Surely you can't mean Jack Palance?
Let me just say right now, that this supposedly faithful adaptation to Stoker's tale is a few rungs above absolute CRAP. Yes. CRAP. I'm not saying this because it was made for television, not on such nebulous grounds, because aesthetically it is more mounted for a feature than something DTV, but everything about it is appalling from the acting to the poor direction of it all. For a production that looks more lavish than it had any right to be, none of that money was used on correct casting or proper direction. Everything is just so incompetent I have no idea where on Earth to begin.
For one thing, given the story/script was penned by Richard Matheson (yes, the self-same Richard Matheson who wrote for 'The Twilight Zone', 'I Am Legend' AND 'Hell House') it is tremendously watered down and confused about what direction it wants to take. Of course everything may have looked fantastic on paper given Matheson's considerable skill as an author, but methinks a lot got lost in translation when it came to filming his writing for the screen. Reminds me a little of how Stephen King's works have fared- you get some doozies, you get some not-too-shabbies and you get some pretty-damn-impressives, however, it all comes back to how effectively the work is adapted for a visual medium and how the material is handled. Here, it comes off as almost a shock that Matheson was responsible for the rabble we watch on screen.
Given there are worse versions out there, but for something so well-known and over-lauded, the casting is a crime.
Who in their right mind would cast Jack Palance as Dracula? It's not because of Palance's looks that misfires the role, but Palance's persona and the fact he is being forced to resort to absolute hammage, even worse, he isn't even having fun as he overacts in every scene. There is not one ounce of threat in his performance- not for one second did I buy him as a potential danger to any other character, the only element of danger he brought to the part was the fact he whipped his cape around so much you'd swear he'd give himself whiplash. The way he ridiculously postures in every sequence he's in is painful to witness, and you'd swear he was reading his lines from a cue card just off-screen. I personally don't hate Palance, but I hate him in such an iconic and pivotal role. Say what you will, but whoever is cast as Dracula shapes the rest of the picture, not to mention how the rest of the cast plays off them, and in this case, Palance is perhaps the most serious liability that has absolutely no redeeming moments.
That being said, it's not entirely his fault.
Director Dan Curtis has stripped away the supernatural elements that are crucial to a Dracula picture. His biggest mistake was directing Palance to be a soley physical force, that is, Dracula doesn't use his other abilities such as hypnosis, shape-shifting and powers of suggestion. He just sweeps into each scene throwing people aside like a mere mortal man would. For somebody who previously directed genre works such as 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde', 'Frankenstein', 'The Night Stalker' and 'Burnt Offerings' all of the mysticism of Dracula has been firmly watered down. I wonder what possessed him to take such a route.
The rest of the cast doesn't come off any better either. Nigel Davenport, who, I suppose plays Van Helsing is so weak-willed that it defies the essense of what the character is all about. Van Helsing is meant to be Dracula's equal, he does not shy from the challenge of hunting Dracula down and killing him, but here, Davenport is hopeless. In a scene when Van Helsing confronts Dracula with a cross, Palance rumbles through his obviously fake dentures "Throw it away!" and a very chastised Van Helsing mutters "All right.". WTH?! I don't think so. For something that was meant to be a clash of the titans, it came across as more of a confrontation between two schoolboys over a soccer ball.
I'm not even gonna talk about the rest of the supporting cast because they really are not worth mentioning at all. You'd think I am exaggerating, but I'm being truthful by saying the less said about these folks the better because they are simply there.
The Dracula fan in me wanted to like this production. Really, she did. She was willing to get over the strange casting of the grizzled warhorse Palance, but in the end, this was a seriously missed and wasted opportunity to offer up a strong television adaptation of such a classic work where money was vested more in making things look authentic rather than finding the best talent to showcase in it.
Trivia: Talk about ironic- Jack Palance admitted to being glad once the film was completed. A method actor, he felt that he was "becoming" Dracula more than he wanted. HAHAH! Well...
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