Full Moon

Were I to watch only one hour of television this week it would have to be the second instalment of the three-part “A History of Horror” with Mark Gatiss which, in an episode entitled “Home Counties Horror”, focuses on the genre’s films from the 50s and 60s, an era dominated by Hammer Films. In the first programme, Mark covered the Universal pictures made in the States, in the 30s, recalling Bela Lugosi’s performance as “Dracula” and Elsa Lanchester’s seminal outing as “The Bride of Frankenstein” while, in next week’s final show, he will be exploring the US horror films of the late 60s and 70s such as “The Exorcist” and 1979’s “Dawn of the Dead” where four people, barricaded in a shopping mall, struggle to repel rampaging zombies. But Mark’s favourite period, and mine also, is the one covered in tonight’s documentary. Not only that, he also cites “Blood on Satan’s Claw”, made in 1971, as the era’s finest example and, again, I agree it is definitely amongst the best…

“Blood on Satan’s Claw”, ironically not from the studios of Hammer but from Tigon Pictures, stars Linda Hayden and concerns witchcraft and superstitions. Unlike in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, with which it has much in common, the fears of local villagers are well-founded as Linda, playing temptress Angel Blake, attempts to seduce popular “Doctor Who” character The Master! Yes, Anthony Ainley appears as a preacher, the Reverend Arthur Fallowfield, who gives into her naked charms inside his very church. A whole host of famous faces appear in this film. Wendy Padbury, as Cathy Vespers, is ritualistically raped. Simon Williams dons 17th century period costume as Peter Edmonton while Michele Dotrice, playing Margaret, gets away from Frank Spencer! The film is extremely seductive owing, in no small part, to the direction of Piers Haggard. He is the great grand-nephew of author H. Rider Haggard, though perhaps equally famous, in his own right, as the director of Dennis Potter’s much acclaimed television serial, with musical numbers, “Pennies From Heaven”.

Another contender for the crown of best horror movie is the Peter Sasdy-directed “Taste the Blood of Dracula” from 1970 which, like “Blood on Satan’s Claw”, stars Linda Hayden as well as a certain Christopher Lee! You guessed, this one’s a Hammer horror… I did at one time know more about this studio’s films than I did “Doctor Who” simply because they were oft-repeated while I was growing up. I especially love their vampire movies and “Taste the Blood of Dracula” is the fourth in their seven-film “Dracula” cycle. Dracula doesn’t actually get to say much, except count the number of his victims, but boy is this film sensually erotic. It details three bored hypocritical aristocrats, including Geoffrey Keen from the “James Bond” films and Peter Sallis from long running sitcom “Last of the Summer Wine”, seeking ever-extreme thrills until, one night, they take on more than they bargained for in the crypt of a church. Plenty of heaving bosoms but little nudity, it is in fact James Bernard’s music score which delivers the romance with such beautifully-orchestrated melodic punch. Linda Hayden, as Alice Hargood, is the heroine to die for. I’d quite happily be bitten by her, anytime!

Finally, I would suggest another Hammer movie for the aforementioned title. It’s also another vampire film although with John Hough’s “Twins of Evil”, made in 1971, the inspiration isn’t from the pen of Bram Stoker but J Sheridan Le Fanu, albeit interpreted rather loosely. It’s one of a trilogy of films centring on the legend of the Countess Mircalla and my favourite movie to feature the much-missed Peter Cushing. Here, though, he isn’t playing Van Helsing but a witch hunter called Gustav Weil, rather in the mould of “The Witchfinder General”. The beauty of this film is in the blurring of the lines between who is the hunter and who the hunted. Good and evil are Twins of the same coin when both lead to the deaths of innocent young women (if there is such a thing!). The title, taken more literally, stars real life twins and “Playboy” playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson, as Maria and Frieda Gellhorn, who, while undoubtedly beautiful, aren’t exactly the world’s finest actresses. The incidental music strangely makes the film feel like a western at times and, amongst the many delights on offer, concludes with the gruesome decapitation of one of the sisters! But, which one?

Following Mark’s programme on BBC Four, there is an increasingly rare chance to see the fifty-year-old Hammer film “Brides of Dracula”. Despite the title, Dracula does not appear but when a beautiful young teacher unwittingly frees the mysterious Baron Meinster, he turns the students of a school for girls into vampires. And with a synopsis like that, “Brides of Dracula” is definitely ripe for a remake! “St. Trinian’s” with fangs!! Actually, in my younger days, when one of the brides escapes the confines of her coffin and advances upon a possible victim pleading “Let me kiss you”, it scared the hell out of me. Also showing later this week, on the same channel, is Brian Donlevy in “The Quatermass Xperiment” in which the sole survivor of a British rocket’s crash is revealed to pose a deadly alien threat. At the weekend you can catch the Tigon Picture most claim is their best, apart from Mark and myself, the previously mentioned “The Witchfinder General”, filmed in 1968. It’s a disturbing tale of evil, set during the English Civil War, telling the story of Matthew Hopkins, Oliver Cromwell’s Witchfinder General as portrayed by that other bastion of horror Vincent Price. And, if you can’t get enough of Mr Gatiss, in his capacity as an actor he can be seen in a new adaptation of HG Wells’s science fiction classic “The First Men in the Moon” tomorrow evening. With a playful new twist on the original, beginning with the Apollo astronauts set to land on the Moon in 1969, an old man tells of how he and a professor were first there in 1909!

Telly Visions: Sophia Myles

When the BBC run a themed evening, the schedule often includes no more than two programmes related to the chosen subject! So, with this criterion in mind, Monday night is Sophia Myles night!! First of all, you can see her on BBC Three at 7:45pm, straight after “Merlin”, in yet another repeat showing of an early David Tennant episode of “Doctor Who”, “The Girl in the Fireplace”. The story, as you probably all know, is written by Steven Moffat, currently trying to sell the next season of “Doctor Who” to fans in two halves of seven episodes from Easter with the remaining six to air in the Autumn, and stars Sophia, rather elegantly, in the title role of Madame De Pompadour. I think she fits neatly into the Kate Winslet mould of actresses, which isn’t intended as a criticism but a compliment. There probably isn’t a better example to showcase what she does best, than this episode, although I do think the story itself is a little overrated. Maybe her role as Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, in Jonathan Frakes’s awful live-action version of Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbirds”, is another fine example of Ms Myles playing posh totty!

We’ve seen Sophia on our screens all too occasionally over recent years. She was in a reasonably memorable version of “Dracula”, broadcast later in the same year as her “Doctor Who” episode during the Christmas season of 2006. Marc Warren played the Count with Sophia Myles one of his conquests, Lucy. Her innocent friend, Mina, was portrayed by Stephanie Leonidas. Timothy Spall’s son, Rafe, brought solicitor Jonathan Harker to life, so to speak! He travels to Transylvania to sell Dracula a London property but never returns hence the arrival of “Poirot” actor David Suchet as archrival Abraham Van Helsing. This one-off special possibly helped secure Sophia a leading role in the short-lived Stateside vampire-show “Moonlight”. At least it ran for a full season! Michelle Ryan wasn’t as lucky with “Bionic Woman” while Tennant’s legal eagle comedy didn’t progress beyond pilot stage. Anyway, the lovely lady in question has returned to Blighty and can be seen afresh as agent Beth, alongside Peter Firth as Section D boss Harry Pearce, avenging the death of Ros Myers, together with Richard Armitage as Lucas, in the opening episode of Series Nine of “Spooks”, on BBC One at 9pm, the second of her two appearances this coming Monday evening.

Warden’s Watch: Twins of Evil

It’s fifty years since the studio affectionately known as Hammer Horror began making movies to scare the panties off their busty heroines! As part of the celebrations, a few words devoted to one of the company’s finest vampire offerings, screened on BBC Two in the small hours of Saturday morning, seem appropriate. Unlike the “Dracula” series, with director John Hough’s “Twins of Evil”, released in 1971, the inspiration isn’t from the pen of Bram Stoker but J Sheridan Le Fanu, albeit interpreted rather loosely. It’s the last in a trilogy of films centring on the legend of the Countess Mircalla/Carmilla/Marcilla Karnstein, begun with “The Vampire Lovers”, continued through “Lust for a Vampire”, and my favourite movie to feature the much-missed Peter Cushing. Here, though, he isn’t playing Van Helsing but a witch hunter called Gustav Weil, rather in the mould of the “Witchfinder General”.

The beauty of “Twins of Evil” is in the blurring of lines between who is the hunter and who the hunted. Good and evil are Twins of the same coin when both lead to the deaths of innocent young women (if there is such a thing!). The title, taken more literally, stars real life twins and “Playboy” playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson, as Maria and Frieda Gellhorn, who, while undeniably stunning to look at, aren’t exactly the world’s finest actresses. But, the young women more than visually compensate, for any minor verbal inadequacies, and contribute to making “Twins of Evil” a very stylish and sumptuous picture. Harry (credited as Robinson) Robertson’s incidental music strangely makes the film feel like a western at times and, amongst the many delights on offer, concludes with the gruesome decapitation of one of the sisters! But, which one? A gloriously gorgeous gallery and a tantalisingly titillating trailer can be found on my “Jukebox”!!

Love at First Sight

It’s been highly amusing reading the press reporting of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood’s extra-marital indiscretion. Not because I approve of him or anyone cheating on their partner but because of the sheer hypocrisy of it all. My God! Mon Dieu!! The man’s sixty-one and the girl’s only nineteen or twenty… he’s old enough to be her Grandfather… he should know better! Oh, the outrage. Every day the “Daily Mail” has gone over the same facts, and I expect it’s the same in all the tabloids… how much they’ve been drinking (and we’re not talking pots of tea here!), speculating over whether or not they’ve had sex, how Ron has painted Ekaterina Ivanova nude and, finally, how he’s fobbed her off with just nine-hundred quid on their return from Ireland to London! Lord knows how the reporters are privy to such detail. Was one of them there, actually counting out the notes for the stoned Stone? Sounds like a good few days “work”, to me, for this nubile waitress-cum-hostess! Home carers are paid just £50.55 for a thirty-five hour week!! Truth is, journalists are feeding gossip to a gullible public, both parties hungry for tittle-tattle, hacks preying on their readers’ conservatism regarding age-gap relationships. Given half the chance, they’d all be right in there with the Wood! I feel sorry for his, presumably, loyal wife, Jo. But, why is he married, in the first place, if he wants to live the footloose-and-fancy-free lifestyle?

It’s reported Ekaterina says she loves Ronnie. I wonder what she means by that? Does Ronnie love the woman he’s been married to for the past twenty-three years? And, what does he mean by love? Does Jo love Ronnie and, if she does, is she a saint? What does anyone mean when they say they love someone? Everybody has a different notion of what love is. Personally, I don’t believe in romantic love. For me, it’s a bit like religion… a crutch for the weak-minded. If you believe in God, you might just as well believe in Dracula! It all makes for terrific mythical storytelling but none of it is real. You can care about someone, care for someone, but then maybe you can care for more than one person. Most people do, in different ways. If you do believe in love, when does lust become love or vice versa? Where, exactly, is the line that you can tell one from the other? Or, is it all just instinct? By now, you’re all probably thinking, “I bet this guy’s personal relationships are terrific”!!! I’m simply stating what I see as the truth. “But, what is truth? Is truth a changing law? We both have truths. Are mine the same as yours?”, asks Pilate of Jesus, at the Messiah’s trial, in “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Tim Rice poses excellent metaphysical questions in the lyrics of this entertainment. We all, undoubtedly, have different perceptions of truth. Ronnie met a pretty young thing and took advantage. Katia met a haggard-looking but loaded rocker and, also, took advantage. Now, they have to deal with the society-imposed fallout, the consequences…

Lily of the Valley

Miss Cole didn’t look like this in “St. Trinian’s”! She’s naughty in nightwear and dazzlingly demure donning unkempt school uniform, though not necessarily at the same time, but, here, looks like a heroine from a bloodcurdling Hammer Horror movie…

The lovely Lily appears as though she’s being pursued through the long and winding corridors of a great castle, somewhere in the Carpathian mountains, by a certain Count… with only a candle to guide her way.

Soft white breasts partially exposed from the plunging neckline of a deadly black ball gown, long flaming curly-red hair cascading wildly about her person, she must move quickly if she is to escape the clutches of the arch vampire.

For generations, Dracula has been looking for the perfect companion. Through all eternity, for a beauty to eclipse all others. And, now, at last he has found her… wined, dined and confined her inside the impossibly high walls of his sprawling estate.

But, the Count must make her his own. Lily must become an immortal, one of the undead… Nosferatu… be able to stride across the surface of the Earth, at his side, not just on this cold and chilly night but into infinity. She has feasted at his table and now he needs, desires, lusts, to feed on her, taste of her, drink from her… to join together, forever, in unholy matrimony.

Picture This

Coming up with a list of my all-time favourite movies, as requested by the cheerfully-youthful “Old Cheeser” Simon, was trickier than expected! It is always more interesting for the reader if top tens, such as these, contain a little variety. A number of my favourites, though, have equally good sequels. Some sequels are even preferable to the original, though not often. If several films from a series were to be included, it would make the list a little obvious even though I might choose to watch them in preference to some of those I’ve actually selected. With this in mind, it’s more of “A Top Ten” as opposed to “The Top Ten” but that doesn’t make it any-the-less valid because you might re-evaluate the list at some point anyway. So, without further ado, and in no particular order of preference, I present “My Top Ten Favourite Movies”…

1: “Taste the Blood of Dracula” (1970) Director: Peter Sasdy

I love Hammer Horror! I did at one time know more about this studio’s films than I did “Doctor Who” simply because they were oft-repeated while I was growing up. I especially love their vampire movies and “Taste the Blood of Dracula” is the fourth in their seven-film “Dracula” series. It does of course star Christopher Lee as Dracula although he doesn’t get to say much, except count the number of his victims, but boy is this film sensually erotic. It concerns three bored hypocritical aristocrats, including Geoffrey Keen from the “James Bond” films and Peter Sallis from long running sitcom “Last of the Summer Wine”, seeking ever-extreme thrills until, one night, they take on more than they bargained for in the crypt of a church. Plenty of heaving bosoms but little nudity, it is in fact James Bernard’s music score which delivers the romance with such beautifully-orchestrated melodic punch. Linda Hayden, as Alice Hargood, is the heroine to die for. I’d quite happily be bitten by her, anytime!

2: “Blood on Satan’s Claw” (1971) Director: Piers Haggard

Another horror, this time not from Hammer but from Tigon although it also stars Linda Hayden. “Blood on Satan’s Claw” is about witchcraft and superstitions. Unlike in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, with which it has much in common, the fears of local villagers are well-founded as Linda, playing temptress Angel Blake, attempts to seduce the Master himself! Yes, Anthony Ainley appears as a preacher, the Reverend Fallowfield, who gives into her naked charms inside his very church. A whole host of famous faces appear in this film. Wendy Padbury, as Cathy Vespers, is ritualistically raped. Simon Williams dons 17th century period costume while Michele Dotrice gets away from Frank Spencer! Like the Dracula film, it is extremely seductive owing, in no small part, to the direction of Piers Haggard. He is the great grand-nephew of author H. Rider Haggard, though equally famous, in his own right, as the director of Dennis Potter’s much acclaimed television serial, with musical numbers, “Pennies From Heaven”.

3: “Twins of Evil” (1971) Director: John Hough

A second Hammer Horror and, yes, another vampire movie although with “Twins of Evil” the inspiration isn’t from the pen of Bram Stoker but J Sheridan Le Fanu, albeit interpreted rather loosely. It’s one of a trilogy of films centring on the legend of the Countess Mircalla and my favourite movie to feature the much-missed Peter Cushing. Here, though, he isn’t playing Van Helsing but a witch hunter called Gustav Weil, rather in the mould of the “Witchfinder General”. The beauty of this film is in the blurring of the lines between who is the hunter and who the hunted. Good and evil are Twins of the same coin when both lead to the deaths of innocent young women (if there is such a thing!). The title, taken more literally, stars real life twins and “Playboy” playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson, as Maria and Frieda Gellhorn, who, while undoubtedly beautiful, aren’t exactly the world’s finest actresses. The incidental music strangely makes the film feel like a western at times and, amongst the many delights on offer, concludes with the gruesome decapitation of one of the sisters! But, which one?

4: “The Railway Children” (1970) Director: Lionel Jeffries

Another film about siblings though slightly different from the last! “The Railway Children” is usually billed in the “Radio Times” as the best British children’s film ever made. I think that’s an understatement. It is the best children’s film ever made, British or otherwise, and is a contender for best British film too, children’s or otherwise. It stars the gorgeous Miss Jenny Agutter, as Roberta Waterbury, with whom I am still in love! The eldest of three children who move to the country with their mother, after their father is wrongfully arrested and imprisoned, Roberta shoulders much of the familial responsibility as the trio become friends with the railway. I’m not ashamed to say that the appearance of Bobbie’s father Charles, played by Mr. Iain Cuthbertson, on the platform through the engine smoke, returned to his family at the film’s conclusion, coupled with Jenny’s plaintive cry of “Daddy, my Daddy”, still has the same effect on me now as it did when I was a boy. But, there is much fun to be had before the heartrending finale, especially with Mr. Bernard Cribbins, as porter Albert Perks, at Oakworth Railway Station!

5: “Walkabout” (1971) Director: Nicolas Roeg

In “Walkabout”, Jenny Agutter stars as a schoolgirl stranded in the Australian outback with her younger brother after their father takes them on a picnic, in order to do away with them, where he ends up committing suicide. They are befriended by an aboriginal who helps them return to civilisation. But, where is real civilisation to be found? Is it in an alienating city where no-one communicates or with someone who doesn’t speak the English language but teaches the skills of survival? I’ve seen most, if not all, of director Nicolas Roeg’s movies and this is one of the finest together with the David Bowie-vehicle “The Man Who Fell to Earth”. Roeg often works with his wife, actress Theresa Russell. Especially intriguing is their collaboration on the Dennis Potter-scripted “Track 29” as both director and writer are equally interested in a non-linear approach to narrative. It’s perhaps no coincidence that both “Walkabout” and Dennis Potter, in his “Play for Today” entitled “Blue Remembered Hills”, quote the same lines from A. E. Housman’s 1896 poem “A Shropshire Lad”: Into my heart an air that kills, From yon far country blows, What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again.

6: “Logan’s Run” (1976) Director: Michael Anderson

Never has an actress looked more stunning in a movie than Jenny Agutter does in “Logan’s Run”! Michael York stars as Sandman-cop Logan 5, assassin of those who choose to evade Renewal on Carousel and try to escape a premature death, known as Last Day, by becoming Runners. Computer instructs our anti-hero to seek Sanctuary, believed to be the destination of Runners, outside the dome-enclosed city and alters Logan’s life-clock crystal, embedded in the palm of his hand, accordingly. Seeking the truth concerning an object recovered from a Runner, Logan comes into contact with Jenny’s character Jessica 6 but, in their quest, inadvertently cause the death of one of “Charlie’s Angels”! Outside they meet Old Man Peter Ustinov with a penchant for cats and T. S. Eliot but, don’t worry, there’s no sign of Andrew Lloyd Webber! High in concept, “Logan’s Run” uses many of the ideas that would later find their way into Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” and James Cameron’s “The Terminator”, as well as the latter’s sequels.

7: “Alien” (1979) Director: Ridley Scott

And speaking of Ridley Scott, I come to the ultimate science fiction/horror movie of them all, “Alien”. Whereas the equally exhilarating sequel “Aliens” is a work of Symphonic proportions, its forerunner is a piece of carefully-constructed chamber music, a string septet if you like! The small cast of seven actors, two of whom are women, and including Brits John Hurt and Ian Holm, struggle to survive aboard the space freighter Nostromo as they are picked off one-by-one by a constantly evolving entity that drips acid for blood. Veronica Cartwright is one of the crew who, as a child, had appeared in Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. Yes, “Alien” is a haunted house story set in space, it was even unfairly called “Jaws” in space at the time of its release, but it has never been bettered as a roller coaster ride of unimaginable terror. It’s as visually stunning as the director’s next film, the truly-groundbreaking “Blade Runner”, and thus a genre to which I wish Ridley would return.

8: “Lifeforce” (1985) Director: Tobe Hooper

Like “Alien” before it, the screenplay for “Lifeforce” was written by Dan O’Bannon. It is very loosely based on a novel by criminologist Colin Wilson called “The Space Vampires”. It was directed by Tobe Hooper, much better known for “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and the Steven Spielberg produced “Poltergeist”. The film is often likened to “Quatermass” and owes a great deal to Hammer Horror. It checks all the right boxes for me being a mix of science fiction, horror, and vampire story, though on this occasion without the fangs! “Lifeforce” has often been criticised for much laughable dialogue but it really does move along at an incredible pace. Alongside Space Girl Mathilda May, naked for much of the film, are a whole host of British actors including Peter Firth, Harry Pearce in “Spooks”, as the spirited hero Caine; Frank Finlay, best known for “Bouquet of Barbed Wire”, as Fallada; Patrick Stewart, from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, as Dr. Armstrong; and Aubrey Morris, the B-Ark Captain from “The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy”, as Sir Percy. The latter has one of the best of those unintentionally-hilarious lines as he welcomes his visitors to the asylum with, “Hello, gentlemen, and welcome to the home for the criminally insane!”

9: “The Bounty” (1984) Director: Roger Donaldson

I have been completely fascinated with the story of “The Bounty” for the whole of my life. Three film versions of the most famous mutiny in maritime history have been made and they are all excellent! My Dad would choose the 1935 black and white rendering of “Mutiny on the Bounty”, starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, as his favourite while I grew up repeatedly-watching the 1962 interpretation starring Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando. But, it is the third darkest-reading of “The Bounty” that, as an adult, completely captures my imagination. Anthony Hopkins plays Lieutenant William Bligh (“Oh, there are rumblings, are there?”) usurped from his position by Mel Gibson in the role of Fletcher Christian, Master’s Mate. Like “Blade Runner” and “Chariots of Fire”, the action is superbly accompanied with an electronic music score by Greek composer Vangelis. And, as does my previous choice “Lifeforce”, so too does “The Bounty” boast a supporting cast of many British household names including Bernard Hill, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, John Sessions, Philip Davis, Edward Fox, Laurence Olivier and even a young Neil Morrissey, before becoming one of those “Men Behaving Badly”!

10: “Brassed Off” (1996) Director: Mark Herman

“Brassed Off” challenges “The Railway Children” as the best British film ever made. It, surprisingly, has a lot in common with that earlier film, interspersing its darker themes with much fun and good humour over its course. Unemployment is rife in Thatcher’s Britain and the closing of the colliery could spell the end of its associated brass band. Pete Postlethwaite plays Danny, the band’s conductor, whose sole ambition is to get his group of disparate musicians to the final of the Battle of the Bands competition at the Royal Albert Hall. He is ably helped by his son Phil, Stephen Tompkinson, when not playing the clown, and Jim Carter, who takes over the conducting chores when Danny is hospitalised. Ewan McGregor renews his acquaintance with Tara Fitzgerald, as Gloria, when she joins the men as the only female in their ensemble. It’s no wonder they’re not willing to give up their positions! By turns, desperately sad and achingly funny… not least when Danny boy suggests they rehearse Rodrigo’s “Concerto de Orange Juice”!!!

As you can see, even with a preference for science fiction and horror, there are other threads running through this list such as a fondness for directors Ridley Scott and, in particular, Nicolas Roeg. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have numbered no less than three Jenny Agutter films in the countdown as well as a couple of Linda Hayden movies. I don’t know how much should be read into this as I wouldn’t touch the “Confessions” series, in which Linda also appears, with a bargepole! I’m also a fan, as far as these things go, of Judy Geeson, but she doesn’t feature at all in the chosen ten. Director Alfred Hitchcock is also missing even though much pleasure can be had from rewatching “Psycho”, “The Birds” and “Vertigo”. What I’m attempting to say is, fun though they are, such lists are but a snapshot!

Count Yule Blessings!

Don’t believe a certain newspaper critic! As well as “Doctor Who”, there is plenty to look forward to on television over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Much of it has connections with recent episodes of our favourite time-travelling drama, admittedly, but that’s by-the-by. To begin, Elisabeth Sladen is returning in her very own spin-off adventure series, reprising her role as Sarah Jane Smith, on New Year’s Day in an hour-long pilot episode entitled “Invasion of the Bane”. You can catch Billie Piper, once again seeking to answer the questions surrounding her father’s death, on this occasion as Sally Lockhart in Philip Pullman’s “The Ruby in the Smoke”, on 27th December, both on BBC1. There’s also the final three episodes of “Torchwood” premiering on BBC3 for the last time as next year’s second series has found a new home on BBC2. Noel Clarke’s episode, “Combat”, can be seen, initially, on Christmas Eve with “Captain Jack Harkness” and “End of Days” debuting on New Year’s Day. But, one of the dramas I’m most looking forward to watching, over the festive period, is BBC1’s new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel, “Dracula”, on 28th December.

“Dracula” has appeared on both the big and small screens on numerous occasions. I grew up watching Christopher Lee’s, for me, definitive portrayal of the Count in seven Hammer Horror versions of the saga. He began making them in the late Fifties with Peter Cushing as his nemesis Van Helsing in the original and best film. They were only reunited for the final two but set in the present day of the early Seventies! My personal favourite is the fourth, “Taste the Blood of Dracula”, which might even qualify as my favourite movie of all-time. The character did appear in an eighth Hammer outing, “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires”, but not played by Mr. Lee. And, despite the title, the earlier “Brides of Dracula” does not feature the Count but still beautifully combines the gothic with the romantic. Many may sight Bela Lugosi’s interpretation as the one by which to judge all others. Eight years before he became the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy appeared in the Laurence Olivier version starring Frank Langella with Donald Pleasance and Trevor Eve. And, more recently, Gary Oldman has played the part opposite Anthony Hopkins and Winona Ryder in Francis Ford Coppola’s operatic treatment of the story.

It’s been a while since the BBC last made a version of “Dracula”, nearly thirty years! The “Doctor Who” production team of the time had to shelve plans to make what eventually became the vampire story “State of Decay” to avoid a conflict of interests. Ironically, produced by ex-“Doctor Who” director Morris (“The Tomb of the Cybermen”) Barry, this 1977 television version of Stoker’s fable was directed by Philip Saville. It starred “Gigi” and “Octopussy” actor Louis Jourdan in the title role with Susan Penhaligon and Judi Bowker as his intended victims while Frank Finlay is out to stake him through the heart. In the BBC’s new rendering, directed by Bill Eagles, “The Vice” and “Hustle” actor Marc Warren takes the lead, forgiven for the dire “Love & Monsters” episode of “Doctor Who”, Lady Penelope and “The Girl in the Fireplace” actress Sophia Myles plays Lucy (pictured at the top under the mesmeric influence of Dracula) while her innocent friend Mina (pictured above with Lucy on the sands at Whitby) is played by Stephanie Leonidas. Timothy Spall’s son Rafe plays solicitor Jonathan Harker who travels to Transylvania to sell Dracula a London property but never returns and, topping it off, is “Poirot” actor David Suchet as archrival Abraham Van Helsing. “Love never dies.”

Chronicling Hammer's "Dracula" Movies!

It's open to debate, and that's part of the problem and fun with cataloguing such things accurately, but I've always believed there to be seven films in the Hammer "Dracula" cycle. Although "Brides of Dracula" has Dracula in its title, and good though it is, the Count's absence from this film surely excludes it from being part of the canon, strictly speaking. I include the two "modern" takes that Hammer took on the story. They reunite Lee as Dracula with Cushing as nemesis Van Helsing for the first time in the series since its début and thus give the feel of the cycle having come full circle.

Based on the aforementioned, this would make my personal favourite, "Taste the Blood of Dracula", the fourth of the seven and thus the middle film of the cycle. The "Frankenstein" series also comprises seven and its middle film, "Frankenstein Created Woman", covers the same territory as this Dracula movie, namely Victorian values and three aristocrats who get what's coming to them!!! I'm sure it wasn't planned this way, at least not from the outset, but there is a kind of beauty to viewing them with this sequence in mind. There is no lumbering monster in this Frankenstein film which makes it atypical of its series just as, without many of the familiar trappings we have come to expect such as priests, suspicious villagers and disgruntled coach drivers, "Taste the Blood of Dracula" is also atypical.

Alas, my argument isn't watertight! Although Dracula isn't mentioned in the title, in "The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires", released by Hammer after their last "official" Dracula movie "The Satanic Rites of Dracula", the character is included although this time not played by Christopher Lee. Therefore, it could be argued there are eight films in the cycle, nine if one still wishes to include "Brides of Dracula", and therein lies the problem. It is impossible, however desirable, to pin an exact number of films to the sequence!