Ingrid Pitt stars in her most iconic role as Countess Elisabeth Nadasdy, who is based on the real life "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Báthory. The title of this 1971 Hammer effort is misleading, it has nothing to do with Dracula or vampires, instead the countess discovers that if she bathes in the blood of virgins she will retain her youth, a pretence she has to keep up in order to make Sandor Elès' fall in love with her. Despite the interesting premise, this plays out more like a historical drama, with a fair amount of blood and boobs thrown in to try and hold the audiences attention during the boring bits, of which there are many. Polish born Pitt had her voice dubbed by by Olive Gregg, and the film was produced by Alexander Paal and directed by Peter Sasdy, both Hungarian émigrés working in England. The original music score was composed by Harry Robertson. Countess Dracula was also released on a double bill with Vampire Circus.
Review of Countess Dracula
