It's evident that Donald Pleasence gained a lot of weight since he appeared in Fantastic. It's also evident that the world did not need another Dracula, as difficult as it is for me to say. The movie was made to capitalize on the success of the revival of the Balderston/Deane play, which was a major hit on Broadway. That production starred Frank Langella, who reprises his role here, but you just really wish that Badham had done the right thing and cast Christopher Lee. Langella's interpretation is as a suave, romantic hunk. He plays the romantic aristocrat stuff well but a major flaw to his performance is he's not threatening at all. Langella doesn't come off too badly however, as the movie is severely miscast. Kate Nelligan is all wrong as the introverted Mina character (here renamed Lucy), and Lord Laurence Olivier, one of the greatest actors of the century, is a major disapointment as Van Helsing. This is no doubt due to the fact that he was very ill at the time, and it shows. Van Helsing looks like he's about eighty years old and on the brink of death. As Dr. Seward, Pleasence probably gives the best performance in the film, which not saying much. Badham doesn't seem to know how to direct a horror movie, either. There are a lot of cliché's and cheesy cinematic tricks. There is a great Dracula death scene, though. Dracula (1979)