Dracula (Mystery and Imagination)

3rd episode of the 4th series of Mystery and Imagination

"Dracula"

Mystery and Imagination episode
Episode no.| Series 4
Episode 3
Directed by| Patrick Dromgoole
Written by| Charles Graham
Based on| Dracula
by Bram Stoker
Featured music| Dominik Scherrer
Original air date| 18 November 1968 (1968-11-18)
Running time| 80 minutes
Guest appearances
Denholm Elliott
James Maxwell
Susan George
Corin Redgrave
Suzanne Neve
Bernard Archard
Joan Hickson

"Dracula" is a video-taped television play adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, part of the series Mystery and Imagination (Season 4, Episode 3). Denholm Elliott (who later co-starred with fellow-Dracula Jack Palance in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) played Count Dracula with Susan George as Lucy Weston (another alumn of another version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde).

## Plot summary

[edit]

The drama begins in an asylum in Whitby, England. A mysterious patient escapes from his cell and intrudes upon a small party hosted by Dr. Seward, referring to the guest of honor—Count Dracula—as "Master." Moments later he insists he does not know the Count and is led back to his cell. In conversation, it emerges the Count is sensitive to sunlight, has only recently arrived from abroad, and that Seward's fiancee Lucy finds him fascinating.

Dr. Van Helsing comes to consult on the case, and manages to hypnotize the patient, so he recounts in flashback events in Transylvania, including an attack by Dracula's brides.

Denholm Elliott and Susan George

Lucy, meanwhile, greets her old friend Mina Harker, who is distraught over the disappearance of her husband, Jonathan. She is puzzled when Dracula insists that Harker left unharmed months ago. Later, the mysterious patient catches sight of Mina and calls her by name. He is the missing Jonathan Harker.

Dracula visits Lucy at night, feeding on her blood and forcing the two doctors to perform a blood transfusion. Van Helsing recognizes the signs of a vampire attack, but at first refrains from explaining this to Seward. When he does, the English scientist balks, but later comes to suspect Count Dracula of being the vampire. Despite Helsing's efforts, Dracula controls Mrs. Weston to remove the garlic from Lucy's bed. Through Harker, they find out Dracula has attacked her. By the time they get back, it's too late, Lucy dies and begins turning into a vampire.

Lucy is soon buried and Mina goes to pay her respects to her grave. Mina sees Lucy, unaware she is now a vampire, who insists she is happy and ecstatic, offering her the same "joy" as she bites her friend. Lucy vanishes and Dracula appears, offering Mina a chance to be one of the "elect."

Meanwhile, Van Helsing proves to Seward that Lucy has risen from the grave and drives a wooden stake through her heart. Now they focus on finding the vampire's sleeping place. Realizing Harker is under Dracula's power and that Mina has been bitten, they use the two as bait. Following Harker as he leads his wife to Dracula, the two doctors consecrate the grave Dracula has been using then hold him in place with a cross while the sun rises. Dracula dissolves, leaving behind ashes and his ring.

But as the story ends, Mina is staring at Seward's throat and clutches the vampire's ring in her hand. The movie ends with a shot of said ring and an image of Mina on it, now bearing fangs implying she became a vampire despite Harker and Seward's efforts.

## Cast

[edit]

* Denholm Elliott as Count Dracula
* James Maxwell as Dr. Seward
* Corin Redgrave as Jonathan Harker
* Suzanne Neve as Mina Harker
* Bernard Archard as Dr. Van Helsing
* Joan Hickson as Mrs. Weston (Lucy's mother)
* Susan George as Lucy Weston
* Nina Baden-Semper as Vampire
* Michael Da Costa as Jenkins
* Hedley Goodall as Swales
* Tony Lane as Coachman
* Margaret Nolan as Vampire (credited as Marie Legrand)
* Helena McCarthy as Mrs. Hoskins
* Phyllis Morris as Mrs. Perkins
* Valerie Muller as Vampire
* James Pope as Rowse

Differences between novel and adaptation:

* One of Dracula's vampire consorts is a black woman.
* Jonathan Harker is combined with Renfield and dies.
* Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood never appear.
* Lucy is known as Lucy Weston.
* The ending is Mina permanently becoming a vampire.

## See also

[edit]

* Vampire film

## External links

[edit]

* Dracula at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Universe

| Characters|

* Count Dracula
* Abraham Van Helsing
* Jonathan Harker
* Mina Harker
* Lucy Westenra
* Arthur Holmwood
* Dr. John Seward
* Quincey Morris
* Renfield
* Brides of Dracula

|

Publications|

* Dracula (1897)
* Powers of Darkness (1899)
* Icelandic
* "Dracula's Guest" (1914)
* Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914)

| Dacre Stoker|

* Dracula the Un-dead (2009)
* Dracul (2018)

|

Possible inspirations|

* Vlad II Dracul
* Vlad Călugărul
* Vlad the Impaler

Castles|

* Castle Dracula
* Bran Castle
* Poenari Castle
* Corvin Castle

Films

| Universal
series|

* Dracula (1931 English-language)
* Dracula (1931 Spanish-language)
* Dracula's Daughter (1936)
* Son of Dracula (1943)
* House of Frankenstein (1944)
* House of Dracula (1945)
* Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

|

Hammer Horror|

* Dracula (1958)
* The Brides of Dracula (1960)
* Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
* Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
* Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
* Scars of Dracula (1970)
* Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
* The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
* The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Dracula 2000|

* Dracula 2000 (2000)
* Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
* Dracula III: Legacy (2005)

Nosferatu films|

* Nosferatu (1922)
* Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
* Nosferatu in Venice (1988)
* Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
* Nosferatu (2024)

Hotel
Transylvania |

* Hotel Transylvania (2012)
* Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
* Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
* Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)

Parodies|

* Transylvania 6-5000 (1963)
* Mad Monster Party? (1967)
* Batman Fights Dracula (1967)
* Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972)
* Blood for Dracula (1974)
* Vampira (1974)
* Son of Dracula (1974)
* Dracula in the Provinces (1975)
* Dracula and Son (1976)
* Dracula Sucks (1979)
* Love at First Bite (1979)
* The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979)
* Fracchia contro Dracula (1985)
* Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
* The Monster Squad (1987)
* Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)
* Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
* Monster Mash (1995)
* Monster Mash (2000)
* Zora the Vampire (2000)
* Monster Family (2017)

Other|

* Drakula halála (1923)
* The Return of the Vampire (1943)
* Drakula İstanbul'da (1953)
* Blood of Dracula (1957)
* The Return of Dracula (1958)
* Batman Dracula (1964)
* Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966)
* Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969)
* Santo en el tesoro de Drácula (1969)
* Count Dracula (1970)
* Los Monstruos del Terror (1970)
* Cuadecuc, vampir (1971)
* Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
* Hrabe Drakula (1971)
* Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)
* Blacula (1972)
* Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1974)
* Count Dracula's Great Love (1974)
* Deafula (1975)
* Dracula's Dog (1977)
* Count Dracula (1977)
* Doctor Dracula (1978)
* Dracula (1979)
* Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula (1979)
* Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned (1980)
* Dracula's Widow (1988)
* To Die For (1989)
* Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
* Nadja (1994)
* Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000)
* Bara no Konrei ~Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku~ (2001)
* Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002)
* Dracula (2002)
* Van Helsing (2004)
* Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004)
* The Vulture's Eye (2004)
* Dracula 3000 (2004)
* Blade: Trinity (2004)
* The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006)
* Dracula (2006)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest (2008)
* The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008)
* House of the Wolf Man (2009)
* Young Dracula (2011)
* Dracula Reborn (2012)
* Dracula 3D (2012)
* Saint Dracula 3D (2012)
* Dracula 2012 (2013)
* Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013)
* Dracula Untold (2014)
* Renfield (2023)
* The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
* Abigail (2024)
* Dracula: A Love Tale (TBA)

Television

| Series|

* Monster Squad (1976)
* Draculas ring (1978)
* Cliffhangers (1979)
* Drak Pack (1980)
* Count Duckula (1988–1993)
* Dracula: The Series (1990–1991)
* Little Dracula (1991–1999)
* Monster Force (1994)
* Ace Kilroy (2011–2012)
* Young Dracula (2006–2014)
* characters
* Dracula (2013–2014)
* Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)
* Decker (2014–2017)
* Van Helsing (2016–21)
* Hotel Transylvania: The Series (2017–2020)
* Castlevania (2017–21)
* Dracula (2020)

|

Episodes|

* "Dracula" (Mystery and Imagination) (1968)
* "Buffy vs. Dracula" (2000)
* Young Dracula episodes (2006–2014)
* Penny Dreadful episodes (2014–2016)
* Hotel Transylvania: The Series episodes (2017–2020)

| The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror|

* "Treehouse of Horror IV" (1993)
* "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (2010)

|

Other media

| Novels|

* The Dracula Tape and sequels (1975–2002)
* Anno Dracula series (1992–present)
* Anno Dracula
* The Bloody Red Baron
* Dracula Cha Cha Cha
* The Revenge of Dracula (1978)
* Little Dracula (1986)
* Dracula the Undead (1997)
* The Historian (2005)
* The Book of Renfield (2005)
* Bloodline (2005)
* Young Dracula and Young Monsters (2006)
* Fangland (2007)
* Out of the Dark (2010)

|

Radio|

* Dracula (1938)

Plays|

* Dracula (1924)
* Dracula (1995)
* Dracula (1996)

Musicals|

* Dracula (Czech musical) (1995)
* Dracula: A Chamber Musical (1997)
* Dracula, the Musical (2004)
* Dracula – Entre l'amour et la mort (2006)
* Dracula – L'amour plus fort que la mort (2011)

Comics|

* Crossover
* Dracula (Marvel Comics)
* The Tomb of Dracula
* X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula
* Captain Britain and MI13: Vampire State
* Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos
* Dracula (Dell Comics)
* Don Dracula
* Dracula Lives!
* Hellsing
* Sword of Dracula
* Batman & Dracula trilogy
* Victorian Undead
* Wolves at the Gate
* Purgatori

Video games|

* The Count (1979)
* Dracula (1983)
* Ghost Manor (1983)
* Castlevania series
* 1986–present
* Dracula
* Dracula (1986)
* Dracula the Undead (1991)
* Drac's Night Out (unreleased)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (handheld) (1993)
* Dracula Unleashed (1993)
* Dracula: Resurrection (2000)
* Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary (2000)
* Dracula: Crazy Vampire (2001)
* Van Helsing (2004)
* Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon (2008)
* Dracula: Origin (2008)
* Vampire Season Monster Defense (2012)
* Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon (2013)
* Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy (2013)
* The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (2013)
* Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood (2023)

Pinball|

* Dracula (1979)
* Taxi (1988)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
* Monster Bash (1998)

Tabletop games|

* The Fury of Dracula

Albums|

* Dracula
* Dracula 2000
* Iubilaeum Anno Dracula 2001
* Perfect Selection: Dracula Battle
* Transylvania
* Van Helsing

Songs|

* "Love Song for a Vampire"

Audio dramas|

* Son of the Dragon

Original characters

| Alternative versions
of Dracula|

* Alucard (Hellsing)
* Count Alucard
* Dracula (Castlevania)
* Dracula (Marvel Comics)
* Count Orlok
* Soma Cruz

|

Relatives of Dracula|

* Alucard (Castlevania)
* Vampire Hunter D
* Eva
* Janus Dracula
* Lilith Dracula
* Shiklah Dracula

Other|

* Blade
* Count von Count
* Simon Belmont

Related

* Lugosi v. Universal Pictures
* Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories
* Count Dracula in popular culture
* Transylvanian Society of Dracula
* Dracula Daily
* Dracula Society
* Dracula tourism
* Bibliography of works on Dracula

* Category (Dracula)
* Category (derivatives)

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