Episode
60: Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) – Hammer Horror – Dir. Peter Sasdy – Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen & Linda Hayden
- Published
- Jul 26, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 6730
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- http://www.generalwitchfinders.com/
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Summary
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970). We’re back to Hammer Horror, back to Christopher Lee, and back to Dracula. In this episode of General Witchfinders , we sink our teeth into Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), the fifth official film in Hammer’s Dracula series and our sixth Hammer Dracula review to date. You can find links to all previous vampire escapades at https://tinyurl.com/Witchdrac . This British gothic horror classic, directed by Peter Sasdy and written by Hammer regular Anthony Hinds (under the alias John Elder), was nearly a Dracula-free affair. Christopher Lee had originally declined to return, and the script focused instead on Ralph Bates’s doomed Lord Courtley. But Warner Bros. insisted: no Dracula, no deal. So #BigChrisLee once again rises from the grave — bloodthirsty, silent, and furiously regretting his contract. Taste the Blood of Dracula opens with a satanic ritual involving Dracula’s powdered remains, a trio of Victorian hypocrites, and the ill-fated resurrection of evil. It’s a moody, blood-soaked revenge tale packed with brooding graveyards and Hammer’s trademark blend of sex, sin and satin capes. Cast Highlights: Christopher Lee as Count Dracula — in his fourth Dracula outing for Hammer. Ralph Bates as Lord Courtley — Hammer’s would-be replacement for Lee. Geoffrey Keen as William Hargood — a patriarch with a hidden penchant for brothels. Linda Hayden as Alice Hargood — the daughter turned devotee, previously seen in Baby Love and The Blood on Satan’s Claw . Peter Sallis as Samuel Paxton — yes, that Peter Sallis: Cleggy, Wallace, and voice of animated British melancholy. Roy Kinnear as Weller — bringing tragic optimism, as only Kinnear can. There’s Hammer horror royalty in every frame, from Linda Hayden’s eerie innocence to Ralph Bates’s foppish…