Fangs of the Living Dead (1969)
"Malenka" (original title)

A beautiful virgin inherits a castle, but when she arrives at it, she finds that the inhabitants include a strange nobleman and a bevy of beautiful women she suspects may be vampires.

Director:

Amando de Ossorio

Writers:

Amando de Ossorio (screenplay), Amando de Ossorio (story)

Stars:

Anita Ekberg, Gianni Medici, Diana Lorys

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anita Ekberg	...	Malenka / Sylvia Morel
Gianni Medici	...	Dr. Piero Luciani (as John Hamilton)
Diana Lorys	...	Bertha Zemis
Rosanna Yanni	...	Freya Zemis
César Benet	...	Max (as Guy Roberts)
Carlos Casaravilla	...	Dr. Horbinger
Fernando Bilbao	...	Vladis the Coachman
Paul Muller	...	Dr. Albert
Adriana Santucci	...	The Count's Maid
Aurelia Treviño	...	Village Woman
Juanita Ramírez	...	Brugard the Barmaid
Adriana Ambesi	...	Blinka (as Audrey Ambert)
Julián Ugarte	...	Uncle / Count Walbrooke
Keith Kendal	...	Man

Storyline

A beautiful virgin inherits a castle, but when she arrives at it, she finds that the inhabitants include a strange nobleman and a bevy of beautiful women she suspects may be vampires.

---

Plot Keywords:

castle | vampire | portrait | fangs | fiance | 

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Spain Italy

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

18 May 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fangs of the Living Dead

Filming Locations:

La Alberca, Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 9,194,751 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cobra Films, Felix Cinematografica, Tritón P.C.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Malenka: You mean to tell me that the ancestors are still alive?
Uncle: Not exactly.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell (1987)

User Reviews

Pangs of Boredom for the Living

This movie is hard to describe as it tells the story of a woman returning to her ancestral home where, perhaps or perhaps not, she is related to a family of vampires, witches, and other nefarious persons/creatures. The film tries to make everything seem logical in the end as some kind of hoax to deprive this woman of her new worldly possessions(the castle, etc.), but it fails miserably because almost everything that happens in the end is devoid of any real logic. Sundry characters abound such as an uncle that looks younger than his niece( Anita Ekberg plays the prodigal daughter...more on her in a bit), a fiance and his bumbling lethario/comedian friend, a woman who lives in the castle, enjoys being whipped, and wears a dress two sizes too small thus having her breasts almost spill out, a village doctor who is always drunk and believes in vampire folklore, two sisters that run a local tavern...one anemic and very busty - the other even more heavily bossomed, and, lastly, the strongman servant. None of these folks are particularly adept at that skill we know as acting. Anita Ekberg goes through the paces with either some capricious smile or the look that she just saw a mouse. Ekberg and most of the female cast are nice looking, however. But a group of aging starlets wearing push-up bras does not a movie make. This film was directed by Amando de Ossorio, and you can see occasional(very occasional) flashes of brilliance in his direction. The castle used is creepy, and the film does have some good atmosphere in several scenes(although strained in most). Ossorio must have knew what kind of material he was working with here, because he uses some humour in the picture with the two characters of the fiance's friend and the doctor. The doctor is really the best thing, at least for me, that the film had to boast. But even the Blind Dead series director could not save a film like this. It literally is a sleeper....I felt the need to doze several times. If you can make sense of the plot, please let me know!