Vampire Circus (1972)

Director:

Robert Young

Writer:

Judson Kinberg (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

11 October 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Human fangs ripping throats - no sawdust can soak up the torrent of blood!

Plot:

A village in Nineteenth Century Europe is at first relieved when a circus breaks through the quarantine to take the local's minds off the plague...

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Circus | Forest | Hall Of Mirrors | Hammer Horror

Cast

Adrienne Corri	...	Gypsy Woman
Thorley Walters	...	Burgermeister
Anthony Higgins	...	Emil (as Anthony Corlan)
John Moulder-Brown	...	Anton Kersh
Laurence Payne	...	Prof. Albert Mueller
Richard Owens	...	Dr. Kersh
Lynne Frederick	...	Dora Mueller
Elizabeth Seal	...	Gerta Hauser
Robin Hunter	...	Hauser
Domini Blythe	...	Anna Mueller
Robert Tayman	...	Count Mitterhaus
John Bown	...	Schilt
Mary Wimbush	...	Elvira
Christine Paul-Podlasky	...	Rosa
Robin Sachs	...	Heinrich
Lalla Ward	...	Helga
Skip Martin	...	Michael
David Prowse	...	Strongman (as Dave Prowse)
Roderick Shaw	...	Jon Hauser
Barnaby Shaw	...	Gustav Hauser
Milovan	...	The Webers - Male Dancer (as Milovan and Serena)
Serena	...	The Webers - Female Dancer (as Milovan and Serena)
Jane Darby	...	Jenny Schilt
Sibylla Kay	...	Mrs. Schilt
Dorothy Frere	...	Granma Schilt
Sean Hewitt	...	First Soldier
Giles Phibbs	...	Sexton
Jason James	...	Foreman
Arnold Locke	...	Old Villager
Bradforts-Amaros		(as Bradforts - Amaros)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna Bentinck	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)
David de Keyser	...	Mitterhaus's Curse (voice) (uncredited)
Nina Francis	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Drina Pavlovic	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Jenny Twigge	...	Schoolgirl (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Young		(as Robert William Young)

Writing credits
Judson Kinberg		(screenplay)
George Baxt		story (uncredited)
Wilbur Stark		story (uncredited)

Produced by
Wilbur Stark	....	producer
Michael Carreras	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
David Whitaker

Cinematography by
Moray Grant		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peter Musgrave

Casting by
James Liggat

Art Direction by
Scott MacGregor		(as Scott Macgregor)

Makeup Department
Jill Carpenter	....	makeup artist
Anne McFadyen	....	hairdressing

Production Management
Tom Sachs	....	production manager
Roy Skeggs	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Derek Whitehurst	....	assistant director
Graham Easton	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Lindsey Vickers	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Banks	....	construction manager
Don Picton	....	assistant art director
Jimmy Carreras	....	art department runner (uncredited)
Richard Rambaut	....	chief draughtsman (uncredited)
Edward Rodrigo	....	props buyer (uncredited)
Danny Skundric	....	chargehand props (uncredited)
Peter Wallis	....	stand-by props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ken Barker	....	dubbing mixer
Claude Hitchcock	....	sound recordist
Roy Hyde	....	sound editor
Ken Barker	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Keith Batten	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Graham V. Hartstone	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Chris Munro	....	assistant boom operator (uncredited)
Laurie Reed	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Les Bowie	....	special effects

Stunts
Bradforts-Amaros	....	stunt doubles: Robin Sachs & Lalla Ward (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Wally Byatt	....	camera operator (as Walter Byatt)
Peter Carmody	....	clapper (uncredited)
Peter Carmody	....	loader (uncredited)
Ted Lockhart	....	grip (uncredited)
Bob Smith	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Vic Smith	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brian Owen-Smith	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Roger Wilson	....	first assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Philip Martell	....	music supervisor
Philip Martell	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Mary Chipperfield	....	animal adviser
June Randall	....	continuity
Adrian Delahaye	....	unit runner (uncredited)
Frank Law	....	publicity director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions
• Rank Organisation, The (presents)

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1972) (UK) (theatrical) (as Rank Film Distributors Ltd)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (197?) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Carlton International (1972) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• 2 Entertain Video (1995) (UK) (VHS)
• Barium Video (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• Cinematográfica F.J. (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• Elephant Films (2012) (France) (video)
• Filmax (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• MRA Entertainment Group (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• MTV Home Video (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• Mad Movies (200?) (France) (DVD)
• Synapse Films (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Works Editora (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Berliner Synchron  post-synchronization: German dubbed version (uncredited)
• Billy Smart's Circus  Bradforts - Amaros by courtesy of

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min | USA:84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:R | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:PG (certificate #23072) | Germany:18 | UK:X (original rating) | France:-12 | Finland:K-15 (video rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Shot in six weeks.

Quotes:

Michael:The Circus of Nights! A hundred delights!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Monster Squad (1987)

Great Vampire Flick!

I gave in to my desire to resee Twins of Evil and check out Vampire Circus & Countess Dracula which I had never seen and ordered the "Hammer Vampire Collection" from UK. (If you're considering purchase, the discs are coded Region 2, so you can't play them on a lot of USA-sold DVD players. I watch Region 2 on my computer.) I loved Twins of Evil but the real winner was Vampire Circus, an intelligent and fun treatment of a curse upon a village which had the temerity to call an abrupt halt to the fun of the local feudal lord. It's suspenseful and fast moving. I agree with previous commenters that the villagers are so pompous that they earned their fates. Unlike most other posters, I welcomed the opportunity to see John Moulder-Brown in a (for me) new movie, albeit 32 years old. VC is beautifully photographed and the special effects are terrific. Clearly the folks at Hammer Studios did not need computers to create stunning visual images. If you can view Region 2 discs, go for it! You'll get a great thrill out of VC, probably their best vampire flick after Taste the Blood of Dracula!