Rasputin, the Mad Monk

Rasputin, the Mad Monk
Original French film poster
Directed by	Don Sharp
Produced by	Anthony Nelson Keys
Written by	Anthony Hinds
Starring	Christopher Lee Barbara Shelley Francis Matthews Richard Pasco Suzan Farmer
Music by	Don Banks
Cinematography	Michael Reed
Edited by	Roy Hyde
Production company	Hammer Film Productions Seven Arts
Distributed by	Warner-Pathé Distributors (UK) 20th Century-Fox (US)
Release date	6 March 1966 (UK) 6 April 1966 (US)
Running time	91 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	₤100,000 (approx)

Rasputin, the Mad Monk is a 1966 Hammer film directed by Don Sharp and starring Christopher Lee as Grigori Rasputin, the Russian peasant-mystic who gained great influence with the Tsars prior to the Russian Revolution. It also features Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Richard Pasco, Dinsdale Landen and Renée Asherson. The story is largely fictionalized, although some of the events leading up to Rasputin's assassination are very loosely based on Prince Yusupov's account of the story. For legal reasons, the character of Yusupov was replaced by Ivan (Matthews). Yusupov was still alive when the film was released, dying on 27 September 1967.

The emphasis is on Rasputin's terrifying powers both to work magic and to seduce women.

The story begins in the Russian countryside, where Rasputin heals the sick wife of an innkeeper (Derek Francis). When he is later hauled before an Orthodox bishop for his sexual immorality and violence, the innkeeper springs to the monk's defense. Rasputin protests that he is sexually immoral because he likes to give God "sins worth forgiving" (loosely based on Rasputin's rumored connection to Khlysty, an obscure Christian sect which believed that those deliberately committing fornication, then repenting bitterly, would be closer to God). He also claims to have healing powers in his hands, and is unperturbed by the bishop's accusation that his power comes from Satan.