nightmares in Foam Rubber (2004) (V)

Lee's Dracula reigns supreme!

Hammer's Dracula, the first Dracula film to incorporate fangs, blood, and red eyes, brings the best Dracula to the screen - Christopher Lee.

I first saw this on TV at home on Thursday 5pm on a channel that featured some classics. I also remember seeing War of the Worlds and others every Thursday. Each time they repeated it, I was there watching it. I just bought this DVD for my collection and the color and quality is awesome.

In Stoker's book Mina Murray is Harker's fiancé and Lucy Westenra was Arthur Holmwood's fiancé. Despite these changes the story holds together nicely. Sangster manages to avoid having Dracula turn to a bat to make the character more believable. In Stoker's book the Lucy character dies and returns as a child-lusting vampire so Van Helsing and Holmwood stake her as shown in the movie.

Trivia: Lee said the fangs he wore were easy to speak with but not eat. The contacts he wore were very painful and made him teary eyed and his vision a bit blurry.

There are some scenes that were deleted. One was of the impaled Harker in the early stages of decomposition which was removed by the British censor when it was released in English speaking countries. Surprising because it was tame compared to other scenes. Another scene that was removed by the same censor was Dracula's stages of decomposing during his death scene. This scene was reportedly left intact in foreign speaking countries and the rumor is Warner does not consider the scenes to be worth pursuing. What U.S. audiences see is the jump to the final stage of dissolving. Lee says they were kept in for the Far East parts of the world because they were considered to be too gruesome in those days. There are stills floating around of them both. A solid 9 out of 10, this remains the best Dracula film ever made. Yes, much better than the overrated "Bram Stoker's Dracula."