Mistresses of the Dark (Part Four) - Countess Dracula

Today we bring to a close our four-part look at the various versions of Dracula that have presented the character as female. Over the last three weeks we have gone from classic to camp to comedic, and today I want to wrap up with something a little more chilling – Countess Dracula.

Hammer is a name that will probably always be synonymous with Dracula, particularly Christopher Lee’s looming yet eloquent depiction of the famous vampire. Lee’s legacy goes all the way back to Terence Fisher’s 1958 version of Dracula and carries us all through to 1973’s The Satanic Rites of Dracula, although the studio would make one more Dracula film in the shape of the infamous Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.

The 70s was no doubt a time where Hammer was trying – not always successfully – to update what it was doing, and of course, a female take of Dracula would seem to very much fit that bill. Enter 1971’s Countess Dracula.

The movie itself starred actress Ingrid Pitt, who had previously starred in The Vampire Lovers for Hammer just a year before and would shortly go on to become horror royalty with iconic roles in The House That Dripped Blood and The Wicker Man. As is sometimes the case, the title Countess Dracula might be a little misleading – Pitt as Countess Elisabeth Nadadsy bears a far more striking resemblance to the character of Elizabeth Bathory, maintaining her youth by bathing in the blood of virgins, aided and abetted by her lover and her maid to secure suitable victims. She is dubbed ‘Countess Dracula’ by the villagers late in the film, so it’s not a total misnomer. 

Where Pitt most inhabits the role of Dracula is in that dangerous mix of attractiveness and allure, along with the threat and fear brought by the best of vampire depictions. The focus on court intrigue might not be directly influenced by Stoker’s novel, but the movie has generally maintained fairly positive reviews and has often been considered an underrated entry in Hammer’s latter filmography. The visuals are very striking, and Pitt’s physical performance has been praised, though her voice is dubbed in the movie itself. My prevailing feeling is that the story is a little thin, and while there are lots of good moments it does seem to run out of steam as it approaches its conclusion.

Dracula remains one of the most adapted – and indeed adaptable – characters in media, and over the last four weeks, we have seen Dracula’s Daughter, Dracula’s granddaughter Nocturna, Mama Dracula and now Countess Dracula. To say these four depictions are different to one another is an understatement, but they all show that being a vampire is anything but a job for one man alone – even if that man is a near-immortal hailing from Transylvania. 

Join us as we continue to spread our bat wings in pursuit of all things Dracula over the weeks and months to come – who knows where the Count will take us next?