The Brides of Dracula (1960)

As the film opens, a voice informs the audience that even though Dracula is dead, his disciples still roam. Cut to Marianne (Yvonne Monsiaur) who's riding in a stagecoach. She's on her way to take a job as a teacher in an all-girls' school. The guy holding the reins is driving crazy, and he doesn't slow down even after Marianne asks him to do so. The stagecoach stops in a small village, and Marianne stops in a local restaurant. What she doesn't know is that a mysterious figure who has hitched a ride in the back of the stagecoach, has paid the driver to leave her behind.



The restaurant owners and the other patrons are upset when a man comes in, stares at them, and leaves. This is apparently a signal that something is going to go wrong. After Marianne discovers she has been abandoned, Baroness Meinster (Marita Hunt) offers to put the younger woman up in her castle for the night. Marianne meets the baroness' son, Baron Meinster (David Peel). He has a chain on his ankle. It was put there by his mother. Marianne decides to help the baron get loose. She doesn't realize that Baron Meinster is a vampire. The blood sucking begins and Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) shows up to stop the madness.



This is not one of the better entries among the Hammer horror films. It takes too long to set up the action. There aren't many "brides" of the vampire, and they don't do much but stand off to the side and hiss when they are confronted. The chills are few, and the main vampire isn't all that scary.



Peter Cushing appeared in many Hammer horror films including The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). He was also in Star Wars (1977).