The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (1971) La noche de Walpurgis (original title)

Director:

León Klimovsky

Writers:

Paul Naschy (screenplay) and
Hans Munkel (screenplay)

Release Date:

1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Things happen that have never been seen by human beings. The blood flows like vintage wine.

Plot:

Elvira is travelling through the French countryside with her friend Genevieve, searching for the lost...

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Tomb | Friend | Back To Life | French Countryside

Cast

Paul Naschy	...	Waldemar Daninsky
Gaby Fuchs	...	Elvira
Barbara Capell	...	Genevieve Bennett (as Bárbara Capell)
Andrés Resino	...	Inspector Marcel
Yelena Samarina	...	Elizabeth Daninsky
José Marco	...	Pierre
Betsabé Ruiz	...	Pierre's girl (as Betsabe Sharon)
Barta Barri	...	Muller
Luis Gaspar	...	Distraught man
Ruperto Ares
María Luisa Tovar	...	First female victim
Julio Peña	...	Dr. Hartwig (coroner)
Patty Shepard	...	Countess Wandesa Dárvula de Nadasdy (as Paty Shepard)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eduardo Chappa	...	Tramp / Monster (uncredited)

Directed by
León Klimovsky

Writing credits
Paul Naschy		(screenplay) (as Jacinto Molina) and
Hans Munkel		(screenplay)

Produced by
Salvadore Romero	....	producer

Original Music by
Antón García Abril

Cinematography by
Leopoldo Villaseñor

Film Editing by
Antonio Gimeno

Set Decoration by
Ludwig Orny

Makeup Department
María Carmen Alberdi	....	assistant makeup artist (as Mari Carmen Alberdi)
José Luis Morales	....	makeup artist
Nuria Paradela	....	hair stylist (as Nuria Paradell)

Production Management
José Antonio Pérez Giner	....	production manager (as José A. Pérez Giner)
Modesto Pérez Redondo	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carlos Aured	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gumersindo Andrés	....	assistant set decorator
Antonio Del Toro	....	property master (as Antonio del Toro)

Sound Department
José María San Mateo	....	sound technician (as Sanmateo)

Special Effects by
Juan Díaz	....	special effects technician
Antonio Molina	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Juan Manuel García	....	second assistant camera
Manuel Martínez	....	still photographer
Fernando Moreno	....	gaffer
Miguel Ángel Muñoz	....	assistant camera
Javier Pérez Zofio	....	camera operator (as Javier Pérez)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mercedes de Segovia	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Mercedes Gimeno	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Gene Corso	....	director: English dubbing
Federico del Toro	....	production assistant
Dick Randall	....	English adaptor
Egbert Steffes	....	production assistant
Erika Szel	....	script supervisor
Simón Ramírez	....	dubbed voice: Waldemar Daninsky (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Plata Films S.A.
• HIFI Stereo 70 Kg

Distributors

• Hispamex (1971) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (1972) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Universal Entertainment Corp. (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Ariel International Releasing (AIR) Video (1987) (USA) (VHS) (as "Blood Moon")
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (1995) (USA) (VHS) (Frank Henenlotter's Sexy Shockers from the Vaults, Vol. 51) (uncut)
• Madacy Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD) (on "Killer Creature Double Feature, Vol. 7")
• Madacy Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD) (as "Werewolf Shadow")
• Brentwood Home Video (2002) (USA) (VHS) (on "Pray for Death - 4 Movies Set")
• Divisa Home Video (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2005) (USA) (DVD) (on "Vampire Collection, Volume 2")
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD) (on "Gore and More - 10 Movie Pack")
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (on "Drive-In Movie Classics - 50 Movie Pack")
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (on "Vampires & More - 20 Movie Pack")
• Deimos Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (on "Undead: The Vampire Collection")
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Excellent Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Hollywood Select Video (USA) (VHS)
• Sunrise Tapes (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Synergy Entertainment (2008) (worldwide) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Special Effects

• Molina Efectos Especiales (as Antonio Molina)

Other Companies

• Cornejo  costumes (as Humberto Cornejo)
• Vázquez Hermanos  props
• Abamova  grip and lighting equipment
• Estudios Roma  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

"La noche de Walpurgis" - Spain (original title)
"Blood Moon" - USA (video title)
"Werewolf Shadow" - USA (DVD title)

Runtime:

86 min | Spain:85 min | USA:82 min | USA:95 min (restored version) | West Germany:87 min

Country:

Spain | West Germany

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:X (original rating) | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Plata Films S.A.

Trivia:

The English dubbed copy of this film is part of the Public Domain on the U.S. territory.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell (2012)

Kind of stylish, but oh-so-boring!

I think it's obvious that no one in his right mind would expect a movie like this to be a masterpiece or anything remotely academic. From the very beginning, it should be clear to anyone that a movie with Paul Naschy and under the English title of "The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Women" is not going to be precisely the kind of horror movie anyone would take seriously. Not because Mr. Naschy cannot be taken seriously. As a matter of fact, I acknowledge him as a Latin horror legend and he has been in some of the finest horror films in Spanish I have seen, such as "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll", for instance. On the other hand, this multifaceted actor, is also well-known for being in some of the most bizarre and random horror movies throughout the 60s and 70s. With this cute little horror flick, I mistakenly anticipated myself to a little bit of tasteless amusement that in the long run, was going to earn my reverences. If there wasn't any good gore, then at least I would have expected unintentionally humorous results, but sadly, this film fails to deliver the expected elements of entertainment that a horror fan would imagine in a film of this kind.

In "La Noche de Warpugis", Elvira and Genevive, go to the French countryside, with the intention of making some enquiries about a wicked Countess named Wandessa, who lived through the 13th century and who was recognized for devoting herself to Satan, among other things. When the journey is about to come to an end, Elvira's car runs out of gas and the girls finds themselves lost in the middle of the French nowhere with no one else in the area to give them a hand. Luckily, Elvira and Genevive find relief when a mysterious man named Waldemar appears out of the blue, to offer them a place to stay before the night falls. However, Mr. Valdemar is actually a really enchanting little werewolf who lives with his crazy sister hidden inside the house and while he intends to be a normal person with good manners, his ferocious nature forces him to be wild and dangerous to be friends with. As if this wasn't already enough, Countess Wandessa who has been sleeping for centuries, suddenly revives and goes back to her old tricks again, without expecting an equally strong rival like Waldemar, who won't let her get away with the same wicked behavior she once had. In "The Night of the Walpurgis", the werewolf and the vampire women find themselves battling in a dull and banal encounter, in which the viewers are the only ones who actually lose.

Too bad this film was so below my expectations. Like I said before, I expected at least some decent childishness to amuse myself. There's basically no gore whatsoever and the few death scenes, are rather effortless and insipid. Several films with Paul Naschy are well-known for having a little bit of everything, so I supposse I should give a friendly warning to anyone who thinks "La Noche de Walpurgis" is also going to be like this. Honestly, I got so bored watching this film, that in the end, the only reason why I didn't leave it incomplete, it's because I wanted to see if something would save it during the last minutes. Unfortunately, the silly opening sequence is about as good as it gets all the way trough.