In honor of the recently knighted Christopher Lee, I declare it Hammer time at Slammed & Damned. In my opinion, you can’t touch Sir Christopher’s portrayal of Count Dracula in the films produced by Hammer studios. So today, we’re going to look at what is usually thought of as the last of Lee’s truly great Dracula movies, Taste the Blood of Dracula (filmed in 1969, but released in 1970), though calling this flick “truly great” might be overstating it a bit. Lee played Dracula in seven Hammer films, and Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968) is the only one I would call truly great. Horror of Dracula (1958), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) and Taste the Blood of Dracula are all solid films, but the others—Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)—are definitely lesser films, each more embarrassing than the one before.
Taste the Blood of Dracula is not at all a bad film. Consumer Alert: If you read the Netflix description of this flick (Count Dracula is back in action when three swingers turn to black magic to boost their sex-drive slump), you will definitely get the wrong impression. That makes this sound like a soft-core porn movie, and nothing could be further from the truth. The setting is Victorian England, and the “three swingers” in question are actually three middle-aged men who are pillars of their community. But on the last Sunday of each month, they gather in a brothel on the wrong side of town to enjoy whatever salacious delights are available—the more bizarre, the better. This being 1869 by way of 1969, “bizarre” equals topless women and a belly dancer wrapped in a boa constrictor. Now, for a Hammer film, this is racy stuff (we actually see a bare breast or two), but these gentlemen are growing bored with it. Enter the arrogant Lord Courtley.
Young Lord Courtley promises the men delights previously unimagined, if only they trust him and pony up 1,000 guineas ($5,250). For this then-kingly sum, they will purchase Dracula’s cape, signet clasp and a vial of his powdered blood. With that, they will supposedly be able to resurrect the Master by performing a satanic rite and, apparently, enjoy pleasures not of this world. Granted, it’s all rather vague but they go along with it, fools that they are. And as any sane person might expect, these fools are soon in fear for their lives as an annoyed Dracula hunts them down to take vengeance for Lord Courtley, who died in the ceremony. Here’s the twist: Dracula uses the men’s teen children to exact his revenge.
I suppose this is Hammer trying to impose a socially relevant metaphor into its flagging Dracula series. I don’t know if it boosted the movie’s commercial potential upon release, but in 2009 it’s fun to watch these hypocrites get their comeuppance from the younger generation. Sure, these guys can hang out in bordellos, but they won’t allow their kids to go to a party? Well, Count Dracula has something to say about that. Hungry freaks, daddy, indeed!
Taste the Blood of Dracula, directed by Peter Sasdy, picks up right where Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (directed by Freddie Francis) ends, and it’s an interesting contrast. Sasdy started directing in the late ‘50s and Taste the Blood of Dracula looks like a film directed by a journeyman trying to adapt to a new era. It moves slowly, but has a few of the “freak-out” camera moves popular at the time. Freddie Francis got his start as a camera assistant in the ‘30s and moved up to cinematographer, working on classic films such as The Innocents before he began directing, and Dracula Has Risen From the Grave is a better film for his extensive experience.
Sir Christopher Lee has had an amazing life and career. Sure, there have been lean times, but how many actors have been able to reinvent themselves and establish a new persona for several new generations? Think about it for a second. Lee has played Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, Fu Manchu and the Mummy. You youngsters out there might know him as Count Dooku (he battled Yoda, fer chrissakes) or Saruman. He was in the original version of The Wicker Man and was a Bond villain in The Man With the Golden Gun—he’s also Ian Fleming’s step-cousin. Directors he’s worked with include Laurence Olivier, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg. He actually knew J.R.R. Tolkein, and he is on the cover of Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run album. He’s in the Guinness Book of World Records as “tallest leading actor.” He has even hosted Saturday Night Live. And, as if that’s not enough, he’s now been knighted by the Queen of England—talk about an overachiever.
But even if he becomes king, Sir Christopher Lee will always be Count Dracula to me. His Dracula wasn’t the suave bloodsucker that Bela Lugosi gave us. Lee’s Dracula was a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” fanged feral animal. He might not have been politically correct, but he knew what he wanted and he got it. Actually, his Dracula really did get it. I believe he died at the end of each of his films but, like Jason Vorhees today, he always managed to come back. Now that I think of it, that’s not a bad description of Christopher Lee himself.
~Theron Neel
Gather ’round, all my Goth friends, I have a present for you today. Are you tired of watching 
Miss Giddens (a marvelous Deborah Kerr) interviews with a solipsistic English gentleman for a position as governess for his young niece and nephew. She will have complete control and responsibility for both children and every aspect of their lives. They will live, almost totally alone, on his massive estate in the British countryside…a location with dark secrets of its own. Though this is her first position and it seems a bit overwhelming, Miss Giddens is persuaded by the children’s pushy, yet charming, uncle. From this first meeting, it’s clear that Miss Giddens isn’t quite right, but no matter. The uncle decides he wants her and, well, that’s that. And, oh, one more thing: She must never speak of Miss Jessel, the children’s previous governess, who died mysteriously. Never.
The film is a wonderful tale told well. All the actors are very good, especially the children. The film’s script is quite dense and the kids have a lot of words to recite, as well as a wide range of emotions to convey. Deborah Kerr, here, is far away from her famous role in 
