Review of In Search of Dracula

1974's "In Search of Dracula" was conceived by American-born Swedish director Calvin Floyd as a tie-in for the yet to be published book by Radu Florescu, greatly aided by the presence and narration of Chirstopher Lee, who shot his scenes on location at Bran Castle in central Romania in September 1971, just before filming his modern Dracula entries for Hammer, "Dracula A. D. 1972" and a year later "The Satanic Rites of Dracula." The first half of Independent-International's 82 minute theatrical release shows us modern day Transylvania in the early 70s, looking much as it had during previous centuries with horse drawn carts and authentic peasant garb, detailing vampire folklore such as how to identify and destroy one. The midway mark brings the focus upon the actual Vlad Tepes, known to his enemies as 'The Impaler' for his penchant for mounting victims on high stakes depending upon rank, mostly invading Turks, and serving guests on dining tables near the fetid corpses (those who complained were doomed to join the dead). Lee's silent performance as Vlad Tepes looks remarkably similar to his likeness, additional location filming in Germany and Austria, where The Impaler's countenance is linked with other historical curiosities. A brief sidetrack to Geneva involves Mary Wollstonecraft's conception of Frankenstein (a few shots from Al Adamson's "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" are used), and John Polidori's novelization "The Vampyre," later joined by Le Fanu's "Carmilla" before Bram Stoker's carefully researched 1897 classic "Dracula." Only during the final reels are we shown silent footage of Theda Bara's female vamp, literally draining unwary men of their luxuries, and Max Schreck's unauthorized rendition of the Stoker vampire as "Nosferatu." Bela Lugosi is only represented by ardent lovemaking scenes from 1925's "The Midnight Girl" opposite Lila Lee, with only a brief mention of Lee's work for Hammer, utilizing much footage from Roy Ward Baker's 1970 "Scars of Dracula." Not bad for what it is, though it inevitably tends to drag at nearly an hour and a half.