The Vampire and the Ballerina (1960)

A troupe of beautiful young dancers find themselves stranded in a sinister, spooky old castle, not knowing that it is home to a group of vampires.

Director:

Renato Polselli

Writers:

Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay), Ernesto Gastaldi (story)

Stars:

Hélène Rémy, Tina Gloriani, Walter Brandi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hélène Rémy	...	Luisa (as Helene Remy)
Tina Gloriani	...	Francesca
Walter Brandi	...	Herman
Isarco Ravaioli	...	Luca
Gino Turini	...	Giorgio (as John Turner)
Pier Ugo Gragnani	...	Professor (as Ugo Gragnani)
Brigitte Castor
Lut Maryk
Ombretta Ostenda
Bava Sanni
Marisa Quattrini
Giorgio Braccesi
Titti Valeri
Stefania Sabatini
Franca Licastro

Storyline

A troupe of beautiful young dancers find themselves stranded in a sinister, spooky old castle, not knowing that it is home to a group of vampires.

---

Plot Keywords:

ballet | ballerina | burial | coffin | female vampire | 

---

Taglines:

BLOOD-LUSTING FIEND WHO PREYS ON GIRLS! VAMPIRE-QUEEN WHO FEEDS ON LIFEBLOOD OF MEN!

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

31 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Vampire and the Ballerina

Filming Locations:

Istituto Nazionale Luce, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Consorzio Italiano Film (CIF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 92 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's story and screenplay were written by director Renato Polselli and screenplay authors Giuseppe Pellegrini and Ernesto Gastaldi. The original screenplay for the film was written by Giampaolo Callegaris. Ernesto Gastaldi described the script as "rather canine", and wrote a new one with director Renato Polselli. Gastaldi felt the script was no different than any others he had worked on, with the only new element being vampires. Gastaldi commented that since Dracula starring Christopher Lee had been such a big hit in Italy, producers and distributors were eager to make their own vampire films.

---

Connections

Referenced in Dracula Live from Transylvania (1989)

User Reviews

Campy-cool Gothic antics

Here's an early entry in the Italian horror revival of the 60s, following on the heels of Freda's "I Vampiri". It fits in well with the contemporaneous Gothics "The Playgirls and the Vampire", "Slaughter of the Vampires", etc., but is more superficial and haphazardly constructed. Most horror buffs have dismissed it as a clumsy imitation of its cinematic cousins. As proved by his later, supremely bizarre contributions to the horror genre, Polselli was a hack with no interest in continuity or story structure, but he certainly could sustain a ferociously obsessional, surrealistic atmosphere, and this title can be quite hypnotic despite its poor make-up and effects and relentless lack of narrative drive.

On the other hand, if you're a fan of kitschy early-60s Euro-chic, then by all means check this one out (if you can find it -- it only seems available on hazy grey-market copies that may have been clipped of brief sights of nudity and lasciviousness). The proceedings come to a halt every so often to allow the (supposedly classical) ballet troupe of leggy, leotard-clad bambinas an opportunity to break into sultry, acrobatic jazz ballet (shades of Chicago and Cabaret), to some mind-bending cocktail lounge music. It's as if José Benazeraf checked in one afternoon as guest director on a Bava picture! Definitely a cheeky, retro-chic cross-pollination, along the lines of "The Hands of Orlac" (remake) and "Death on the Four Poster".