The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Seductive vampire Carmilla Karnstein and her family target the beautiful and the rich in a remote area of late eighteenth-century Gemany.

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Sheridan Le Fanu (story "Carmilla") (as J. Sheridan Le Fanu), Harry Fine (adaptation)

Stars:

Ingrid Pitt, Pippa Steel, Madeline Smith

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ingrid Pitt	...	Marcilla / Carmilla / Mircalla Karnstein
Pippa Steel	...	Laura (as Pippa Steele)
Madeline Smith	...	Emma Morton
Peter Cushing	...	General von Spielsdorf
George Cole	...	Roger Morton
Dawn Addams	...	The Countess
Kate O'Mara	...	The Governess (Mme. Perrodot)
Douglas Wilmer	...	Baron Joachim von Hartog
Jon Finch	...	Carl Ebhardt
Ferdy Mayne	...	Doctor
Kirsten Lindholm	...	First Vampire (as Kirsten Betts)
John Forbes-Robertson	...	Man in Black
Shelagh Wilcocks	...	Housekeeper
Harvey Hall	...	Renton
Janet Key	...	Gretchin

Storyline

The Countess is called away to tend a sick friend and imposes on the General to accept her daughter Marcilla as a houseguest. Some of the villagers begin dying, however, and the General's daughter Laura soon gets weak and pale, but Marcilla is there to comfort her. The villagers begin whispering about vampires as Marcilla finds another family on which to impose herself. The pattern repeats as Emma gets ill, but the General cannot rest, and seeks the advice of Baron Hartog, who once dealt a decisive blow against a family of vampires. Well, almost.

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Plot Keywords:

bathtub | female full frontal nudity | female pubic hair | female rear nudity | towel | 

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Taglines:

CAUTION Not for the mentally immature!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

22 October 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Vampire Lovers

Filming Locations:

Associated British Picture Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films, Fantale Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a 2013 interview with Film News, Madeline Smith was asked what it was like to work with Ingrid Pitt in 'The Vampire Lovers' and how she feels about the nude scenes when she sees them today. She said "Ingrid was a formidable lady, but was very solicitous to me, sensing my innocence and ignorance. I hated the nude scenes then and ever more so today. I was cajoled into removing my top and was reassured that it was only for the 'Japanese' market.'"

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Goofs

If this movie takes place in 1790, then how could there be a motor? The automobile was not invented until the mid-late 1880's.

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Quotes

Doctor: The trouble with this part of the world is that they have too many fairy tales.

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Alternate Versions

The film was cut for its R rating and the old Embassy videos reflect this edit. MGM restored most of the footage for its 1999 VHS release, except for part of the opening decapitation and some nudity in the bathing scene. The nudity was found and added in to the 2003 DVD release, which now presents the film complete save those missing frames in the opening beheading. The UK DVD contains MGM's first restoration that was on VHS in the USA. The R1 MGM DVD contains the more complete edition.

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Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Vampire Lovers (2014)

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Soundtracks

Mazurka
(uncredited)
Music by Léo Delibes
Arranged by Harry Robertson

User Reviews

The vampire legend get the sex treatment from Hammer Studios

Hammer Studios speeds up to the more sexually explicit times with Vampire Lovers, a sleek, beautifully filmed atmospheric filming of the vampire tale Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. This wonderfully done film combines the traditional vampire legend with the more permissive sexual standards of the 70's resulting in a sensual yet frightening version of this well crafted story. Ingrid Pitt is breathtakingly beautiful & sensual as the main character Carmilla. She is the human embodiment of a sexually charged feline, and Peter Cushing is appropriately sincere as her nemesis The General. This film singlehandedly established Ingrid Pitt as the reigning queen of vampirism in the 70's. Vampire Lovers is well worth the time for a viewing.