Some horrible Hammer horrors

I got it wrong; I actually skipped seven films at the FrightFest weekend.  Friday opened with three new (and I think slightly cut) prints of some "classic" Hammer films; I skipped the first one "Hound of the Baskervilles" since I prefer my Holmes in the person of Basil Rathbone.  The second of the three was "Countess Dracula" from 1970 starring Ingrid Pitt in a version of the bathe-in-the-blood-of-virgins story of Hungarian countess, Elisabeth Bathory.  The revived countess was meant to look nineteen and there is no way on this green earth that the then 33 year-old could pull that off believably, but the actress in question has always been so full of herself and convinced of her undying appeal that she probably thought she could.  I understand that Ms. Pitt asked for £1000 to put in an appearance at the fest; this was not taken up.  The second of the two films was "Twins of Evil" from 1971 featuring the Collinson twins who were the first twin Playboy centerfolds (but certainly never convincing actresses), but it did benefit from starring Peter Cushing as their witch-hunting uncle and Dennis Price in one of his late throw-away roles.  On many levels both movies were something of a hoot and have certainly not aged very well; nowadays many of the Hammers play as high camp and the sprinkle of titters from the audience underlined this sad fact.  Still it was like welcoming old friends, but hoping they would not hang around too long.