Drakula İstanbul’da (Dracula in Istanbul) is a 1953 Turkish feature film version of Bram Stoker’s original novel Dracula.
The screenplay was based on a 1928 novel by Ali Riza Seyfi called Kazıklı Voyvoda (“Impaler Voivode”), and is more or less a translation of Stoker’s novel, but there is no Renfield character and Güzin, the “Mina” character, is a showgirl given to performing in revealing outfits. Drakula/Dracula is played by balding Atif Kaptan. Both the novel and the film make an explicit connection with the historical Vlad the Impaler, the Prince and three-time Voivode of Wallachia.
The film was directed by Mehmet Muhtar and stars Annie Ball (as Güzin), Cahit Irgat, Ayfer Feray, Bülent Oran, Atif Kaptan.
“Visually the film is a mixed bag. Clearly it was made on a low budget. But it has atmosphere […] Staking scenes take place with most of the gory action off camera. Dracula’s castle, really an unconvincing drawing, is wrong for eastern European castles.” Leepers
“The vampire girl is seductively stacked like a Stepford Wife and – in subtitles – the Count makes no secret of his homosexual longings for this strong young man! And we have to remember that this is still only 1953!” The Spooky Isles
