Malenka (1969)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Amando de Ossorio

Writers:

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

Release Date:

18 May 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

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:

Vampire | Castle | Inheritance | Beautiful Woman | Pretty Girl

Cast

Anita Ekberg	...	Malenka / Sylvia Morel
Gianni Medici	...	Dr. Pietro Lufuani (as John Hamilton)
Diana Lorys	...	Bertha Zemis
Rosanna Yanni	...	Freya Zemis
César Benet	...	Max (as Guy Roberts)
Carlos Casaravilla	...	Dr. Horbringer
Fernando Bilbao	...	Vladis the Coachman
Paul Muller	...	Innkeeper
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

Also Known As:

Bloody Girl
Fangs of the Living Dead (USA)
La nipote del vampiro (Italy)
Malenka la risposta del vampiro (Italy)
Malenka the Vampire
Malenka, la nipote del vampiro (Italy)
Malenka: la sobrina del vampiro (Spain)
The Niece of the Vampire
The Vampire's Niece

Runtime:

Italy:98 min | Spain:90 min | USA:88 min

Country:

Spain | Italy

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

La Alberca, Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain

Company:

Cobra Films

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fright Show (1985)

Several versions exist, all marvelous.

There are at least three prints of this film running loose these days ... Readers should NOT let the negative nellies dissuade them from seeking this film out -- it is a marvelous little bit of Eurotrash from one of the genre's finest directors when he was just flexing his muscles.

Most literature I have encountered on MALENKA agree that Ossorio's main inspriration was THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS aka DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES, but he injected the film with a decidedly Medeterranian air that caught on: In many circles, it is considered classic must-have required viewing at the Academy, Mr Spock kind of stuff.

BUT, you need to select your home viewing version carefully -- of the three most common forms that exist, the most familiar to us in America is a 75 - 80m "public domain" print that used to run on TV a lot, with the vampire chasing ending in place ... we have all seen it at one time or another. Then there is a second 96 - 98 minute European cut exported from Holland in the late 1980's -- it contains some additional "scientific" scenes and other dialogue, but NOT the gag ending with the vampire chasing Rosanna Yanni. The recommended version is actually out on DVD right now at places like Amazon under the name FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD and released by a smallish company called Retromedia who "restored" a widescreen uncut British print for their DVD; uncut meaning that some of the slower scenes trimmed from the 80m public domain print are still in place.

What makes their DVD really come to life, though, is the care that went into making the print look good again. And after so many years of dingy, sepia rotted TV prints you will be shocked at what a beautiful, HARMLESS and fun movie this is -- I'd rather watch MALENKA with my eyes held open by toothpicks than ever have to sit through garbage like INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, DRACULA 2000 or FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA PRESENTS BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA: A FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA FILM ever again. Gawd ...