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IMDbPro

The Kiss of the Vampire

  • 19631963
  • UnratedUnrated
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
  • Horror
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Don Sharp
  • Writer
    • Anthony Hinds(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Clifford Evans
    • Edward de Souza
    • Noel Willman
Top credits
  • Director
    • Don Sharp
  • Writer
    • Anthony Hinds(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Clifford Evans
    • Edward de Souza
    • Noel Willman
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 69User reviews
    • 64Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos131

    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed in The Brides of Dracula (1960)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
    The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Clifford Evans
    Clifford Evans
    • Professor Zimmeras Professor Zimmer
    Edward de Souza
    Edward de Souza
    • Gerald Harcourtas Gerald Harcourt
    Noel Willman
    Noel Willman
    • Dr. Ravnaas Dr. Ravna
    Jennifer Daniel
    Jennifer Daniel
    • Marianne Harcourtas Marianne Harcourt
    Barry Warren
    Barry Warren
    • Carl Ravnaas Carl Ravna
    Brian Oulton
    Brian Oulton
    • 1st discipleas 1st disciple
    Noel Howlett
    Noel Howlett
    • Father Xavieras Father Xavier
    Jacquie Wallis
    • Sabena Ravnaas Sabena Ravna
    Peter Madden
    Peter Madden
    • Brunoas Bruno
    Isobel Black
    Isobel Black
    • Taniaas Tania
    Vera Cook
    • Annaas Anna
    John Harvey
    • Police Sergeantas Police Sergeant
    Carl Esmond
    Carl Esmond
    • Anton (US TV version)as Anton (US TV version)
    Virginia Gregg
    Virginia Gregg
    • Rosa Stangher (US TV version)as Rosa Stangher (US TV version)
    Sheilah Wells
    Sheilah Wells
    • Theresa Stangher (US TV version)as Theresa Stangher (US TV version)
    Alf Casha
    • Party Servantas Party Servant
    • (uncredited)
    Jimmy Charters
    • Mourneras Mourner
    • (uncredited)
    Olga Dickie
    Olga Dickie
    • Woman at Graveyardas Woman at Graveyard
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Don Sharp
    • Writer
      • Anthony Hinds(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The rubber bats used in the movie were bought from a local branch of Woolworths.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Professor Zimmer: When the devil attacks a man or woman with this foul disease of the vampire the unfortunate human being can do one of two things. Either he can seek God through the church and pray for absolution or he can persuade himself that his filthy perversion is some kind of new and wonderful experience to be shared by the favoured few. Then he tries to persuade others to join his new cult.

    • Alternate versions
      Retitled "Kiss of Evil" for American TV, and considerably tampered with. Bloody scenes are cut: e.g., when Herr Zimmer cauterizes his wrist after Tanya bites him, and the pre-credits scene in which blood gushes from the coffin of Zimmer's daughter after he plunges a shovel into it (even her scream is cut from that scene). A couple of the cuts result in scenes that don't make sense any more: in the cut-for-TV version, we never do find out what Marianne sees behind the curtain, a sight which makes her scream. And when Harcourt frees his hands after being clawed by Tanya, the TV version has him escape by running across the room untouched by the vampires, who just watch him get away. As originally filmed, Harcourt, after freeing his hands, immediately smears the blood on his chest into a cross-shaped pattern: the vampires now *can't* touch him. The cut running time was made up for by the addition of scenes of a family (middle-aged husband and wife; teenage daughter) who fret and argue about the influence of the vampiric Ravna clan, but never interact with anybody else in the movie. The married couple are inserted into the pre-credits graveyard scene in place of a couple of old crones. Even the final scene of the tampered-with version features this family, instead of the original cast! The theme of the family's scenes is the social disruption the vampires bring to town: specifically, women get uppity. The wife becomes the breadwinner (by sewing the vampire clan's white robes!) as the husband's business suffers, and she browbeats him about it. The daughter disses her boyfriend in favor of Carl Ravna. Carl, unseen in these scenes, has given her a music box which plays the same hypnotic tune that he plays on the piano elsewhere in the movie. The final scene has the men magnanimously forgiving the women, who meekly apologize as they all head off to church.
    • Connections
      Edited into Cynful Movies: Kiss of the Vampire (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Vampire Rhapsody
      Performed by James Bernard

    User reviews69

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    worthy but slow
    "The Kiss of the Vampire" has one hell of an opening scene, but after that, the viewer must endure about thirty minutes of Dullsville as a newlywed couple arrives in a creepy European town and interacts with the strange, subdued locals. Note that the entire village seems to consist of only three people: Professor Zimmer, the innkeeper, and the innkeeper's wife. There's the Hammer casting budget for you!

    Thankfully, the action picks up during the creepy masquerade ball. I also enjoy watching our hapless hero (played by the somehow likable Edward DeSouza) get humiliated by the vampires when he attempts to rescue his wife.

    The sets are cool and Gothic, if obviously studio-bound; this is the kind of movie that many would call cheap, but tolerant and loving horror fans would probably describe it as quite lavish.

    I have some plot-related problems. Professor Zimmer's transformation from tottering drunkard to know-it-all savior is too abrupt and unconvincing. I can't understand why he doesn't stop the Harcourts from visiting Ravna, since he's so sure that the latter is a vampire. All he does is issue cryptic warnings - who's that going to put off? I also don't understand why the vampires try to convince de Souza that he never had a wife. Do they really think that trick's going to work? Of COURSE he knows he had a wife! They really should just kill or convert him; setting him loose to make trouble is an unconscionably stupid decision. Anyway, they drop this little lie so quickly that one wonders why they bothered in the first place.

    Other problems include a scene involving whiny, panicking vampires (hardly the most terrifying villains), and the strange lack of music in the climatic scene. As usual for a horror film, certain casual asides in the dialogue are more interesting than the story itself; Zimmer describes his daughter's conversion into a vampire in the most fascinating terms, and even suggests that vampires can be redeemed through faith in God. All of which amounts to nothing, of course, since Hammer films can never be too deep. What we get is the usual fight over a pretty girl, the staple of vampire movies for way too many years.

    Groaning aside, all Hammer films do have a certain charm, including the slow ones. A worthwhile attempt is made to make the vampires seem elegant and mysterious, and their eerie piano song does add to the atmosphere. I just wish the movie held up a little better; with a rewrite and some nips and tucks, this could've been one of the greats. Alas, as it stands, it's merely mediocre.
    helpful•17
    7
    • dr_foreman
    • Sep 8, 2004

    FAQ4

    • What is 'The Kiss of the Vampire' about?
    • Is 'The Kiss of the Vampire' based on a book?
    • How does the movie end?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 11, 1963 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • Kiss of the Vampire
    • Filming locations
      • Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Hammer Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1
      • 1.66 : 1

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