All that I know about Rasputin (the historical figure) has be gleaned from the title of this Hammer movie and the bit I can remember from Boney M's disco hit "Rah-Rah-Rasputin, Russia's greatest love machine". So I'm in no position to verify the historical accuracy of the movie. And I don't care either way. I don't look to Hammer for historical facts, I look to them for entertainment. And this is entertaining. Entertaining crap.
Christopher Lee has a ball in the title role as a grubby, bearded, lecherous, womanising, brawling drunkard. Rasputin is everything that Dracula is not and Lee makes the most of the opportunity to cut loose . Aside from him, there is little to commend the movie- horror veteran Barbara Shelley does makes a great victim and the plot, such as it is, is entertaining enough. But you know that it's all guff.
Christopher Lee has a body-double for a dancing scene who is about half his size. In one scene there is a man in the background in contemporary clothes. In a pub full of bearded men- even Mr Barraclough from Porridge has a beard- one bloke stands around in a sixties side parting with neat sideburns. Not to worry, Rasputin chops his rubber hand off. He gets his in the end though when he is thrown out of the window and falls like the Clousea dummy that Dreyfuss beats up in his psychiatrist's office.
Anyway, this is a hammy Hammer. Completely OTT, entertaining throwaway nonsense. 4/10 including a bonus mark for Lee's obvious relish for his character.
One thing I really giggled over was the fact that Richard Pasco as Boris looked similar to Vladimir Putin. I wonder if Putin and Rasputin are related...
