Dracula **** (1979, Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Kate Nelligan) – Classic Movie Review 1729

‘It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion.’ Director John Badham’s richly enjoyable 1979 horror movie is a lavish, beautiful looking, visually striking and highly engaging movie version of the stage play of Bram Stoker’s 1897 classic story.

Frank Langella makes a brilliantly suave, alluring and mesmerising Count Dracula luring the lovely young Lucy Seward (Kate Nelligan) with his perverted love. The bloodsucking charmer seeks an immortal bride.

Langella is handsome and seductive, while his co-star Laurence Olivier makes a ripely succulent Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Further assets to the cast include Donald Pleasence as Dr Jack Seward, Trevor Eve as Jonathan Harker, Jan Francis as Mina Van Helsing, Janine Duvitski as Annie and Tony Haygarth as Milo Renfield.

Badham pays a lot of attention to creating a lusty Edwardian England atmosphere (it’s 1913), the high production values (especially with the realistic madhouse and the ship) and good old-fashioned storytelling. And as well as those, there is a thumpingly operatic score from John Williams plus thunderingly paced direction from Badham.

Langella came to the movie after being nominated for a Tony award for his best known performance in the early part of his career: the title role of the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula, the 70s revival of the old Hamilton Deane and John Balderston London West End (1925) and Broadway (1927) stage play.

It was a hit in New York, but it wasn’t a success in London with Terence Stamp starring in it, which was perhaps a bad omen since the film flopped too.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1729

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