Arthur Holmwood (Hammer Horror)

Arthur Holmwood is based upon a character who originally appeared in the 1897 novel, Dracula, by Irish author Bram Stoker. Some version of Holmwood (also referred to as Lord Godalming) has appeared in most adaptations of Stoker's work, though details vary from film to film.

Biography
Arthur Holmwood was a wealthy socialite who lived in the village of Klausenburg during the late 19th century. He was a close friend of Jonathan Harker, who was engaged to marry Arthur's younger sister, Lucy. He was married to a woman named Mina and had employed a housekeeper named Gerda.

In May of 1885, Harker's associate, Professor Van Helsing, informed Arthur of Jonathan's sudden death. Holmwood was not only saddened by the news, but enraged, and blamed Van Helsing for waiting ten days after the fact before informing him of Harker's fate. Van Helsing was reluctant to go into the details surrounding the man's mysterious death, but when his sister Lucy began to suffer from a mysterious anemic condition, Van Helsing finally disclosed the truth. He explained to Holmwood that Jonathan had been murdered by a vampire named Dracula and had subsequently been turned into a vampire himself. He feared that if Lucy's conditon worsened, then she might suffer a similar fate.

Arthur dismissed Van Helsing's warnings, but before long, discovered that the scholarly man was speaking the truth. Lucy died and became a vampire servant of Dracula. Arthur now believed everything that Van Helsing had warned him about. He pleaded with Van Helsing to do everything he could to put his sister's soul at rest. The two succeeded in tracking Lucy down to a churchyard and he looked on horrified as Van Helsing plunged a wooden stake into Lucy's heart.

Arthur's misery only worsened however as he soon discovered that his own wife, Mina, was to be Dracula's next victim. While Holmwood and Van Helsing canvassed Kleisenberg in search of Dracula, the vampire had actually secured himself away in the Holmwood estate cellar. He was able to feed off Mina at his choosing. When Arthur and Van Helsing discovered where Dracula was hiding, the vampire abducted Mina and fled back to his castle. Holmwood and Van Helsing followed him and managed to reach the castle just as the sun was coming up over the horizon. While Van Helsing fought with Dracula, Holmwood protected Mina from further harm. Fortunately for the Holmwoods, Van Helsing succeeded in destroying Dracula and the vampire's hold over Mina was broken. Arthur and his wife were able to return to their home in peace.

Notes & Trivia
Although the character was originally conceived back in the late 1800s, it took more than sixty years before he would be realized on the big screen. Arthur Holmwood was one of the few provincial characters from Stoker's novel that was overlooked in the 1931 adaptation of Dracula. Since that time, the character has appeared in several other film versions of the Dracula story, played by such actors as Simon Ward, Richard Barnes, Cary Elwes, Conrad Hornby, Stephane Leonard and Dan Stevens.

Actor Michael Gough has appeared in a few other genre films, but he is best remembered for playing the role of Alfred Pennyworth, the erstwhile butler to Bruce Wayne in the revisionist Batman movies of the 1980s-90s.