MovieChat Forums > Count Dracula (1978) Discussion > The best Van Helsing...

The best Van Helsing...

posted 16 years ago by Tin Man-5
12 replies | jump to latest

...hands down. Frank Finlay nails it. I love the way he marches in to diagnose Lucy, figures out immediately what is going on, and treats it with the calm professionalism of any logical medical doctor. It's a subtle, controlled performance, but you get the impression that he's not some eccentric ghostbuster as in so many other versions but rather a rational man of science who believes in vampires and treats it like a sickness. The quiet performance might turn some people off, but it personally blew my mind.

[–] combatreview 16 years ago

It is fantastic, and very subtle. One of my favourite moments is when Seward names the door jamb for Van Helsing, and he's surprised at the strange name the English give to it... "Jamb... Really?" I don't know if that was scripted or improvised, but it's a lovely touch, gives a strange realism to it.

[–] vamtim 16 years ago

Frank Finlay did nail it! the best Van Helsing ever, so calm and rational yet prone to outbursts like when he shouts at Lucy for her laughing at him for using garlic. He was also extremely kind and sympathetic and you really do believe that he cared for them all. This was straight out of Bram Stoker's novel, he didn't act like an annoying, blundering idiot like other film versions have portrayed him.

[–] blackswan50 16 years ago

i agree he was good.peter cushing was spot on too.!

[–] vamtim 16 years ago

Peter Cushing was a ledge!

[–] Courtesy_Flush 16 years ago

Finlay was wonderful.

Foo

[–] mijleh 16 years ago

they're both wonderful! i like finlay in the part a little better because he's hotter.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 16 years ago

I agree.

Finlay is easily the best Van Helsing. He acts, at all times, like a rational man who's simply trying to defeat an extraordinary problem. He has such nice little touches like the way he talks so gently to Quincey when he tells him what has to be done with Lucy. And, I too wonder if the bit about the "jamb of the door" was improvised. His interaction with Mark Burns' Doctor Seward was wonderful. They were very believeable as friends and former teacher/student.

It stands in stark contrast to Anthony Hopkins' needless overacting as Van Helsing in the Coppola version. There, he plays Van Helsing like some madman who is never credible as a medical doctor.

[–] Carpenter_Fan 16 years ago

I agree with you about Anthony Hopkins's portrayal, although I think most of the blame should lie with Coppola on that one, since he wrote the character.

Laurence Olivier seemed to be sleepwalking through his role in the John Badham version.

"We're all afraid of the dark inside ourselves."

[–] loup_noir 15 years ago

I agree, Finlay is one of the best v.H.s so far. But he does become a bit annoying over time as he becomes more and more preachy. I think it is intended this way, to show his increasing piety in the face of evil - but there's just too much of it. In the last scenes where he has any dialogue, it seems like more than half of his lines are about God and Christ, as if the rational part had just packed up and left. I don't recall the original literary dialogues toward the end, but were they this pious?
Personally, I also like Cushing and Hopkins, each for their own way of portraying the character. Cushing as the concentrated and determined analyst, and Hopkins as the almost maniacal hunter.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 14 years ago

Well, in the book and -apparently- in this film, Van Helsing is also supposed to be a very devout Roman Catholic. He obviously had to be known to the Church and trusted enough if he was allowed to obtain specimens of the Host. (This was an era where only an ordained priest was generally allowed to even touch the Host with their hands). Also, by this time it was past the point where he could bring a medical approach to combat Dracula and was relying on his faith.

Peter Cushing was good as more of a physical and quick-thinking Van Helsing. I'll concede that Hopkins was doomed by the script and direction. I mean, Van Helsing is supposed to be a respected physician and medical school professor. Yet, he comes across like someone who Seward should be treating rather than consulting.

[–] riotrr 14 years ago

I loved Frank Finlay. I also loved Peter Cushing. Nigel Davenport was great in the 1973 version of Dracula. I thought all three gentlemen were wonderful.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 9 years ago

One note about Sir Laurence Olivier's performance in the 1979 Dracula.

From the 1960's onwards, Olivier was taking more and more film roles solely for the paycheque. He'd gotten married to Joan Plowright and had started a new family with her. So, he felt he had to opt for higher paying film roles that might have been beneath his talents simply because he had a young family to support. So, he may well have been bored with the role.

That being said, Olivier -even if he was bored with the part- was such a professional that he was against doing any scene which he felt was untrue to the character. And, despite being very ill at the time (Frank Langella recounted that there were times he feared Olivier might not even be able to finish the film), he gave a 100% effort and was wanted to do as many physical scenes on his own (as opposed to letting a stunt double stand-in for him) as he could. Sadly, Olivier was so unwell that even minor scenes like Van Helsing running down a corridor had to use a double. But, they only did that after Olivier made repeated attempts to complete the scene on his own.

Olivier may have just taken the part for a paycheque, but he clearly felt that he still had to give the best effort he was able to provide.

Frank Finlay is easily the best Van Helsing, but Olivier deserves credit just for the effort he was willing to put in when his health was not good.