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Brides Of Dracula, The (Dracula Und Seine Braute)
Released by: Anolis
Released on: November 13th, 2015.
Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, Yvonne Monlaur, David Peel
Year: 1960
Purchase From Diabolik DVD
The Movie:
Directed by Terence Fisher, The Brides Of Dracula begins when Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur) travels by stagecoach to start her new job at a girls finishing school. When the stagecoach can't make it she heads into a nearby town to take solace at an inn but, after a conversation with an older but elegant woman named Baroness Meinster (Martita Hunt) she is invited to spend the night at her massive home in the hills. She takes her up on the offer but when looking out her window later that night she's convinced by her son, Baron Meinster (David Peel), to help him escape. For reasons Marianne doesn't yet understand, he's shackled to the wall of his room.
Marianne obliges, much to the dismay of servant Greta (Freda Jackson), and the Baron vanishes shortly after. The Baroness, however, is found dead - two puncture marks on her neck. When other women in town start showing up dead, Doctor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is called in to investigate. As he does so, Marianne eventually makes her way to the school where she's to be employed and shortly thereafter is paid a visit by the Baron, who intends to make her his wife…
Slick, fast paced and fairly stylish, The Brides Of Dracula (the follow up to Hammer's 1958 box office smash The Horror Of Dracula) may not feature the late Sir Christopher Lee in his most iconic role but don't let that dissuade you, it's top tier Hammer Horror regardless. The plot hits all the right notes - a pretty women in the lead, an eerie small town setting complete with its own set of secrets, and of course, a seductively evil antagonist in the form of Baron Meinster at the center of it all. Throw in Peter Cushing, reprising his role as Van Helsing, and once you start getting involved in the picture it's easy to look past Lee's absence (he would, of course, return to the character in the coming years).
If the story has some plot holes and some logic gaps, so be it, as the film makes up for that in pretty much every other regard you'd hope for. The sets look fantastic here, highlighted by a truly eerie sequence in which a caterwauling Greta hunches over the grave of the freshly buried nubile young woman (the beautiful Marie Devereux) she knows will soon return - complete with the hand coming out of the dirt and the coffin popping open for the big reveal! The castle is lavish and ornate while at the same time mysterious and foreboding while the period costuming presents characters both bourgeoisie and proletariat in proper and authentic looking attire (for example, we get a ridiculously fancy nightgown for Marianne and then appropriately working class attire for the common innkeeper). It's all very colorful, very nicely shot and atmospherically lit - the movie really does look gorgeous. The fact that it's got a genuinely affecting score courtesy of composer Malcolm Williamson certainly doesn't hurt the production values here either.
As far as the performances go, Yvonne Monlaur (“France's latest sex kitten!†according to the trailer) is effectively naí¯ve in her role. It's a stretch to think she'd get pulled in as easily as she does in the film but her performance is not at fault in that regard even if the script might be. She looks great here, has a nice doe-eyed innocence about her that works well given her character arc, though she doesn't have a ton of range. Martita Hunt as the manipulative Baroness has an appropriate old money vibe about her that's interesting to see and she too plays her part well. Freda Jackson also does fine work as her Reinfeld-esque servant of the undead.
The key factors here, however, are David Peel and Peter Cushing. Peel's looks aren't exactly what you think of when you think of vampires. He's fair haired and bright eyed and he lacks the somber, gothic appearance of someone like Lee or even Lugosi. Having said that, he plays the part well. He's quite enthusiastic here, he moves very nimbly and quickly and when the time comes he's able to cut a pretty imposing figure. Here overdoes it in a few spots, but for the most part he is very good in the part. Better still is Cushing. Always a dependable performer, his Van Helsing in this picture is a force to be reckoned with. The story might take its time introducing him but once it does, he basically owns the film. If every other aspect of this production had crashed and burned, the film would still be worth seeing for Cushing's efforts alone. Thankfully, most of the other aspects of the production rise to the occasion and The Brides Of Dracula remains first rate Hammer style entertainment.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Brides Of Dracula was released on Blu-ray in the UK framed at 2.0.1 and the framing on that disc was less than ideal. Thankfully Anolis have presented the film framed at 1.78.1 widescreen in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and it looks very nice indeed. Not only do the compositions typically look just fine but detail is generally very strong here as well. Colors are beautifully reproduced and appear bold and lush without any oversaturation while skin tones look lifelike and natural save for those scenes where some of the undead characters are clearly wearing makeup (intentional, of course). Black levels are nice and strong while shadow detail in the film's frequent darker scenes stays steady. There isn't much in the way of actual print damage to note but there is a natural amount of visible film grain evident throughout the film, as there should be. Texture is good, there's nice depth to the image and all in all things shape up very nicely indeed in terms of the film's visual representation on this release.
Audio options are provided in English and German in DTS-HD 2.0 Mono with optional subtitle provided in German only. Both tracks sound clean, clear and properly balanced. Dialogue is crisp and natural sounding, never too tinny or thin, while the score has some moments where the score sounds impressively powerful. No problems here, the balance is good and the track is free of any hiss or distortion.
Extras on this disc are plentiful starting with an audio commentary from Dr. Rolf Giesen and Uwe Sommerlad that is, unfortunately, in German language only without any English subtitles. Carried over from the UK release is the thirty-one minute long Making Of The Brides Of Dracula featurette. Interviewed here are Yvonne Monlaur, Jimmy Sangster, Hugh Harlow, Pauline Harlow, Don Mingaye, Margaret Robinson and Tony Hinds and it's pretty interesting stuff covering not just the film's origins but what it was like on set, how some of the more memorable set pieces were created, the absence of Christopher Lee from the picture and a fair bit more.
Interview With Yvonne Monlaur that was shot at the Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester back in 2004. Here she speaks for twenty-six minutes in English about how she came to England in the first place, how she wound up in Brides Of Dracula, her memories of working with Peter Cushing (who she describes as 'very, very sweet') and some of the challenges that arose for her during the shoot given that English was not her first language. She also talks about David Peel's unusual casting as a vampire in Brides Of Dracula, a few other films that she worked on, making films in England and Germany and then returning to France, what her home life was like growing up (she was raised by entertainers) and her thoughts on Peel's take on playing the vampire versus Christopher Lee's. It's an interesting interview and Monlaur shares some great stories and memories here.
Rounding out the extras are three separate trailers - the original British version, an American and a German version - as well as the alternate German language title sequence. There are also a few interesting still galleries here, highlighted by a comic book adaptation of the movie but also including a collection of German advertising materials, film programs and a general still gallery of promotional materials.
The Final Word:
Even if some will lament the absence of Christopher Lee, Terence Fisher's The Brides Of Dracula remains a horror film that hits all the right notes. Lee is missed to be sure but the rest of the cast prove quite able to handle things here while the art direction and production values are excellent from start to finish. This is fast paced, gripping and very well done and Anolis' Blu-ray release presents it in excellent shape and with some strong supplements as well. Highly recommended.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
