"COUNT DRACULA"

"COUNT DRACULA"-1971 World Entertainment (Spain/ England/Italy/W. Germany) After five films, Christopher Lee was tired of playing Dracula the Hammer Company way. He wanted to do it by the book. The results are very atmospheric for a Franco film. Lee plays Dracula as an older man with white hair and a mustache who gets younger after drinking blood. Herbert Lom is Professor Van Helsing. Klaus Kinski gives the standout performance as the mad Renfield eating insects in a padded cell. With Franco regulars Soledad Miranda, Maria Rohm, and Fred Williams.

In reference to his co-star Soledad Miranda, Christopher Lee reflected on the sheer chemistry of this naturally poised beauty. During filming they had to retake the neck biting scene over two dozen times, and even after twenty or thirty takes he still felt goosebumps and shivered with natural electricity during every take. She had the X ingredient, that indefinable quality that could have made her a star.