This late Hammer offering was an interesting attempt to blend a vampire tale with an old-fashioned swashbuckler. It's not entirely successful and does feel stitched together at times but worth a look. Most of the female characters have no function other than to be bitten. It was meant to launch a new franchise but the studio's financial difficulties put paid to that idea.
Captain Kronos ( Horst Jansson ) is an ex-soldier who has turned his attention to vampire-hunting after his family fell victim to them. He is assisted by a hunchbacked professor , Grost ( John Cater ) and Carla, a free-spirited girl he rescues from the stocks. He arrives at a village where the young female population is being decimated, the answer clearly lying with the local aristocratic family.
Caroline Munro ( as Carla )
Sex : Carla becomes Kronos's mistress. She is braless throughout the film
Death : Survives
There's an ingenious use of shadows and hair for Caroline's love scenes as she had a no nudity clause in her contract.
Lois Daine ( as Sarah Durward )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Lois was born in Bolton and did most of her work on TV in the sixties and seventies when she was married to Tom Bell. She retired in the mid-nineties. She is now 76.
Wanda Ventham ( as Lady Durward )
Sex : No
Death : Staked by Kronos
This was Wanda's last horror outing.
Lisa Collings ( as Vanda Sorrell )
Sex : No
Death : Drained of blood by Lady Durward
This was one of just three films Lisa made.
Susanna East ( as Isabella Sorrell )
Sex : No
Death : Drained of blood by Lady Durward
This was Susanna's last horror role.
Elizabeth Dear ( as Anne Sorrell )
Sex : No
Death : Drained of blood by Lady Durward
Elisabeth was a former child actress moving into adult roles. This was her last film and she disappeared at the end of the seventies.
Joanna Ross ( as Myra )
Sex : Her snog is interrupted
Death : Drained of blood by Lady Durward
Joanna was a bit part actress who worked mainly on TV. She disappeared in the early eighties.
Olga Anthony ( as Lillian )
Sex : No
Death : Drained of blood by Kronos's friend Marcus
Olga was a bit part actress active in the seventies when she was married to producer Mutt Lange. She is now 70.
Penny Price ( as Whore )
Sex : She is a prostitute
Death : Survives
This was Penny's only film.
Linda Cunningham ( as Jane )
Sex : No
Death : Drained of blood by Lady Durward
Linda was from Ipswich. She mainly worked in TV comedy after this , appearing in Get Some In., Bless This House and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin amongst others. In the nineties, she emigrated to Australia and now works for the Gold Coast Tourist Board,
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