SCARS OF DRACULA (1970) – Episode 234 – Decades of Horror 1970s

“Open the door. I’ve something for you. Go on, open up. I’m quite alone. Open up!” Surely, there are no villagers with torches hiding around the corner. Right? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they discuss yet another of Christopher Lee’s turns as Dracula in Hammer’s Scars of Dracula (1970).

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 234 – Scars of Dracula (1970)

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Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

A young man on a trip spends the night at Count Dracula’s castle and is murdered. After some time has passed, the young man’s brother comes to the small town, where all the traces of his brother lead, to look for him.

• Directed by: Roy Ward Baker
• Writing Credits: Anthony Hinds (screenplay) (as John Elder); Bram Stoker (based on the character created by)
• Selected Cast:
  • Christopher Lee as Dracula
  • Dennis Waterman as Simon
  • Jenny Hanley as Sarah
  • Christopher Matthews as Paul Carlson
  • Patrick Troughton as Klove
  • Michael Gwynn as Priest
  • Michael Ripper as Landlord
  • Wendy Hamilton as Julie
  • Anouska Hempel as Tania
  • Delia Lindsay as Alice
  • Bob Todd as Burgomaster
  • Toke Townley as Elderly Waggoner
  • David Leland as First Officer
  • Richard Durden as Second Officer
  • Maurice Bush as Farmer (as Morris Bush)
  • Margo Boht as Landlord’s Wife
  • Clive Barrie as Fat Young Man
  • Olga Anthony as Girl at Party (uncredited)
  • George Innes as Servant (uncredited)
  • Nikki Van der Zyl as Sarah Framsen (voice) (uncredited)

Could it possibly be Hammer Time again? Yes! And Dracula, no less! This time, the 70s Grue-Crew take on Scars of Dracula (1970), Christopher Lee’s fifth time playing the bloodsucking count for Hammer. Directed by Roy Ward Baker, Scars of Dracula is probably the bloodiest, most violent of Hammer’s Dracula productions so far. There is the usual cast of Hammer women (Jenny Hanley, Wendy Hamilton, Anouska Hempel) and Hammer regulars (e.g., Patrick Troughton, Michael Ripper, Michael Gwynn) along with the requisite Hammer bats. Only in this case, it’s plural bats with mechanical wings to boot! And man, are they nasty! The Grue Crew have more fun than a barrel of mechanical bats discussing this one.

At the time of this writing, Scars of Dracula (1970) is available to stream from Pluto TV, Plex, and various PPV sources, and on physical media as a Blue-ray formatted disc from SCREAM Factory.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Chad, will be The Antichrist (1974). On the plus side, it’s an Italian film directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Arthur Kennedy and Mel Ferrer with music by Ennio Morricone. On the minus side, we’re all going to hell.

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