Dracula (Hammer film series)

Dracula is the title of several horror film series centered on Count Dracula, who is accidentally resurrected, bringing with him a plague of vampirism, and the ensuing efforts of the heroic Van Helsing family to stop him.

Hammer Horror film series (1958–1974)

The original series of films consisted of nine installments, which starred iconic horror actors Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as Count Dracula and Doctor Van Helsing respectively. The series of films is part of the larger Hammer Horror series.

Year	Film	Dracula actor	Van Helsing actor
1958	Dracula	Christopher Lee	Peter Cushing
1960	The Brides of Dracula
1966	Dracula: Prince of Darkness	Christopher Lee
1968	Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
1970	Taste the Blood of Dracula
	Scars of Dracula
1972	Dracula A.D. 1972		Peter Cushing	Stephanie Beacham
1973	The Satanic Rites of Dracula			Joanna Lumley
1974	The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires	John Forbes-Robertson David de Keyser		Robin Stewart

Dracula
Directed by	Terence Fisher (1–3) Freddie Francis (4) Peter Sasdy (5) Roy Ward Baker (6) Alan Gibson (7–8) Roy Ward Baker & Chang Cheh (9)
Produced by	Anthony Hinds (1–2) Anthony Nelson Keys (3) Aida Young (4–6) Michael Carreras & Josephine Douglas (7) Roy Skeggs (8) Don Houghton & Vee King Shaw (9)
Screenplay by	Jimmy Sangster (1–3) Anthony Hinds (2–6) Peter Bryan & Edward Percy (2) Don Houghton (7–9)
Starring	Christopher Lee (1, 3–8) Peter Cushing (1,2, 7–9) John Forbes-Robertson & David de Keyser (9)
Music by	James Bernard (1, 3–6, 9) Malcolm Williamson (2) Mike Vickers (7) John Cacavas (8)
Edited by	Bill Lenny (1) Alfred Cox (2) Chris Barnes (3, 5, 8–9) Spencer Reeve (4) James Needs (6–7)
Production company	Hammer Film Productions (1–9) Shaw Brothers Studio (9)
Distributed by	Rank Film Distributors (1–2) Universal International (2) Warner-Pathé Distributors (3–5) 20th Century Fox (3) Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (4) Warner Bros. Pictures (5 and 7) MGM-EMI Distributors (6) Continental Films (6) Columbia-Warner Distributors (7–9) Dynamite Entertainment (8) Shaw Brothers Studio (9)
Release dates	1958–1974
Running time	797–801 minutes
Country	United Kingdom China
Language	English Chinese

Production of Dracula began at Bray Studios on 17 November 1957 with an investment of £81,000. As Count Dracula, Lee fixed the image of the fanged vampire in popular culture. Christopher Frayling writes, "Dracula introduced fangs, red contact lenses, décolletage, ready-prepared wooden stakes and – in the celebrated credits sequence – blood being spattered from off-screen over the Count's coffin." Lee also introduced a dark, brooding sexuality to the character, with Tim Stanley stating, "Lee's sensuality was subversive in that it hinted that women might quite like having their neck chewed on by a stud".

In 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out magazine saw Dracula ranked the 65th best British film ever. Empire magazine ranked Lee's portrayal as Count Dracula the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.

Film	Rotten Tomatoes
Dracula	90% (39 reviews)
The Brides of Dracula	76% (17 reviews)
Dracula: Prince of Darkness	80% (20 reviews)
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave	80% (15 reviews)
Taste the Blood of Dracula	67% (12 reviews)
Scars of Dracula	43% (7 reviews)
Dracula A.D. 1972	22% (9 reviews)
The Satanic Rites of Dracula	20% (5 reviews)
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires	40% (5 reviews)
Count Dracula Vampir-Cuadecuc	N/A
Dracula and Son	80% (17 reviews)

• Dracula (1958)
  Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen) begets the ire of Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) after he accepts a job at the vampire's castle under false pretenses, forcing his colleague Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) to destroy the predatory villain when he targets Harker's loved ones.
• The Brides of Dracula (1960)
  Following the death of Count Dracula, the film continues the adventures of Dr. Van Helsing as he faces a different set of vampires, the Baron (David Peel) and Baroness Meinster (Martita Hunt) of Transylvania.
• Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
  The Kents (Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer and Charles Tingwell), after arriving at a tiny hamlet in the Carpathian Mountains, are diverted to the former castle of Count Dracula, where his former followers seek to use their blood to allow him to rise from the grave once more.
• Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
  While trying to exorcise Castle Dracula, the Monsignor (Rupert Davies) inadvertently accidentally brings the former Count Dracula back from the dead. Once awakened, Dracula follows the Monsignor back to his hometown, preying on the holy man's beautiful niece Maria (Veronica Carlson) and her friends (Barry Andrews.
• Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
  After three distinguished English gentlemen (Geoffrey Keen, Peter Sallis and John Carson) accidentally resurrect Count Dracula, unknowingly killing a disciple of his (Ralph Bates) in the process, the Count seeks to avenge his dead servant by making the trio die at the hands of their own children.
• Scars of Dracula (1970)
  After a bat's blood drops on his ashes, Dracula rises again to trouble Simon (Dennis Waterman) and Sarah (Jenny Hanley), a couple on a lookout for Paul (Christopher Matthews), who had mysteriously disappeared a while back.
• Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
  After Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) despatches Dracula to his grave, the dark lord is raised by Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame) in 1972, modern London. When the swinging trendies of London decide to experiment with a little devil-worshipping, the Count decides to move to his own bloody groove, preying on a group of young partygoers that includes the descendant of his nemesis, Van Helsing (Stephanie Beacham), and her grandfather (Peter Cushing).
• The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
  After an expert vampire researcher (Michael Coles) is hired by the British Secret Service (Richard Vernon) to investigate the mysterious death of an agent (Maurice O'Connell) who died while working to expose a satanic cult led by Chin Yang (Barbara Yu Ling), who seek to use Mia Martin to summon back Dracula to help develop a new strain of bubonic plague, with the evil intention of annihilating all life on Earth, they turn to Lorrimer Van Helsing and his granddaughter (Joanna Lumley) for assistance.
• The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
  Professor Van Helsing and his son (Robin Stewart) are hired later in 1904 after giving a lecture at a Chinese University to take on a group of seven sword-wielding vampires wearing gold masks, resurrected by Count Dracula (John Forbes-Robertson and David de Keyser).

Potential Anno Dracula film

Main article: Anno Dracula series

Upon publishing extracts of their screenplay for Anno Dracula in an updated version of the first book in the series, author Kim Newman revealed the film would use the likeness of Peter Cushing to represent the severed head of the deceased Van Helsing, establishing elements of the Hammer Productions Dracula film series as the backdrop for the film adaptation's events, specifically an imagined alternate ending to the 1958 Dracula film. The fourth book in the series, subtitled Johnny Alucard, follows the character of the same name originally introduced in Dracula A.D. 1972.

Feature films

Number	Title	Release date	Director	Continuity
1	Dracula	May 7, 1958	Terence Fisher	Hammer Horror series
2	The Brides of Dracula	July 7, 1960
3	Dracula: Prince of Darkness	January 9, 1966
4	Dracula Has Risen from the Grave	November 7, 1968	Freddie Francis
5	Taste the Blood of Dracula	May 7, 1970	Peter Sasdy
6	Scars of Dracula	November 8, 1970	Roy Ward Baker
7	Dracula A.D. 1972	September 28, 1972	Alan Gibson
8	The Satanic Rites of Dracula	November 3, 1973
9	The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires	July 11, 1974	Roy Ward Baker Chang Cheh

Cast and characters

List indicator(s)

This section shows characters who will appear or have appeared in the series.

• An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
•  ^A indicates an appearance through archival footage.
•  ^U indicates an uncredited appearance.
•  ^V indicates a voice-only role.
•  ^Y indicates a younger version of the character.
•  ^H indicates an appearance as a host of another character.

Character	Dracula	The Brides of Dracula	Dracula: Prince of Darkness	Dracula Has Risen from the Grave	Taste the Blood of Dracula	Scars of Dracula	Dracula A.D. 1972	The Satanic Rites of Dracula	The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
	1958	1960	1966	1968	1970		1972	1973	1974
Count Dracula	Christopher Lee		Christopher Lee						John Forbes-Robertson David de Keyser Chan Shen
Dr. Lawrence Van Helsing Dr. Lorrimer Van Helsing	Peter Cushing		Peter Cushing				Peter Cushing
The Landlord	George Woodbridge	Norman Pierce	George Woodbridge	George A. Cooper		Michael Ripper
Mina Harker	Melissa Stribling				Gwen Watford
Lucy Westenra	Carol Marsh				Isla Blair
Jonathan Harker	John Van Eyssen				John Carson
Dr. John "Jack" Seward	Charles Lloyd-Pack
Tania	Janina Faye					Anouska Hempel
Arthur Holmwood	Michael Gough
Vampire Woman	Valerie Gaunt
The Priest		Fred Johnson	Philip Ray	Ewan Hooper	Reginald Barratt	Michael Gwynn
Klove			Philip Latham			Patrick Troughton
Paul Paxton Carlson				Barry Andrews	Anthony Corlan	Christopher Matthews
Alice Hargood					Linda Hayden	Delia Lindsay
Jessica Van Helsing							Stephanie Beacham	Joanna Lumley

Crew

Crew/detail	Dracula	The Brides of Dracula	Dracula: Prince of Darkness	Dracula Has Risen from the Grave	Taste the Blood of Dracula	Scars of Dracula	Dracula A.D. 1972	The Satanic Rites of Dracula	The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
	1958	1960	1966	1968	1970		1972	1973	1974
Director(s)	Terence Fisher			Freddie Francis	Peter Sasdy	Roy Ward Baker	Alan Gibson		Roy Ward Baker Chang Cheh
Producer(s)	Anthony Hinds		Anthony Nelson Keys	Aida Young			Michael Carreras Josephine Douglas	Roy Skeggs	Don Houghton Vee King Shaw
Writer(s)	Jimmy Sangster	Jimmy Sangster, Peter Bryan & Edward Percy Anthony Hinds (uncredited)	Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster (as John Sansom) Story: Anthony Hinds (as John Elder)	Anthony Hinds	Anthony Hinds (as John Elder)	Anthony Hinds	Don Houghton
Composer(s)	James Bernard	Malcolm Williamson	James Bernard				Mike Vickers	John Cacavas	James Bernard
Editor(s)	Bill Lenny	Alfred Cox	Chris Barnes	Spencer Reeve	Chris Barnes	James Needs		Chris Barnes
Cinematographer	Jack Asher		Michael Reed	Arthur Grant		Moray Grant	Dick Bush	Brian Probyn	John Wilcox Roy Ford
Production companies	Hammer Film Productions								Hammer Film Productions Shaw Brothers Studio
Distributor(s)	Rank Film Distributors	Rank Film Distributors (UK)	Warner-Pathé Distributors (UK)			MGM-EMI Distributors (UK)	Columbia-Warner Distributors (UK)
		Universal International (US & Worldwide)	20th Century Fox (US & Worldwide)	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (US & Worldwide)	Warner Bros. Pictures (US & Worldwide)	Continental Films (US & Worldwide)	Warner Bros. Pictures (US & Worldwide)	Dynamite Entertainment (US & Worldwide)	Shaw Brothers Studio (US & Worldwide)
Runtime	82 minutes	85 minutes	90 minutes	92 minutes	91 minutes (cut, US) 95 minutes (uncut, UK)	91 minutes	96 minutes	87 minutes	83 minutes
Release date	May 7, 1958	July 7, 1960	January 9, 1966	November 7, 1968	May 7, 1970	November 8, 1970	September 28, 1972	November 3, 1973	July 11, 1974