In 1958, British production company Hammer brought classic vampiric godfather Dracula to contemporary audiences with an iconic portrayal by Christopher Lee in Horror of Dracula. It was scary and sexy, just as a Dracula movie should be, and it was a big (and somewhat surprising) success at the box office. So two years later, they tried to capitalize on that hit with The Brides of Dracula. But Hammer had the brilliant Peter Cushing on contract, and saw Lee as more of a co-star … so this Dracula movie doesn’t have Dracula in it at all. A challenging choice, to be sure. Instead Cushing, as famed vampire hunter Van Helsing, pursues the new evils of the Baron and Baroness Meinster and their whole hideous household. Luckily for Hammer (and for audiences) their crazy bet paid off, and it’s still a stellar film propelled by the magnetism of Cushing and that particular ‘60s brand of slightly psychedelic Technicolor British horror.