Santo vs. las mujeres vampiro (1962)

Director:

Alfonso Corona Blake

Writers:

Alfonso Corona Blake (screenplay)
Rafael García Travesi (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

1963 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Solo un hombre de acero...de agilidad de pantera, es capaz de luchar contra las MUJERES VAMPIRO...y ese hombre es...SANTO!

Plot:

A professor recruits a professional wrestler to protect his daughter from vampires intent on kidnaping her and marrying her to the devil.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Wrestler | Hypnotism | Witchcraft | Mask

Cast

Santo	...	Santo (as Santo el Enmascarado de Plata)
Lorena Velázquez	...	Thorina, queen of the vampires
María Duval	...	Diana Orlof
Jaime Fernández	...	Insp. Carlos
Augusto Benedico	...	Prof. Orlof
Xavier Loyá	...	Jorge - Diana's fiance (as Javier Loya)
Ofelia Montesco	...	Tandra, vampire priestess
Fernando Osés	...	Vampire
Guillermo Hernández	...	Vampire
Nathanael León	...	Vampire (as Leon Moreno)
Ricardo Adalid	...	Detective at Party
Cavernario Galindo	...	Himself (as Eduardo Galindo 'Cavernario')
Ray Mendoza	...	Himself (as Ray Mendoza 'El Indio')
Alejandro Cruz	...	Himself (as Alejandro Cruz 'Black Shadow')
Bobby Bonales	...	Himself
Eduardo Bonada	...	Himself
Laura Marquetti
Javier Samperio
Marco Antonio Arzate
Gonzalo García
Margarito Luna
José Chávez Agundes
René Barrera	...	Detective at Main Gate
Jorge Casanova
Miguel Tejeda Santillana
Pedro de la Torre
Fabian Grey	...	Nightclub Singer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Armando Acosta	...	Waiter
Alfredo Wally Barrón	...	Santo's 'Second' (uncredited)
Antonio Padilla 'Pícoro'	...	Ring Announcer (uncredited)
Carlos Robles Gil	...	Orlof's Butler (uncredited)
Bill Rogers	...	Prof. Orloff (uncredited)
Víctor Velázquez	...	Coroner (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfonso Corona Blake

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alfonso Corona Blake		screenplay
Rafael García Travesi		adaptation
Rafael García Travesi		story
Antonio Orellana		story
Fernando Osés		story

Produced by
Alberto López	....	producer

Non-Original Music by
Ludwig van Beethoven		(from piano sonata "Moonlight")

Cinematography by
José Ortiz Ramos

Film Editing by
José W. Bustos

Production Design by
Roberto Silva

Set Decoration by
Ernesto Carrasco

Makeup Department
Román Juárez	....	makeup artist
María Teresa Sánchez	....	hair stylist (as Ma. Teresa Sanchez)

Production Management
Jorge Cardeña	....	production chief
Luis García de León	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ignacio Villareal	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Javier Mateos	....	dialogue recordist
Manuel San Fernando	....	dubbing supervisor (English-language version)

Special Effects by
Juan Muñoz Ravelo	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Rafael García	....	still photographer
Manuel González	....	camera operator
Daniel López	....	lighting technician

Editorial Department
Raúl Portillo	....	synchronization editor

Music Department
Raúl Lavista	....	musical director
Galdino R. Samperio	....	music recordist (as Galdino Samperio 'Cruci')

Other crew
Humberto Gavaldón	....	script supervisor
Eduardo Mendoza	....	titles (as Eduardo Mendoza H.)

Production Companies

• Filmadora Panamericana
• Fonexsa
• Tele-cine-radio S.A.

Distributors

• Azteca Films Inc. (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (Spanish language only)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (1964) (USA) (TV) (syndication) (dubbed)
• Hollywood Home Theatre (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Samson and the Vampire Women" - USA (promotional title)
"Samson vs. the Vampire Women" - USA (TV title)

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity)

Filming Locations:

Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Filmadora Panamericana

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just before the scene cuts away from the four bats hovering outside the window, you can see a crew member's hand above the door operating the bat on the left side.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Santa Claus Conquers the Devil: A 50 Year Retrospective (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

Sonata de Amor

The Quintessential Santo movie

In a dark mansion deep in the woods, a clan of vampire women awakes of a 200 year slumber to complete a cycle. Thorina (Lorena Velazquez), queen of the vampire women, must find her successor before returning to hell, so she sends Tundra (Ofelia Montesco) to kidnap Diana Orlof (Maria Duval), since she has the mark of the chosen one. Diana's father, the revered Professor Orlof (Augusto Benedico) has been waiting for this moment, and with the aid of his friend, the mysterious Santo (wrestler Santo himself), they will try to stop Thorina's plan.

This is the plot of the film considered as the best in the infamous Mexican wrestler sub-genre. "Santo Contra las Mujeres Vampiro" was the forth in Santo's career as an actor, and it sets the basis for his future films as his movies started to move away from the action genre and got closer to the realm of fantasy, horror and science fiction.

The wrestling sub-genre was a mixture of action films & superhero comics taking as main characters the famous wrestlers of the time. Santo was without a doubt the most popular of them, so he starred on a long series of films as a mysterious man devoted to justice. While in his earlier films he battled crime lords, soon he started fighting the supernatural creatures (mainly because horror started to be popular), and this film is the perfect example of that.

While this movie contains the typical flaws of the early Mexican b-movies (low-budget & cheap effects), it excels in other aspects such as the acting, and specially, in the beautiful Bava-influenced cinematography. The Gothic surreal look the movie has owes a lot to the Universal films of the 30s and the school of Mario Bava ("La Maschera del Demonio" comes to mind). The film has a visual composition that no other Mexican movie could surpass on a very long time.

The acting is very good for a movie of its kind, and the script, while very campy, tells a very entertaining story. Ofelia Montesco steals the show, not only with her stunning beauty but also with her powerful presence on screen; a presence only beaten by Santo himself, who with only a few lines but a lot of action demonstrates why he was the best. A word of advice, DO NOT get the dubbed version, since the awful dubbing makes the film a lot cheesier than what it already is.

Of course, as I wrote above, the movie's biggest flaw is the poor budget, resulting in very cheap SFX; also, the action scenes are a bit too long. On the top of that, it has dated badly and now it looks very kitsch. However, Santo's charm remains untainted and makes the film a jewel of entertainment.

With this film, Santo the wrestler/actor was transformed into Santo, the iconic cult figure; and his film persona grew to mythical proportions. While this is not an award-winning film, it makes an enjoyable experience and the best way to experience the Mexican wrestler sub-genre. 7/10