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Film: Count Dracula’s Great Love (El gran amor del conde Drácula)
Year: 1973
Director: Javier Aguirre
Writer: Javier Aguirre, Alberto S. Insúa and Paul Naschy
Starring: Paul Nashcy, Rosanna Yanni and Haydée Politoff
Review:
This was a film that I knew nothing about. I heard about it from Fangoria’s Top 300 horror films that I’m working through. I did find it interesting when I saw that it stars Paul Naschy. I heard about him from podcasts and his films are getting reissued due to how important he was to the genre in Spain from the 1970’s. This was one of my first films that he was in as well. I’ve now given this a rewatch as part of my Traverse through the Threes.
Synopsis: four women spend the night in an old, deserted sanitarium on a mountain. They each in turn fall into the evil hands of a vampire.
We start this film off with two porters who are moving a large crate into a sanitarium in the middle of nowhere. It has a reputation. One of our guys is scared while the other comes off as tough. The latter wants to open it and the other points out that is not what they are being paid to do. Inside they find a casket. This freaks out the scared one. The one in charge was hoping to find jewels. Instead, he just finds a skeleton corpse. They are then attacked.
It then shifts to a carriage that carries Senta (Rosanna Yanni), Karen (Haydée Politoff), Elke (Mirta Miller), Marlene (Ingrid Garbo) and Imre (Víctor Barrera). He tells them the story of the area and of the sanitarium with its history. We are in Romania and there’s thoughts that it used to house Count Dracula. They are faced with tragedy when a wheel comes off their carriage. Marlene and Imre go to find it. We see that they are secretly in love. Back at the carriage, the driver is killed by a horse. The two animals also flee into the wilderness.
When the couple returns, they discover what has happened. They decide to head to the cursed sanitarium as they hear a doctor has taken it over. It is there they meet Dr. Wendell Marlow (Naschy). He allows them in and they can stay until the man that is bringing his supplies returns.
Senta takes a liking to Dr. Marlow, but he seems interested in Karen. The women go about searching the castle. It is during this they find a book. It is revealed that Dracula needs the blood of a virgin to bring his daughter back to him. She must give herself over willingly though. There is a vampire here who turns Imre, who then turns Marlene. As the young women start to be changed into vampires, Karen is left alone and we learn that Dr. Marlow is harboring a dark secret.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now I debated whether revealing what that secret is, because it is shown in the film early on. I decided as you can see to allow those interested to figure it out. It isn’t too complicated. I will say though, I like the idea of the film. It is taking the story of Dracula, which even at this time had been done quite a few times and adding a different element. If anything, this is a sequel. That was something I could appreciate. There is even lore incorporated here to deepen it.
Something else about this film is that it feels like a Hammer film. This is felt from the sets, the costumes and how everyone looked. I think that is being European and during the 1970’s. There is sleaziness so that makes it feel like the latter Hammer output. All the women are beautiful and we see them all naked at one point or another. I’m not opposed to this, but it does seem like one of the big selling points for the film.
I really wish there was more to go on with the story, but it is somewhat boring. They kill off the characters rather quickly which was shocking to be honest. My DVD is from Movie Macabre with Elvira. That is something she also points out. I think this is a misstep though as it slows down dramatically after the flurry. The ending doesn’t help as it is anticlimactic. I was disappointed there as well. There also was the awkward opening credits where we see a character die, roll down the steps on loop behind them. This was an odd choice as it took me a couple of times to realize what was happening. This second watch made me appreciate it to be honest.
There isn’t much more I want to delve into story-wise so I’ll go to the acting. I credit Naschy. He has a good look and I thought he was fine in his role. I wish my DVD wasn’t dubbed as I wanted to hear his voice. It might not change anything, but I’d rather judge it that way. Again, I will say that all the women were attractive and seeing them nude was something that I was fine with. I do have to commend Politoff. I thought she was strong which is good for what happens at the climax and into the ending. I do feel that the acting overall is fine, but nothing spectacular.
All that is left then is filmmaking. A positive were the effects. I thought the vampires looked good, along with the wounds and the blood. The contacts they wear are creepy. There were ones later that I weren’t as good at the time and don’t hold up now. I will say that it adds a bit of charm. The demise of Dracula I did think was solid and well done. That does fit the tone of this. Other than that, the cinematography and the editing were fine. There was this inverse of the color that I thought was interesting when a story is told. The only other bit is the soundtrack. It didn’t necessarily stand out to me, but it also doesn’t hurt it. I do have to bring up though that the dubbing wasn’t great. That is something else I have a soft spot for so I can’t hold it against this anymore.
In conclusion, this film was a bit rough. There are good elements. Having this as a sequel of sorts to the story of Dracula is something that I could get behind. It does hit a wall with the pacing though. It peaks too early and makes the rest a tad boring. I think the acting was fine for what we got. I do have to commend it as the effects overall as solid. The rest of the filmmaking aspects were fine. This is still a fun film, but feels like a sleazy, Hammer film. Not one I can recommend to everyone. If you’re out to see every vampire or Naschy film, then give this a go. I’d also recommend if things I said on the positive end pique your interests.
My Rating: 5.5 out of 10