Christopher Lee: the Man
 |
| Christopher Lee (6) |
Christopher Lee has played Count Dracula in nine different movies over three decades. To say that he is the face of Dracula is an understatement. The first film he portrayed the Count was in Terence Fisher's 1958
Horror of Dracula. Before he got into acting, he was told that he was "too tall" to make it in the industry, according to an article published on the all things gothic horror movies website,
Birth, Movies, Death (1). Lee is very popular among the gothic horror fandom, as he was not only in the Dracula movies, but he also starred in
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957),
The Mummy (1959), and
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), just to name a few. His more recent credits include roles in the
Star Wars franchise,
Dark Shadows (2012), and
Corpse Bride (2005).
Christopher Lee: the Vampire
 |
| Horror of Dracula (1958) poster (5) |
Even though he played Dracula nine times, he has said that he was never that fond of the role, or more so, the movies. In fact, when the script for
Dracula: Prince of Darkness was shown to Lee, he refused to say any of Dracula's lines because he believed the writers were ruining the classic character (1). Despite becoming disinterested with the role, audiences were enchanted with Lee's performance and he knew he had to continue playing the Count.
In the original 1958 movie,
Horror of Dracula, which was made in only six weeks (3), the plot follows the story written by Bram Stoker, with some changes: Harker is engaged to Lucy, who is the sister of Arthur, and Mina is Harker's sister, who is married to Arthur (2). Audiences loved the movie and demanded a sequel. Lee believed that Dracula's character should be solely based off of Stoker's novel. The sequel wanted to go in a different direction. Lee's Dracula, in the sequel,
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), did not speak one word through out the one and half hour movie; he only hissed.
Christopher Lee: the Legend
 |
| Christopher Lee as Dracula in the 1958 film Horror of Dracula (7) |
While the Dracula films were made years ago, they are seen as cult classics. Lee is not only known for his portrayal of the Count, but also for his loyalty to the character. He wanted to stay true to the master of gothic horror himself, Bram Stoker, and when his needs were not met, he did not say a word through one of the films! He is also the only actor to appear in both the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars film franchises, which are also seen as classics (4). He was an actor that was able to connect with a variety of audiences through films of different genres, while making his characters iconic.
Sources
- Corrigan, Kalyn. “The Definitive Dracula: Christopher Lee Is The Greatest Vampire Of Them All.” Birth.Movies.Death., 6 June 2017, birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/06/05/the-definitive-dracula-christopher-lee-is-the-greatest-vampire-of-them-all.
- Williams, Tony. “Horror of Dracula.” Senses of Cinema, 4 June 2014, sensesofcinema.com/2005/cteq/horror_of_dracula/.
- Phillips-Jones, Richard, et al. “13 Things You Didn't Know about The Making of Dracula 1958.” Spooky Isles, 2 Sept. 2019, www.spookyisles.com/making-of-dracula-1958-facts/.
- Dagan, Carmel. “Christopher Lee, Dracula and 'Star Wars' Actor, Dies at 93.” Variety, Variety, 11 June 2015, variety.com/2015/film/news/christopher-lee-dead-actor-who-made-dracula-count-again-dies-at-93-1201517194/.
- “Horror of Dracula.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 16 June 1958, www.imdb.com/title/tt0051554/.
- “Christopher Lee.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee.
- Ballin, Dima. “Horror of Dracula (1958 – US Blu-Ray Review).” Diabolique Magazine, 12 Dec. 2018, diaboliquemagazine.com/horror-of-dracula-1958-us-blu-ray-review/.
Something i found odd was that Christopher Lee wasn't interested in the roll he was playing. I can't imagine acting out a character as many times as he did and not enjoy what i'm doing. I agree with him that it should be based off the book versus having different variations from later written versions. I think it's cool how he played multiple rolls from this type of genre.
ReplyDeleteGreat work!
He is such an amazing guy! Even though he did not like where the writers were taking the role, he still did it because audiences loved him. He was truly a legend.
DeleteIt sounds like Christopher Lee is the kind of actor who can just play the same kind of roles, because he is too good at them. Also, its perfect for him to play the role of Dracula being so tall! Its great that he had the nerve to stand up to the writers & director to voice his opinion that they were ruining the story. I imagine after playing the role so many times he really knew what the fans wanted, and Im sure thats why so many fans admire him. Great work Ryan!
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting learning that the actor who had been playing Dracula in films wanted to keep the respect and content of Stoker's original novel into the movies. Not all actors care about that kind of thing, so learning about this genuine man made me happy. He wanted to keep it authentic and not dilute the original character anymore than it already has been. I loved your post and how it held true to the roots of Dracula. Awesome post!
ReplyDelete