Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula A.D. 1972 has a present-day (1970s) setting, in an attempt to update the Dracula story for contemporary audiences - Dracula is brought back to life in modern London and preys on a group of hippies that includes the descendant of his nemesis, Van Helsing. Image File history File links Draculaad1972. ... Don Houghton was television screenwriter who wrote the stories Inferno and The Mind of Evil for Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who in 1970 and 1971. ... For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... Michael Vickers (born 18 April 1940 - not 1941, as is often stated - in Southampton, England), was a guitarist and saxophonist with the 1960s band, Manfred Mann. ... Dick Bush was a prolific cinematographer whose career spanned over thirty years. ... New company logo as introduced in May 2007 A poster for Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966). ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Scars of Dracula is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Studios. ... The Satanic Rites of Dracula is a 1974 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. ... // Top grossing films The Godfather Fiddler on the Roof Diamonds Are Forever Whats Up, Doc?, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan ONeal Dirty Harry The Last Picture Show A Clockwork Orange Cabaret, starring Liza Minnelli The Hospital Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex Academy Awards Best Picture... New company logo as introduced in May 2007 A poster for Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966). ... Don Houghton was television screenwriter who wrote the stories Inferno and The Mind of Evil for Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who in 1970 and 1971. ... For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English actress who has had an extensive acting career. ... This article is about the novel. ... Van Helsing is a 2004 American action/horror film about vampire-hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, directed by Stephen Sommers. ...

It is the seventh film Hammer film featuring Dracula, and the sixth to star Christopher Lee in the title role. It also sees the return of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing for the first time since 1960's The Brides of Dracula. The film has a number of different titles, including Dracula '72 (UK working title) and Dracula Chelsea '72 (UK working title), Dracula jagt Mini-Mädchen (Dracula Chases the Mini-girls), its German title, and Dracula '73, the title it was given when released a year later in France. For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... For the characters, see Brides of Dracula. ...

It was followed by the final film in Hammer's Dracula series, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, which similarly has a modern setting and features some of the same characters. The Satanic Rites of Dracula is a 1974 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. ...

Production

Following the success of the modern-day vampire film Count Yorga, Vampire, Warner Bros commissioned two Hammer Dracula films set in the present day, which were to become Dracula A.D. 1972 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula. Dracula A.D. 1972 began production in September 1971 as Dracula Today and was filmed in Chelsea and Hertfordshire. The film was inspired by the events surrounding the Highgate Vampire case. ^[1] Count Yorga, Vampire is a 1970 vampire/horror movie starrring Robert Querry. ... The Satanic Rites of Dracula is a 1974 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. ... The Highgate Vampire was a supernatural being that allegedly haunted Highgate Cemetery in London. ...

It is worth noting that while the two present-day Dracula films star both Lee and Cushing, they do not correspond to the chronology established in the Victorian/Edwardian era films; the first Hammer Dracula film, Horror of Dracula, is set in the 1880s, whereas the flashback sequence of the last battle between Van Helsing and Dracula in Dracula A.D. 1972 is set in 1872 - long before the first meeting of Van Helsing and Dracula in the original film. Dracula is a 1958 British horror film, and the first of a series of Hammer Horror films inspired by the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. ...

Dracula A.D. 1972 was marketed with the tagline "Past, present or future, never count out the Count!". When it was released in the USA, a brief clip was played before the film in which actor Barry Atwater (the vampire Janos Skorzeny in The Night Stalker) rises from a coffin and swears the entire audience in as members of the Count Dracula Society. Barry Atwater (born in Denver, Colorado on 16 May 1918, died in Los Angeles, California on 24 May 1978) was an American character actor who appeared frequently on TV in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Darren McGavin as Kolchak in The Night Stalker (1972) Kolchak: The Night Stalker is a television series that aired on ABC in 1974, about a newpaper reporter -- Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin -- who investigates crimes with mysterious and unlikely causes that the proper authorities wont accept. ...

Plot synopsis

In a prologue set in 1872, Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) is destroyed in London in a confrontation with Lawrence Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) on the top of a coach. As Dracula is killed by a stake made from the remains of a wooden wheel, Lawrence dies from his wounds; a disciple of Dracula (Christopher Neame) collects Dracula's remains and buries them near Lawrence's grave at St Bartolph's Church. This opening sequence was not in the previous film Scars of Dracula, but is completely new and not part of the Hammer Horror Dracula chronology up to this point. For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... Christopher Neame is a London-born actor, best known to television viewers for his roles in two 1970s BBC dramas dealing with the Second World War - Lieutenant Dick Player in Colditz and Flight Lieutenant John Curtis in Secret Army. ... Scars of Dracula is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Studios. ... New company logo as introduced in May 2007 A poster for Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966). ...

One hundred years later, we are introduced to a group of young hippies that includes Jessica Van Helsing (Stephanie Beacham), granddaughter of Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), a descendant of Dracula's old nemesis and an expert on the occult, and Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), who closely resembles the disciple of Dracula seen in 1872. Alucard persuades Jessica and the others to attend a black magic ceremony in the now abandoned, deconsecrated St Bartolph's, where he performs a bloody ritual involving one of their group, Laura Bellows (Caroline Munro). Jessica and the others flee in horror, after which Dracula is resurrected and kills Laura. Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English actress who has had an extensive acting career. ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... Johnny Alucard is a fictional character from the Hammer Horror film Dracula AD 1972, who brings Dracula back to life in London in the 20th century. ... Christopher Neame is a London-born actor, best known to television viewers for his roles in two 1970s BBC dramas dealing with the Second World War - Lieutenant Dick Player in Colditz and Flight Lieutenant John Curtis in Secret Army. ... Caroline Munro (born January 16, 1950 in Windsor, Berkshire) is a British actress and model best known for her many appearances in science fiction and action films of the 1970s and 1980s. ...

Laura’s body is discovered, drained of blood, and a police investigation begins, headed by an Inspector Murray (Michael Coles). Murray suspects an occult element and interviews Lorrimer Van Helsing, who is shocked to learn the details of Laura’s death. He realises that Johnny Alucard (whose name is Dracula written backwards) is a disciple of Dracula, and that Dracula must have returned. Michael Timothy Coles (born 11 August 1965 in Exeter, England)[1], is an international speedway rider in the United Kingdom, riding with the Glasgow Tigers in the Premier League. ...

In the meantime, Alucard brings another of Jessica’s friends, Gaynor Keating (Marsha Hunt), to St Bartolph’s, where she is killed by Dracula and Alucard is himself turned into a vampire. The vampire Alucard kills a passer-by and lures Jessica’s boyfriend, Bob (Philip Miller), to a café they frequent, where he turns him into a vampire as well. While Lorrimer is out, Bob goes to the Van Helsing house and persuades Jessica to come to the café, where he and Alucard capture her and take her to Dracula. Two notable women are called Marsha Hunt: Marsha Hunt (US actress) (born October 17, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois) Marsha Hunt (singer and novelist) (born 1946) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Lorrimer discovers Jessica is missing, tracks down Alucard’s flat and kills him. He finds Bob's dead body and discovers Jessica in a trance at St Bartolph’s, where Dracula plans to take his revenge on the Van Helsing family by turning her into a vampire. Van Helsing sets a trap for Dracula and waits for him to return at nightfall. After a struggle, Dracula is killed by a stake through the heart and Lorrimer rescues Jessica.

Cast

• Christopher Lee as Count Dracula
• Peter Cushing as Lorrimer Van Helsing/Lawrence Van Helsing
• Stephanie Beacham as Jessica Van Helsing
• Christopher Neame as Johnny Alucard
• Michael Coles as Inspector Murray
• Marsha Hunt as Gaynor Keating
• Caroline Munro as Laura Bellows
• Janet Key as Anna Bryant
• William Ellis as Joe Mitcham
• Philip Miller as Bob
• Michael Kitchen as Greg
• David Andrews as Detective Sergeant
• Lally Bowers as Matron Party Hostess
• Constance Luttrell as Mrs. Donnelly
• Michael Daly as Charles
• Artro Morris as Police Surgeon
• Jo Richardson as Crying Matron
• Penny Brahms as Hippy Girl
• Flanagan as Go Go Dancer (uncredited)
• Brian John Smith as Hippy Boy
• Stoneground as Themselves

For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English actress who has had an extensive acting career. ... Christopher Neame is a London-born actor, best known to television viewers for his roles in two 1970s BBC dramas dealing with the Second World War - Lieutenant Dick Player in Colditz and Flight Lieutenant John Curtis in Secret Army. ... Michael Timothy Coles (born 11 August 1965 in Exeter, England)[1], is an international speedway rider in the United Kingdom, riding with the Glasgow Tigers in the Premier League. ... For the American actress born in 1917, see Marsha Hunt (actress). ... Caroline Munro (born January 16, 1950 in Windsor, Berkshire) is a British actress and model best known for her many appearances in science fiction and action films of the 1970s and 1980s. ... William Ellis may refer to the following: William Webb Ellis, man who is said to have invented Rugby William Ellis, missionary and author from London William Ellis, 19th mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Philip Miller (1691 - December 18, 1771) was a botanist of Scottish descent. ... Michael Kitchen (born October 31, 1948 in Leicester) is an English actor. ... David Andrews (born March 15, 1936) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician and barrister. ... Lally Bowers was a British actress, born on January 21, 1917 in Oldham, Lancashire, England. ... Michael J. Daly (born September 15, 1924) is a former United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States militarys highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Daly joined the Army from Southport, Connecticut, and by April 18, 1945 was serving... Jo Richardson (1923-February 1, 1994) was a politician in the United Kingdom. ... Flanagan, full name Maureen Flanagan born 1941 was an early tabloid nude model who was also famous for being a close friend of the Kray Twins having been their mother’s hairdresser. ...

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by former Manfred Mann member Mike Vickers, and is in a funky, 'blaxploitation' style that reflects the early 1970s setting of the film. It has not been released commercially, apart from the title theme music, which is included on the Hammer Film Music Collection Vol. 2 CD released by GDI Records. The film also features two songs, 'Alligator Man' and 'You Better Come Through', by the American band Stoneground, who were a late replacement for The Faces. The Black Mass segment uses the track 'Black Mass: an Electric Storm in Hell' by the pioneering electronic group White Noise. Cock-A-Hoop Manfred Mann was a British R&B and pop band of the 1960s, named after its keyboard player, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Manns Earth Band. ... Michael Vickers (born 18 April 1940 - not 1941, as is often stated - in Southampton, England), was a guitarist and saxophonist with the 1960s band, Manfred Mann. ... Shaft (1971) Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban black audience; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words “black” and “exploitation. ... Small Faces album cover Faces were an early 1970s rock band formed in 1969 from the ashes of The Small Faces after Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie; new members Ron Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (vocals) (both from The Jeff Beck Group) joined Ronnie Lane (bass), Ian McLagan... White Noise is a metal band formed in Norfolk, the home of such famous landmarks as the Norwich Puppet Theatre and the Colemans Mustard Shop. ...

DVD releases

The film was released on DVD in the UK, US and Germany by Warner Home Video in 2005. It was released as Dracula A.D. 1972 in the UK and US and as Dracula jagt Mini-Mädchen in Germany. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Notes

1. ^ Ellis, Bill. "The Highgate Cemetery Vampire Hunt". Folklore 104. 

References

• Rigby, Jonathan (2002). English Gothic: a Century of Horror Cinema. London:Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1-903111-35-8

External links

• Dracula AD 1972 at the Internet Movie Database
• Dracula AD 1972 at All Movie Guide
• Another online review