Lambeth Fantastical - February 2025

Dennis Waterman - Vampire Hunter

January's Lambeth Fantastical looked at the science fiction works of Streatham born Dennis Wheatley. For February I am looking at another Dennis. Clapham born actor Dennis Waterman. In particular, his connections to one of the Hammer Productions' Dracula movies.

Born on the 24th February 1948 Waterman was the youngest of nine children. The family resided at Clapham's Elm Road. As a child actor his first film appearance was in 'Night Train to Inverness' (1960). His earliest television role was as the delinquent William Brown in the 1962 series based on the popular Just William novels of Richmal Compton. He also played the lead role of Oliver in the West End run of Lionel Bart's musical of the same name and sang on the original cast LP of the show.

One of his first adult big screen appearances was in 'Up the Junction' (1968), set in and around Battersea and Clapham Junction. His foray into the world of Hammer Horror came in 1971 in 'The Scars of Dracula' - with Christopher Lee as the vampiric count.

Hammer weren’t entirely sure that Lee was going to be willing to carry on in the role that had brought him fame, so the screenplay by Anthony Hinds (Former producer of the Hammer Films' PC49 police movies) set the scene for a possible replacement and didn’t follow on directly from the previous film ‘Taste the Blood of Dracula’ (1970) in which Dracula is defeated in a London Church.

Directed by Roy Ward Baker whose Hammer credits included ‘Quatermass and The Pit' (1968) and ‘The Vampire Lovers' (1970) ‘The Scars of Dracula’ takes the action back to Transylvania and Castle Dracula. In the event Lee was actually persuaded to take on the role once more. Waterman plays the hero of the story, Simon Carlson, who is searching for his brother who has gone missing in the vicinity of the castle. He is accompanied by his fiancée, Sarah Framsen, played by Jenny Hanley who would go on to replace Susan Stranks as a presenter on ITV’s Magpie in 1974.

Also appearing is the second Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton, as Klove, Dracula’s sadistic assistant, who dissolves the body of Tania, another of Dracula’s victims (played by Anoushka Hempel) in a vat of acid. Hammer regulars Michael Ripper and Michael Gwynn turn up as an innkeeper and a priest respectively.

Waterman, as Simon, proves a formidable opponent to the Count, escaping from a locked room with the help of Klove who has turned against his master. In the climactic scene he attempts to rescue Sarah from the clutches of Dracula high in the battlements of the castle. Armed with an iron spike he valiantly fights the vampire. Just when Dracula wrests the spike from him, and all seems lost, the spike is struck by lightning and the monster tumbles from the castle in flames to the rocks below. Of course it’s not the end of Hammer’s Dracula. Lee would play him again in Dracula AD 72 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). He’d turn up again, although not played by Lee, in ‘The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires’ (1974), also directed by Roy Ward Baker.

Meanwhile Waterman’s next role was in another horror orientated movie. ‘Fright’ (1971) saw him playing the boyfriend of terrorised babysitter Susan George in a sort of forerunner of the ‘Halloween’ franchise. In this film Waterman comes off far worse than his character in ‘The Scars of Dracula’. First being beat up and then murdered by Susan George’s psychopathic tormentor.

In the 70s Waterman’s career would veer away from the big screen and horror with his roles in ‘The Sweeney’ and ‘Minder’. He would later be parodied in the comedy series Little Britain where a caricature of him would be shown insisting that he wrote the theme tune and sang the theme tune to any show he was offered a part in. A reference to the fact that he wrote and sang the theme tunes to no less that four TV series he appeared in (Minder, Stay Lucky, On the Up and New Tricks). On the big screen he appeared as his TV character, Detective Sergeant George Carter in ‘The Sweeney’ (1977) and ‘The Sweeney 2 (1978).

There lots of Dracula facts and trivia on my upcoming 'History of Horror' walk for London Guided walks at 6pm on Friday 28th Feb. Find out more here.

History of Horror

If crime (in fact and fiction) is your thing why not join me on my upcoming ‘Waterloo – Crime and Punishment' Guided Walk on Saturday 15th March. Booking details on this link.

Waterloo - Crime and Punishment