Editing Christopher Lee (section)

=== 1957–1976: Work with Hammer ===
[[File:Dracula 1958 c.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Lee as the title character in ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' (1958). Lee fixed the image of the fanged [[vampire]] in popular culture.<ref>J Gordon Melton (2010). "The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead" p. 247. Visible Ink Press</ref>]]

Lee's first film for [[Hammer Film Productions]] was ''[[The Curse of Frankenstein]]'' (1957), in which he played [[Frankenstein's monster]], with [[Peter Cushing]] as [[Victor Frankenstein|Baron Victor Frankenstein]].<ref name="Yahoo" /> It was the first film to co-star Lee and Cushing, who ultimately appeared together in over twenty films and became close friends.<ref name=TFInterview /><ref name="AllMovie Filmography" /><!--Cushing, Burton--> When he arrived at a casting session for the film, "they asked me if I wanted the part, I said yes and that was that."<ref name="aprolific" /> A little later, Lee co-starred with [[Boris Karloff]] in the film ''[[Corridors of Blood]]'' (1958). Lee had previously appeared with Karloff in 1955 in the "At Night, All Cats are Grey" episode of the British television series ''[[Colonel March of Scotland Yard]]''.<ref>Johnson, Tom (2009). "The Christopher Lee Filmography: All Theatrical Releases, 1948–2003". p. 79. McFarland.</ref> Karloff and Lee were London neighbours for a time in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Kevin |title=Christopher Lee, Man of Many Faces, Almost an Unknown |issue=29 November 1966; Part IV, page 17 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=30%|align=left|quote=Lee's Dracula is a force of nature: red-eyed, blood dripping from fangs, often in the grip of rage. He's hypnotic, physically powerful, well-spoken, but Lee also understood – crucially – that an important layer from Bram Stoker's novel had been missing from Lugosi's performance: sexuality. Lee's Dracula is a rampant sex fiend, using that stare to make buxom ladies everywhere come over a little faint.|source = — ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine's entry for Lee's portrayal of Dracula as the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.<ref name="Lee Empire" />}}

Lee's own appearance as Frankenstein's monster led to his first appearance as the [[Transylvania]]n vampire [[Count Dracula]] in the film ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' (1958, known as ''Horror of Dracula'' in the US).<ref name="Yahoo" /> The film saw Lee's "triumphant debut" fix the image of the fanged vampire in popular culture, according to the writer [[Kevin Jackson (writer)|Kevin Jackson]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Kevin |title=Fangs for the memories: The A-Z of vampires |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/fangs-for-the-memories-the-a-z-of-vampires-1810987.html |issue=31 October 2009 |newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> ''Dracula'' has been ranked among the best [[Cinema of the United Kingdom|British films]].<ref>[https://www.timeout.com/london/film/100-best-british-films#tab_panel_4 "The 100 best British films"]. ''Time Out''. Retrieved 24 October 2017</ref> Lee introduced a dark, brooding sexuality to the character, with [[Tim Stanley]] stating, "Lee's sensuality was subversive in that it hinted that women might quite like having their neck chewed on by a stud."<ref>{{cite news |title=Why Christopher Lee's Dracula didn't suck |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/what-to-watch/christopher-lee-dracula-movies-hammer/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/what-to-watch/christopher-lee-dracula-movies-hammer/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=11 March 2019 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The film magazine ''Empire'' ranked Lee's portrayal as Dracula the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.<ref name="Lee Empire">{{Cite web |year=2020 |title=The 100 Best Horror Movie Characters |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-horror-characters/|access-date=11 June 2023 |website=Empire}}</ref> [[CNN]] listed the performance third in their top 10 British villains, noting his "chilling, sonorous tone."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Screening Room's Top 10 British Villains – CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/25/top10.britishvillains/|access-date=11 June 2023 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> Lee accepted a similar role in an Italian-French horror picture called ''[[Uncle Was a Vampire]]'' (1959). The same year he starred as [[Kharis]] in the Hammer Horror film ''[[The Mummy (1959 film)|The Mummy]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hearn |first1=Marcus |last2=Barnes |first2=Alan |title=The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films |publisher=Titan Books |year=2007 |page=43 |isbn=978-1-84576-185-1}}</ref>

[[File:The Mummy (1959) trailer - Christopher Lee face 2.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Lee as [[Kharis]] in ''[[The Mummy (1959 film)|The Mummy]]'' (1959)]]

Lee returned to the role of Dracula in Hammer's ''[[Dracula: Prince of Darkness]]'' (1965).<ref name="Yahoo" /> Lee's role has no lines; he merely hisses his way through the film. Stories vary as to the reason for this: Lee states he refused to speak the poor dialogue he was given, but the screenwriter [[Jimmy Sangster]] claims that the script did not contain any lines for the character. This film set the standard for most of the Dracula sequels in the sense that half the film's running time was spent on telling the story of Dracula's resurrection and the character's appearances were brief. Lee went on record to state that he was virtually "blackmailed" by Hammer into starring in the subsequent films; unable or unwilling to pay him his going rate, they would resort to reminding him of how many people he would put out of work if he did not take part:<ref name="landisbook" />

{{blockquote|The process went like this: The telephone would ring and my agent would say, "[[James Carreras|Jimmy Carreras]] [President of Hammer Films] has been on the phone, they've got another Dracula for you." And I would say, "Forget it! I don't want to do another one." I'd get a call from Jimmy Carreras, in a state of hysteria. "What's all this about?!" "Jim, I don't want to do it, and I don't have to do it." "No, you have to do it!" And I said, "Why?" He replied, "Because I've already sold it to the American distributor with you playing the part. Think of all the people you know so well, that you will put out of work!" Emotional blackmail. That's the only reason I did them.<ref name="landisbook">{{cite book |last=Landis |first=John |title=Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares |year=2011 |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |isbn=978-1-4053-6697-7 |page=45}}</ref>}}

His roles in the films ''[[Dracula Has Risen from the Grave]]'' (1968), ''[[Taste the Blood of Dracula]]'' (1969), and ''[[Scars of Dracula]]'' (1970) all gave the Count very little to do. Lee said in an interview in 2005, "all they do is write a story and try and fit the character in somewhere, which is very clear when you see the films. They gave me nothing to do! I pleaded with Hammer to let me use some of the lines that [[Bram Stoker]] had written. Occasionally, I sneaked one in."<ref name="TFInterview" /><!-- Although Lee may not have liked what Hammer was doing with the character, worldwide audiences embraced the films, which were all commercially successful.--> He starred in two further Dracula films for Hammer in the early 1970s, both of which attempted to bring the character into the modern-day era. These were not commercially successful: ''[[Dracula A.D. 1972]]'' (1972) and ''[[The Satanic Rites of Dracula]]'' (1973). The latter film was tentatively titled ''Dracula Is Dead... and Well and Living in London'', a parody of the stage and film musical revue ''[[Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris]]'', but Lee was not amused. Speaking at a press conference in 1973 to announce the film, Lee said, "I'm doing it under protest. I think it is fatuous. I can think of twenty adjectives – fatuous, pointless, absurd. It's not a comedy, but it's got a comic title. I don't see the point."<ref>{{cite book |last=Haining |first=Peter |title=The Dracula Scrapbook |publisher=Chancellor Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-1-85152-195-1}}</ref> ''The Satanic Rites of Dracula'' was the last Dracula film in which Lee played the Dracula role, as he felt he had played the part too many times and that the films had deteriorated in quality.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/christopher-lee-words/ |title=Sir Christopher Lee In His Own Words |website=Empire |date=12 June 2015 |first=Owen |last=Williams |url-status=live |archive-date=27 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927103018/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/christopher-lee-words/ |access-date=25 September 2022}}</ref>

In all, Lee played Dracula ten times: seven films for Hammer Productions, once for [[Jesús Franco]]'s [[Count Dracula (1970 film)|''Count Dracula'']] (1970), uncredited in [[Jerry Lewis]]'s ''[[One More Time (1970 film)|One More Time]]'' (1970) and [[Édouard Molinaro]]'s ''[[Dracula and Son]]'' (1976) (he also played an unnamed but Dracula-like vampire in ''[[The Magic Christian (film)|The Magic Christian]]'' [1969]). Lee portrayed Rasputin in ''[[Rasputin, the Mad Monk]]'' (1966) and Sir Henry Baskerville (to Cushing's [[Sherlock Holmes]]) in ''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'' (1959). Lee later played Holmes himself in 1962's ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace]]'', and returned to Holmes films with [[Billy Wilder]]'s British-made ''[[The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1970), in which he plays Sherlock's smarter brother, [[Mycroft Holmes|Mycroft]]. Lee considers this film to be the reason he stopped being typecast: "I've never been typecast since. Sure, I've played plenty of heavies, but as [[Anthony Hopkins]] says, "I don't play villains, I play people.""<ref name=TFInterview /> Lee played a leading role in the German film ''[[The Puzzle of the Red Orchid]]'' (1962), speaking German, which he had learned during his education in Switzerland. He auditioned for a part in the film ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'' (1962), but was turned down because he did not "look like a military man." Some film books incorrectly credit him with a role in the film, something he had to correct for the rest of his life.<ref name=guardianinterview />

Lee's friend the author [[Dennis Wheatley]] was responsible for bringing the [[occult]] to him.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |first=Nigel |last=Farndale |title=Sir Christopher Lee interview: 'I'm softer than people think' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8316999/Interview-Christopher-Lee.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8316999/Interview-Christopher-Lee.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=16 January 2016 |date=11 June 2005 |work=[[The Telegraph (magazine)|The Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The company made two films from Wheatley's novels, both starring Lee. ''The New York Times'' described Lee's performance in the first, ''[[The Devil Rides Out (film)|The Devil Rides Out]]'' (1967), as "suave dignity".<ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Howard |title=Movie Review: The Devil Rides Out |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A00E3DF1430E034BC4152DFB4678383679EDE |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> However, the second film, ''[[To the Devil a Daughter]]'' (1976), was troubled by production difficulties and was disowned by its author. Although financially successful, it was Hammer's last horror film. Critic [[Leonard Maltin]] described it as "well-made but lacking punch".<ref name="maltin">{{cite book |editor1-last=Maltin |editor1-first=Leonard |date=1995 |title=Leonard Maltin's 1996 Movie & Video Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltinsmo00newy/page/1350 |publisher=Signet |page=[https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltinsmo00newy/page/1360 1360] |isbn=978-0-451-18505-1}}</ref>

[[File:Horror express gip.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Lee and his close friend [[Peter Cushing]] in ''[[Horror Express]]'' (1972). They starred in twenty-two films together.<ref>{{cite news |first=Alex |last=Hamilton |title=Christopher Lee obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/11/christopher-lee |date=11 June 2015 |access-date=16 June 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>]]
Like Cushing, Lee also appeared in horror films for other companies from 1957 to 1977. These included the Dr. [[Fu Manchu]] series of films made between 1965 and 1969 (beginning with ''[[The Face of Fu Manchu]]'') in which he starred as the villain in [[Portrayal of East Asians in American film and theater|yellowface]] make-up; ''[[I, Monster]]'' (1971), an adaptation of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s 1886 novella ''[[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'', with the main characters' names changed to Dr. Charles Marlowe and Mr. Edward Blake; ''[[The Creeping Flesh]]'' (1972); and his personal favourite, which he considered his best film, ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' (1973), in which he played Lord Summerisle.<ref name="Lindrea 2004">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3733894.stm |title=Christopher Lee on the making of legends |last=Lindrea |first=Victoria |website=[[BBC News]] |date=11 October 2004 |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref><ref name=TFInterview /> Lee wanted to break free of his image as Dracula and take on more interesting acting roles. He met with the screenwriter [[Anthony Shaffer (writer)|Anthony Shaffer]], and they agreed to work together. The film director [[Robin Hardy (film director)|Robin Hardy]] and [[British Lion Films|British Lion]] head Peter Snell became involved in the project. Shaffer had a series of conversations with Hardy, and the two decided that it would be fun to make a horror film centring on "old religion," in sharp contrast to the popular Hammer films of the day.<ref name="Burnt Offerings 1">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG2W-PetugU |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101234617/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG2W-PetugU&feature=youtu.be |archive-date=1 November 2020 |title=Burnt Offerings: – The Cult of the Wicker Man 1/4 |via=YouTube |date=4 October 2020 |access-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> Shaffer read the David Pinner novel ''[[Ritual (1967 novel)|Ritual]]'', in which a devout Christian policeman is called to investigate what appears to be the ritual murder of a young girl in a rural village, and decided that it would serve well as the source material for the project. Shaffer and Lee paid Pinner £15,000 ({{Inflation|UK|15000|1971|fmt=eq|cursign=US$}}) for the rights to the novel, and Schaffer set to work on the screenplay. However, he soon decided that a direct adaptation would not work well, and began to craft a new story, using only the novel's basic outline.<ref name="Burnt Offerings 1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/leisure/8985362.The_author_who_inspired_The_Wicker_Man___/ |title=The author who inspired The Wicker Man... |last=Gore |first=Will |publisher=[[Surrey Comet]] |date=22 April 2011 |access-date=11 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826092935/http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/leisure/8985362.The_author_who_inspired_The_Wicker_Man___/ |archive-date=26 August 2011}}</ref> Lee was so keen to get the film made, and the budget was so small, that he gave his services for free.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=307}} He later called the film the best he had ever made.<ref name=TFInterview />

Lee appeared as the on-screen narrator in [[Jess Franco]]'s ''[[Eugenie... The Story of Her Journey into Perversion|Eugenie]]'' (1970) as a favour to the producer [[Harry Alan Towers]], unaware that it was [[softcore pornography]], as the sex scenes were shot separately.

{{blockquote|I had no idea that was what it was when I agreed to the role. I was told it was about the Marquis de Sade. I flew out to Spain for one day's work playing the part of a narrator. I had to wear a crimson dinner jacket. There were lots of people behind me. They all had their clothes on. There didn't seem to be anything peculiar or strange. A friend said: 'Do you know you are in a film in [[Old Compton Street]]?' In those days that was where the mackintosh brigade watched [[Adult movie theater|their films]]. 'Very funny,' I said. So I crept along there heavily disguised in dark glasses and scarf, and found the cinema and there was my name. I was furious! There was a huge row. When I had left Spain that day everyone behind me had taken their clothes off!<ref name=telegraphinterview />}}

[[File:The Wicker Man (1973) US trailer - Christopher Lee 1.png|thumb|upright=1.25|Breaking free from the Dracula image:<ref name="Burnt Offerings 1" /> Lee as Lord Summerisle in ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' (1973)]]

In addition to making films in the United Kingdom, Lee made films in mainland Europe: he appeared in two German films, ''Count Dracula'' (1970), where he again played the vampire count, and ''[[The Blood Demon|The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism]]'' (1967). Other films in Europe he made include ''[[Castle of the Living Dead]]'' (1964) and ''[[Horror Express]]'' (1972). Lee was a producer of the horror film ''[[Nothing But the Night]]'' (1972), in which he starred. It was the first and last film he produced, as he did not enjoy the process.<ref name=guardianinterview>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/may/29/features.victoriabarrett |title=The good, the bad and the Christopher Lee |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 May 2003 |access-date=21 December 2012 |location=London |first=Victoria |last=Barrett}}</ref>

Lee appeared as the [[Comte de Rochefort]] in [[Richard Lester]]'s ''[[The Three Musketeers (1973 live-action film)|The Three Musketeers]]'' (1973). He injured his left knee during filming, something he still felt many years later.<ref name=TFInterview /> After the mid-1970s, Lee eschewed horror roles almost entirely. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels and Lee's step-cousin, had offered him the role of the [[Julius No|titular antagonist]] in the first Eon-produced Bond film ''[[Dr. No (film)|Dr. No]]'' (1962). Lee enthusiastically accepted, but by the time Fleming told the producers, they had already chosen [[Joseph Wiseman]] for the role.<ref name=TFInterview /> Lee finally got to play a [[James Bond (film series)|James Bond]] [[List of James Bond villains|villain]] in ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'' (1974), in which he was cast as the assassin [[Francisco Scaramanga]]. Lee said of his performance, "In Fleming's novel he's just a West Indian thug, but in the film he's charming, elegant, amusing, lethal... I played him like the dark side of Bond."<ref name=TFInterview />

Because of his filming schedule in [[Bangkok]], the film-director [[Ken Russell]] was unable to sign Lee to play the Specialist in ''[[Tommy (1975 film)|Tommy]]'' (1975). That role was eventually given to [[Jack Nicholson]]. In an AMC documentary on ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978), [[John Carpenter]] states that he offered the role of [[Samuel Loomis]] to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, before [[Donald Pleasence]] took the role. Years later, Lee told Carpenter that the biggest regret of his career was not taking the role of Dr. Loomis.<ref>{{cite AV media |last=Smith |first=Steve |display-authors=etal |year=2003 |title=Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest |medium=TV Documentary |publisher=[[Prometheus Entertainment]]}}</ref>