Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1971
Running Times: 95m/96m
Length: 8,536 ft
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound:

DIRECTION

Directed by: Alan Gibson

PRODUCTION
Copyright: © MCMLXXII [1972] Hammer Film Productions Limited
Production Company: A Hammer Films production
Produced by: Josephine Douglas
Production Manager: Ron Jackson
Production Supervisor: Roy Skeggs

SCRIPT
Screen-play by: Don Houghton

DIRECTION
Assistant Director: Robert Lynn
Continuity: Doreen Dearnaley

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Dick Bush
Camera Operator: Bernie Ford

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: James Needs
Processed by: Humphries Laboratories

MUSIC
Music Composed by: Michael Vickers
Musical Supervisor: Philip Martell

SONGS AND ADDITIONAL MUSIC
And introducing Stoneground

"Alligator Man"
By Sal Valentino

"You Better Come Through"
By Tim Barnes

SOUND
Recording Director: A.W. Lumkin
Recordist: Claude Hitchcock
Dubbing Mixer: Bill Rowe
Sound Editor: Roy Baker
RCA Sound System

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Wardrobe Supervisor: Rosemary Burrows
Make-Up: Jill Carpenter
Hairdresser: Barbara Ritchie

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Les Bowie

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Designer: Don Mingaye
Assistant Art Director: Ron Benton
Construction Manager: Bill Greene

LOCATIONS
Made at: Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England

CASTING
Casting Director: James Liggat

CAST

starring
Christopher Lee (Count Dracula)
Peter Cushing (Professor Van Helsing)

and starring
Stephanie Beacham (Jessica Van Helsing)

also starring
Christopher Neame (Johnny Alucard)
Michael Coles (Inspector)
William Ellis (Joe Mitchum)
Marsha Hunt (Gaynor)
Janet Key (Anna)
Philip Miller (Bob)
Michael Kitchen (Greg)
David Andrews (Detective Sergeant)
Caroline Munro (Laura)
Lally Bowers (matron)

Constance Luttrell (Mrs Donnelly)
Michael Daly (Charles)
Artro Morris (police surgeon)
Jo Richardson (crying matron)
Penny Brahms (hippy girl)
Brian John Smith (hippy boy)
Stoneground [Sal Valentino, Tim Barnes, John Blakely, Brian Godula, Lynne Hughes, Deirdre La Porte, Cory Lerios, Lydia Mareno, Steve Price, Annie Sampson] (rock group)

UNCREDITED CAST

Jane Anthony (debby girl)
Flanagan (go-go girl)
John Franklyn-Robbins (minister)

PLOT SUMMARY

Destroyed by Van Helsing on 1872, Dracula is revived in 1972 London by hip young acolyte Johnny Alucard. The Count, operating from a deconsecrated church in Chelsea, works his way through Alucard's young friends but Van Helsing's descendant is on hand to deal with the menace when Dracula targets his grand-daughter Jessica.

Ridiculous, reactionary, ill-conceived and frequently embarrassing it may be, but there's something strangely endearing about Dracula A.D. 1972. Gibson's direction rises above Houghton's dire script and the worst soundtrack ever to disgrace a Hammer film, but Lee is treated even worse here than in his recent Hammer Draculas (he's confined to a church and barely utters a word) and the teens are painful to watch (did people really talk like this? And where the hell did they get those clothes?), but the whole thing is so entertainingly awful, overflowing with terrible dialogue and bad performances, that it's hard to dislike.

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers
Video Distributor: Warner Brothers Home Video

Finland
Rating: banned in 1972

Norway
Rating: 16

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X

USA
Rating: PG
MPAA: 23133

1971
September
27: UK - principal photography begins

November
5: UK - principal photography ends

1972
January
21: UK - rated X by the BBFC (for theatrical release)

August
28: Sweden - theatrical release

September
28: UK - theatrical release

November
17: USA - theatrical release

December
14: Norway - theatrical release in Oslo

1978
August
7: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

1983
February
7: UK - television broadcast (on ITV (region not known) as part of the Appintment With Fear strand)

1988
January
28: UK - rated 18 (for video release)

1990
February
6: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

1992
March
2: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

1994
February
Day Unknown: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Movies)

1995
July
19: UK - trailer rated 15 (for video release)

2005
August
22: UK - video rated 12 (for video release)

October
26: UK - rated 15 (for video release)

Past, present or future, never count out The Count!

New from Hammer! The Time: Now The Place: Kings Road, Chelsea The Killer: Count Dracula

1972: Dracula colpisce ancora! - Italian title
Dracula '72 - working title
Drácula 73 - Spanish title
Dracula 73 - French title
Dracula Chelsea '72 - working title
Dracula jagt Mini-Mädchen - German title
Dracula Today

SEQUEL TO
Dracula (1958)
Brides of Dracula, The (1960)
Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966)
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
Scars of Dracula (1970)
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

SEQUEL
Satanic Rites of Dracula, The (1974)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Prince of Terror (1972)

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique vol.2 no.4 (Summer 1973) p.33 (USA)
review

CinemaTV Today no.10001 (7 October 1972) p.33 (UK)
review

Dark Terrors no.7 (October - December 1993) pp.20-22 (UK)
illustrated credits, article

Filmfacts vol.15 no.20 (1972) (USA)
illustrated credits, reprinted reviews

Films and Filming vol.19 no.3 (December 1972 p.57 (UK)
review

Hollywood Reporter vol.218 no.28 (29 October 1971) p.8 (USA)
credits

The House That Hammer Built no.8 (April 1998) pp.431 - 434 (UK)
illustrated credits, synopsis, review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.39 no.466 (November 1972) p.230 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.39 no.467 (December 1972) p.267 (UK)
note

Shivers no.52 p.8 (UK)
review

Sight and Sound vol.10 no.7 (July 2000) p.61 (UK)
video review

Today's Cinema no.9943 (28 September 1971) p.4 (UK)
credits

Variety 25 October 1972 p.22 (USA)
credits, review

Video Junkie 1 p.24 (USA)
review

BOOKS

English Gothic pp.196-197
illustrated credits, review (by Jonathan Rigby)

The Hammer Story pp.156-157, 179
illustrated article, review (by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes), credits

Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1992 p.112
credits, review

The Illustrated Vampire Movie Guide pp.72-73
credits, review

Ten Years of Terror pp.146-147
illustrated credits, reviews (by Harvey Fenton, Jonathon Sothcott)

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

vampires, dracula, sequels, vampire slayers, teenagers, deconsecrated churches, rock bands, nightclubs

Last Updated: 28 October, 2009