Starring Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Sandor Eles, Maurice Denham, Patience Collier
Directed by Peter Sasdy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When an aging countess discovers by accident that the blood of young women restores her youth, she kills and bathes in their blood to sustain the effect, in order to pursue an attractive young soldier.
We have here not a vampire movie per se, although a supernatural element is added to this adaptation of the legend of Elizabeth Bathory, who was supposed to have murdered and bathed in her victims' blood. Per Wikipedia, this may be apocryphal, but it makes for a good movie. Produced by the Hammer film studio, the art direction and photography are very good, and it's a good showcase for Pitt, although her voice was replaced by a different actress. I didn't find any fault with her performance and thought her acting, particularly as the aged countess early in the film where she mostly communicates with her facial expressions was quite good. The supporting cast was also accomplished, with good turns in particular by Nigel Green as her brother?/protector and Maurice Denham as the castle's inquisitive librarian. I think overall the film is engaging, but lacks something- perhaps it could use a tighter pace or more dynamic music score.
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