The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)

When car trouble strands a honeymooning couple in a small Southern European village, an aristocratic family in the area reaches out to help them with sinister consequences.

Director:

Don Sharp

Writer:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay) (as John Elder)

Stars:

Clifford Evans, Edward de Souza, Noel Willman

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clifford Evans	...	Professor Zimmer
Edward de Souza	...	Gerald Harcourt
Noel Willman	...	Dr. Ravna
Jennifer Daniel	...	Marianne Harcourt
Barry Warren	...	Carl Ravna
Brian Oulton	...	1st disciple
Noel Howlett	...	Father Xavier
Jacquie Wallis	...	Sabena Ravna
Peter Madden	...	Bruno
Isobel Black	...	Tania
Vera Cook	...	Anna
John Harvey	...	Police Sergeant
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carl Esmond	...	Anton (US TV version)
Virginia Gregg	...	Rosa Stangher (US TV version)
Sheilah Wells	...	Theresa Stangher (US TV version)

Storyline

Gerald and Marianne Harcourt are traveling by car when the car breaks down and they have to spend a few days in a small, remote village. It doesn't take long before they are invited to Dr. Ravna's castle. Without their knowledge, Dr. Ravna is the leader of a vampire cult, and he has become astonished by Marianne's beauty...

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Plot Keywords:

abduction | funeral | honeymoon | blood | vampire | 

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Taglines:

Giant devil Bats...summoned from the caves of Hell to destroy the lust of the Vampires!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Professor Zimmer's hotel room number is 13. He, and the hotel owners, are obviously not bothered by the usual superstitions connected to this unlucky number.

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Goofs

A crew member can be partially seen standing to the far left when the hotel owner removes the dust-cloth from the shelves in reception.

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Quotes

Servant: [to Gerald] You keep away from here, or we'll set the dogs on you!

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to edit some gore from the climactic bat attack.

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Connections

Referenced in Svengoolie: The Curse of the Werewolf (2011)

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Soundtracks

Vampire Rhapsody
Performed by James Bernard

User Reviews

Still Another Winner From The House Of Hammer

"The Kiss of the Vampire" is a Hammer Studios film from 1963 that should manage to surprise and impress even the most jaded horror fans. In it, British honeymooning couple Gerald and Marianne Harcourt run out of petrol near "Kronenbourg," Germany in the year 1910 or so (judging from their vintage automobile), and are soon befriended by the area's most prominent citizens: the family of castle-dwelling Dr. Ravna, a debonair host who just happens to head a clan of blood-loving vampires! Interestingly, these vampires differ somewhat from the type we've all come to know and love, in that they have a fondness for ordinary food and wine, and can walk about during daylight hours...as long as it's fairly cloudy outside. Still, they remain averse to garlic and definitely suffer from, uh, crucifixaphobia. But this film offers us much more than just a group of atypical neck noshers. "Kiss" has been beautifully photographed, boasts some truly striking sets (an "ornate coffin," Ravna calls his sumptuous home), and features a literate script and fine acting from its relatively no-name cast. There are also several impressive sequences: Ravna's son, Karl, playing his eerily dreamy piano composition; a flaming-hand cauterization following a vampire's "kiss"; a vampire masquerade ball; and perhaps the best pentagram/conjuration scene ever shown on film...at least, until "The Devil Rides Out" came along in 1968. And, without giving anything away, let me just say that the vampires are undone in this film in a manner I have never seen before. From its deliciously morbid vampire-funeral opening to its (perhaps too) abrupt conclusion, this concise little picture is still another winner from the great House of Hammer.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

11 September 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kiss of the Vampire

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 93 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1