Jack Palance was one of those movie stars who dominates the screen. He's big and dour and powerful. He's not strutting, he's not showing off, he just is. He stands and overwhelms the actors next to him.
That said, for such an actor to play a something like Dracula is the perfect blend of talent and character. Dracula as portrayed by Palance in this Dan Curtis effort is a true menace. His strength is enormous, his will implaccable, and his passions contained but just barely. This is a Dracula who wants something he cannot have, and if he cannot have it he will destroy everyone who stands in his way or even simply stands.
That said, the movie isn't a perfect one by any means. It's got plenty of mood and the trimming of the story to fit film length is necessary and logical, but is surprising. This is certainly one of those movies which suggests more than it shows, a needed ingredient for horror. But this movie is rarely truly scary, not the way the other Dan Curtis movies are. It lacks the modern setting which makes the supernatural element immediately more unsettling. Dracula is a period story and now seems rather quaint in so many ways that the scares are diminished.
But that doesn't mean that when Palance is on screen you don't pay attention. One sequence where he invades an inn to get at some of his victims is impressive as he is a juggernaut and pitiful humans need get out of his way or die. That left a mark on me, reminding of similar scenes in The Night Stalker.
And sadly I think that's what hurts the effectiveness of this flick. I so adore the sheer frights of Kolchak and his battles with a modern vampire, that seeing a similar confrontation in olden times is less impressive. But that doesn't mean it's not interesting and memorable.
This is recommended for all Curtis and especially for Palance fans.
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