Rating The Hammer Dracula Films Starring Christopher Lee

 

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Christopher Lee. I've decided to mark this occasion by ranking the Hammer Dracula films which starred Lee. The format is much the same as yesterday's ranking of the Hammer Frankenstein films starring Peter Cushing. 

One aspect of the Hammer Draculas that doesn't get discussed enough is the small amount of screen time that Christopher Lee actually had during the series. Many fans would have loved to have seen more of him as the Count, but Lee's Dracula has a lot in common, I think, with Darth Vader. Both characters are at their best when their scenes are short and full of impact. They both do not require a lot of dialogue to make an effect, and if you gave these characters more to do, the higher chance they would have of either looking ridiculous or out of place. 

This list does not take into account THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (in which Lee didn't appear) or THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (in which Dracula was played by another actor) or Lee's portrayal of the Count in Jess Franco's COUNT DRACULA, or Lee's vampiric cameos in ONE MORE TIME and THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN, or Lee's scenes as the Count in the kind of-documentary IN SEARCH OF DRACULA, or Lee's appearance in the French farce DRACULA AND SON. (Whew! Did I get to everything??)

As in the Hammer Frankenstein Cushing list, my picks for best and worst were most definite, and the rest of the list is quite interchangeable. 

1. HORROR OF DRACULA (1958)

What more can I even say about this movie by now?? Well, Jimmy Sangster should get some credit for taking a novel with a very complicated structure, condensing it down to the bones, and still making it an effective story. 

And the scene where Dracula attacks Jonathan Harker...Lee has such a unearthly, demonic look on his face, you can't help but be shocked, no matter how many times you've seen it. I'll even say it's the most frightening scene in Hammer Films history. I can only imagine how people reacted to the scene when the film was originally released.

And you've got one of greatest climaxes in overall cinema history, and the greatest all-time Van Helsing in Peter Cushing. Hammer's best overall film. 

2. DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1965)

I think this gets my second position more for nostalgia value than anything else--it was on TV constantly when I was a teenager. There really isn't much to the plot of this film, but Terence Fisher makes the most of it (sadly, this would be the director's last chance to helm a Dracula movie). Lee doesn't show up until about halfway through, and he has no dialogue, but he didn't need any here. Special mention goes to Barbara Shelley for her standout role as the vampirized Helen. 

3. DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968)

Freddie Francis handles the direction here, with a script by John Elder (aka Anthony Hinds). This has more of a fairy tale quality to it, with Veronica Carlson perfect as the innocent damsel in distress. It also has a more religious aspect to it, as the Count literally goes up against (and takes revenge upon) the representatives of the Catholic Church. As for young hero Barry Andrews....you wouldn't want to take him along on a vampire hunt. One of Hammer's more popular outings, it does have some visually arresting sequences. 

4. TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1969)

This is the only Hammer Dracula film actually set in Victorian England. Peter Sasdy takes over the directorial reins here, and he does very well, with a John Elder script that has three upper-class hypocrites inadvertently resurrecting the Count. Lee has very little to do here--Ralph Bates' debauched Lord Courtley winds up stealing the film, and he's backed by one of the best supporting casts in a Hammer horror. 

5. DRACULA A.D. 1972 (1972)

The debate will never end on how good or bad an idea it was for Hammer to bring the Count into the modern times--but it happened, and this goofy (but entertaining) film was the result. Peter Cushing makes a welcome return to the series as the grandson of the original Van Helsing, and his two different confrontations with Lee's Dracula (in two different time periods) make this entry worthwhile. 

6. THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA (1973)

For years my perception of this film was colored by the fact that one had to view it from shoddy, edited public domain versions. The recent Blu-ray release of this title from Warner Archive does allow one to appreciate it more--but it still feels more like a grungy Michael Winner-style crime thriller instead of a proper Hammer horror. This would be the very last time that Cushing & Lee would face off against each other as Van Helsing and Dracula. 

7. THE SCARS OF DRACULA (1970)

This isn't just my pick for the worst Hammer Dracula film--it's my pick as one of the worst Hammer films ever. It has a nasty, brutal vibe to it, with some very shoddy effects work and surprisingly subpar sets. Lee's Count has a bit more to do here than usual, but his violent tirades serve no purpose. One wonders what director Roy Ward Baker and writer John Elder were thinking about during the making of this one.