Countess Dracula (4 Stars)

This is my second film this month about the notorious Elizabeth Bathory. In "Countess Dracula" she's called Elizabeth Nadasdy, which was the family name of her husband. It was made in 1971 and stars Ingrid Pitt in the title role. The film was intended to have entertainment value, not provide a history lesson. As far as I know, most of the supporting characters didn't exist. For instance, Elizabeth's daughter in the film is called Ilona, but her oldest daughter in real life was called Anna. The only reason for making the film was to show how Elizabeth Bathory murdered young girls in her quest for eternal life.

The film begins with the reading of the Will of her husband. In attendance is the young soldier, Imre Toth, the only son of her husband's best friend, General Toth. Because of his friendship with the general Count Nadasdy has left his son all his horses, which is a considerable fortune. During the marriage Captain Dobi was the Countess's lover, and he expects to be able to marry her now, but she's more interested in Imre.

By chance the Countess discovers that rubbing blood onto her face makes her look younger. The effect doesn't last long, so she has to kill a series of girls in order to remain young.

The only ones who know about the transformation are Captain Dobi and her maid Julie. Dobi assists the Countess in finding new victims in the hope of winning her back, but she's only interested in Imre. She devises a plot to hide who she really is. When her daughter Ilona returns from Vienna she's captured and hidden. When the Countess appears in public as a young woman she pretends to be Ilona, and she becomes Imre's lover using her daughter's name.

This is one of the Hammer Horror films that has remained relatively unknown for years. It's only recently becoming popular. It was the second Hammer film to be remastered for Blu-ray, after "Dracula". Unfortunately the source tapes have been so poorly preserved that the restoration isn't perfect, but it's the best that could be done with the available material.

Ingrid Pitt is deliciously evil as Countess Bathory. Whenever she's in the room, looking young or old, the other characters fade into the background. Whether she was ever called Countess Dracula is doubtful, but that's irrelevant. If you don't care about historical accuracy, this is a very good film.

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