Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter *** (1974, Horst Janson, Caroline Munro, John Carson, Ian Hendry, Shane Briant, Wanda Ventham) – Classic Movie Review 2834

Co-producer/writer/director Brian Clemens’s 1974 Hammer Films horror spoof stars German actor Horst Janson as the vampire hunter/swordsman/destroyer Captain Kronos, who, along with his hunchback assistant and a bumbling professor Hieronymos Grost (John Cater), ride into town to discover the identity of the force causing the village young women to die suddenly of old age.

It turns out that their youth has been drained from them by a vampire’s kiss. Kronos arrives at the Durward estate to find the sickly children of the apparently old and ill Lady Durward (Wanda Ventham).

Clemens writes and directs with his tongue firmly in cheek and produces an entertaining, campy movie with a fair number of shocks and surprises. John Carson, Ian Hendry and Shane Briant also star.

Having discovered the  source of the evil, having opined a little (‘What he doesn’t know about vampirism wouldn’t fill a flea’s codpiece’) and understandably having dallied a while with Carla (The Spy Who Loved Me Bond girl beauty Caroline Munro), Kronos rides off into the blue yonder, clutching his magic sword and looking for more monsters to slay. But we’ll never know, as no sequels were called for this time.

Also in the cast are Lois Daine, William Hobbs, Brian Tully, Robert James, Perry Soblosky, Paul Greenwood, Lisa Collings, John Hollis, Susanna East, Stafford Gordon, Elizabeth Dear and Peter Davidson. Julian Holloway provides the voice of Kronos.

Munro played a guard girl (uncredited) in Casino Royale (1977) and Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). She plays Victoria Regina Phibes (uncredited) in The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) and Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972), as well as Margiana in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Dia in At the Earth’s Core (1976).

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2834

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