Count Dracula (1970 film)

Count Dracula
International theatrical release poster
GermanNachts, wenn Dracula erwacht
Directed byJesús Franco[1]
Screenplay by
  • Augusto Finocchi[1]
  • Jesús Franco
  • English version:
  • Italian version:
    • Carlo Fadda
      Milo G. Cuccia
  • German version:
    • Dietmar Behnke
    [2][3]
Story byErich Kröhnke[2]
Based onDracula
by Bram Stoker
Produced byHarry Alan Towers[1]
Starring
Cinematography
  • Manuel Merino
  • Luciano Trasatti[1]
Edited by
Music byBruno Nicolai[1]
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 3 April 1970 (1970-04-03) (West Germany)[4]
  • 16 November 1970 (1970-11-16) (Spain)
  • July 1973 (1973-07) (UK)
  • 10 September 1973 (1973-09-10) (Italy)
Running time
97 minutes
Countries
LanguageEnglish

Count Dracula (German: Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht, lit. 'At night, when Dracula awakens'; also known as El Conde Dracula, Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, Il Conte Dracula) is a 1970 horror film directed and co-written by Jesús Franco, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It stars Christopher Lee as Dracula, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, and Klaus Kinski as Renfield, along with Fred Williams, Maria Rohm, Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, and Jack Taylor.[6]

The film was an international co-production between West Germany, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom.[5][1] Although Count Dracula stars Lee in the title role, it is not a Hammer production like his other Dracula films, being produced instead by Harry Alan Towers.

On initial release, Count Dracula was advertised as the most faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel to date.[7][citation needed] Among other details, it was the first film version of the novel in which Dracula begins as an old man and becomes younger as he feeds upon fresh blood.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht [Il conte Dracula] (1973)". Archivio del Cinema Italiano On-Line.
  3. ^ a b "El Conde Dracula (1970)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d "El conde Drácula". European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Count Dracula". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  7. ^ Horne, Philip (27 November 2006). "Great Adaptions - Dracula". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 January 2009.