Unmade Movies: Hammer Horror's The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula

A BBC Radio 4 Adaptation of the Unproduced Screenplay

By: Anthony Hinds

Narrated by: Michael Sheen, Anna Madeley, Nikesh Patel, Ayesha Dharker, Meera Syal, Lewis MacLeod, full cast

Length: 1 hr and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Dracula travels to 1930s India in this celebrated unproduced Hammer Horror script, directed by Mark Gatiss.

The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th-century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks.

In The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula, one of seven 'unmade movies' available on audio, it is 1934, and young Englishwoman Penny is travelling by train across India in search of her missing sister. En route, she meets sibling artistes Prem and Lakshmi, who have been hired by a Maharajah and his wife, the Rani, to entertain their aristocratic European guest. But evil lurks in the hidden caverns beneath the ancient palace, where the acolytes of a fiendish blood cult await their next human sacrifice.... 

The intended follow-up to Scars of Dracula, this exotic, blood-drenched tale was nearly filmed on location in India in the early '70s, but financing problems meant it was dropped in favour of Dracula, AD 1972. Rescued from Hammer's vaults, it has been resurrected by Mark Gatiss and is the first new Hammer Horror Dracula production in 43 years. It stars Anna Madeley (All Creatures Great and Small) as Penny, with Nikesh Patel (Indian Summers) as Prem, Ayesha Dharker (The Indian Doctor) as Lakshmi and Meera Syal (Goodness Gracious Me) as the Rani. Lewis MacLeod (Dead Ringers) channels Christopher Lee as the iconic Count, and Michael Sheen (Staged) narrates. Get ready for a terrifying, edge-of-your-seat encounter as the Prince of Darkness rises from his grave once more....

Production credits

Written by Anthony Hinds

Directed by Mark Gatiss

Produced by Laurence Bowen and Peter Ettedgui

Original music by Blair Mowat

Sound design: Wilfredo Acosta

A Dancing Ledge production for BBC Radio 4

Cast

Narrator - Michael Sheen

Penny - Anna Madeley

Prem - Nikesh Patel

Lakshmi - Ayesha Dharker

Babu - Kulvinder Ghir

The Rani/Mrs Mukherjee - Meera Syal

Count Dracula - Lewis MacLeod

Maharajah/Inspector - Raj Ghatak

Lucy - Natalie Kimmerling

Evil Face - Sagar Arya

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28th October 2017

©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

This was really well made!

I’m always worried when I try a new Dracula story, particularly about Dracula’s voice acting, but this was a really pleasant surprise. The story, music and overall atmosphere have a distinct quality of the Hammer movies to them as well. :) A very good listen that I would recommend to any fans of Christopher Lee’s Dracula. :)

A fascinating experience

This is an audio presentation of a Hammer Dracula film, like those made famous by Christopher Lee. The tone and pacing match very favorably to the films. I could visualize the film in my mind completely. With its full cast production, this was very much like listening to one of the better radio plays of yesteryear. I hope that more will be produced in the same manner.

Regarding the story itself, the exotic locale definitely added to the atmosphere of the story and I can understand why it was never made into a film, as costs would have been prohibitive. This new format also allows for a darker ending to the story than might have been allowed in cinemas.

If you enjoy the old Hammer films, then you owe it to yourself to get this production.

Only stayed because of Sheen

Oof this was soo not worth the time or money. Finished it for Michael Sheen and him alone.