TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA
Director - Peter Sasdy, Screenplay - John Elder [Anthony Hinds], Producer - Aida Young, Photography - Arthur Grant, Music - James Bernard, Music Supervisor - Philip Martell, Special Effects - Brian Johncock, Makeup - Gerry Fletcher, Art Direction - Scott MacGregor. Production Company - Hammer. 1970.

Cast: Geoffrey Keen (William Hargood), Linda Hayden (Alice Hargood), Anthony Corlan (Paul Paxton), Christopher Lee (Count Dracula), John Carson (Jonathan Secker), Peter Sallis (Samuel Paxton), Ralph Bates (Lord Courtley), Isla Blair (Lucy Paxton), Martin Jarvis (Jeremy Secker), Gwen Watford (Martha Hargood), Roy Kinnear (Weller), Michael Ripper (Cobb)

      Lord Courtley, a secret disciple of Count Dracula, desperately seeks three priceless items...a black cloak, a ring, and a phial of red dust...the effects of the dreaded Vampire. Penniless, he induces three men to purchase them. The men.....William Hargood, Samuel Paxton and Jonathon Secker....community pillars, eagerly agree when they learn Courtley can accomodate their secret lusts. The three relics bought, they join Courtley in a mystic chapel ceremony where madness overtakes the three. They kill Courtley.
      Courtley’s blood, which turns the red powder to liquid, revives Dracula, who swears vengeance on the three killers of his disciple. They must die, he vows, by the hands of their children....Alice Hargood, Lucy Paxton, Paul Paxton and Jeremy Secker. Soon, Dracula has Alice mesmerized under his satanic power. Alice then lures Lucy to the Vampire’s bite; and, through Lucy, Jeremy falls victim. Only Paul remains untainted.
      Resentful of his daughter’s love for Paul, Hargood, one night, pursues Alice. But, filled with hate towards her father, Alice kills him. Paxton and Secker, terrorizzed by the murder of their friend, return to the chapel to make sure Courtley is dead. There, Lucy kills Paxton with a stake throught the heart. Later, at home, Jeremy stabs his father to death. Lucy’s usefulness to the Count now ended, Dracula proceeds to kill her. Alice is to be next. Paul, however, armed with a cross, goes to the chapel to save Alice by exorcizing the evil spirit of Dracula.
      In the church, Paul arms Alice with a cross after sealing the entrance door with a large crucifix. Dracula finds himself surrounded by symbols of holiness and in an attempt to escape, the Count latches onto a rope and dramatically climbs high above the altar where he is conquered by the prevailing force of goodness. The vampire falls to his death on the altar far below and decomposes into dust.

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Screen grabs by STUART HALL

Disclaimer: Taste The Blood Of Dracula was copyrighted 1970 by Hammer Film Productions Ltd. and released on video by EMI Film Productions, Ltd. Used for non-commercial purposes; All rights reserved. DO not use without permission.

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