Dracula (1958)
Hammer's 1958 Dracula made the vampire physical, sexual, and bloody. Christopher Lee plays Dracula, and the performance redefined the role.
Jimmy Sangster wrote The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Brides of Dracula, the scripts that established Hammer as a horror studio and defined its approach for a decade.
His innovation was structural. The Universal films had treated the monsters as tragic; Sangster made Frankenstein himself the villain, ruthless and charming, which gave Peter Cushing something far more interesting to play.
He later wrote thrillers for Hammer in the Psycho mould, and directed several films for the studio as well.
Jimmy SangsterHammer's 1958 Dracula made the vampire physical, sexual, and bloody. Christopher Lee plays Dracula, and the performance redefined the role.
Edward PercyHammer built a gorgeous sequel without Christopher Lee, and it may be better than the original. Christopher Lee, in a contract dispute, sat this one out, and Hammer built a sequel around a different vampire entirely, a charming young aristocrat…
Jimmy SangsterChristopher Lee returns as Dracula without a single line of dialogue, and the resurrection scene is among Hammer's best. Dracula: Prince of Darkness earns its 7 by bringing Christopher Lee back to the role that made him famous and surrounding…
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