For those hording toilet paper

Watching Brides of Dracula (1960) tonight I have to admit I admire the creative liberties used by Van Helsing to battle and defeat vampire, Baron Meinster (David Peel). Cushing is so far and away built as the star poor Peel just doesn’t get much room to strut his stuff. Peel takes the moments provided as they come but they are few and far in between. He gets to really bear them fangs, and Meinster does not only choke Van Helsing real good, he bites him! Then director Fisher and company offer up quite a solution to that…a bit of iron flame and a douse of holy water on the bite neck wound! A bit too clever? I don’t really care! I loved it! That and the windmill formed into a cross as Peel, unable to recover from a face full of holy water, has nowhere to go as the shadow overwhelms him. Cushing doesn’t have to compete with Lee for top honors or name recognition in this film…Hammer even allows the title of the film to downgrade Dracula with the use of Brides of… attachment to slightly diminish the relevance of that Count. Peel’s Meinster is introduced with a buckle on the leg holding him prisoner in his room at the chateau of his mother, once a popular Baroness known for her decadent parties. Martita Hunt, upon introduction as the Baroness Meinster, I thought had an incredible presence about her. She rides into a village on the outskirts of her chateau, looking to bring home a teacher heading for a boarding school, Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur). Reduced to bringing home to her vampire son girls to feed from, Martita communicates her misery to Marianne (not sharing that detail but how her son is “ill” and cannot be allowed to freely walk). Soon Marianne finds herself assisting the Baron as he sweet talks her convincingly regarding how pitiful his living conditions are and how it is horrible mother responsible for keeping him prisoner. Marianne, gullible and naïve, turns him loose and maidservant, Greta (Freda Jackson), becomes the Baron’s human “protection” during the day. Cue the introduction of Van Helsing, and he swings into action, learning of the Baron’s release and recent women bitten and turned to vampires by him. The famous line of “Let me kiss you” returns, also, as a student roommate of Marianne’s is turned into a vampire by the Baron. We get our bloody staking as the Baron even bites and turns his own mother with Van Helsing freeing her of being a blood-sucking member of the walking undead. I have always liked Brides of Dracula, from the very first time I rented it in the early 2000s, and nothing has altered that tonight. I still consider it a blast. But I’m biased as the film gives us plenty of Van Helsing, although it is at the disadvantage of really good vampirism, although Peel takes the blood-shot eyes and fiendish visage and gets a lot of mileage out of what little time is given him. Still he’s cast low in the credits, and I felt Hammer clears says Peel was no Lee. And that is kind of unfortunate because I think he was quite good! The supporting casting is even quite good overall with some fun performances and characterizations from the likes of hypochondriac doc Milles Malleson (who makes sure to always secure his fee) to Henry Oscar’s stuffy administrator, all bark and no bite. No one uses a crucifix as a weapon quite like Cushing…he wields it as confidently as the Musketeers did their swords.