The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Country of Origin: UK/USA
Year of Production: 1970
Running Times: 91m
Length: 8,177 ft
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: Technicolor
Aspect Ratio:
Sound:

DIRECTION

Directed by: Roy Ward Baker

PRODUCTION
Copyright: © American International Productions MCMLXX [1970]
Production Companies: An American International-Hammer Films production
Produced by: Harry Fine and Michael Style
Production Manager: Tom Sachs

SCRIPT
Screenplay by: Tudor Gates
Adapted from J. Sheridan Le Fanu's story Carmilla
[Adaptated] By: Harry Fine, Tudor Gates and Michael Style

DIRECTION
Assistant Director: Derek Whitehurst
Continuity: Betty Harley

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Moray Grant
Camera Operator: Neil Binney

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: James Needs

MUSIC
Music Composed by: Harry Robinson (real name: Harry Robertson)
Musical Supervisor: Philip Martell

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Claude Hitchcock
Recording Director: Tony Lumkin
Sound Editor: Roy Hyde
Dubbing Mixer: Dennis Whitlock
RCA Sound Recording

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Costume Designer: Brian Cox
Wardrobe Mistress: Laura Nightingale
Make-Up Supervisor: Tom Smith
Hairdressing Supervisor: Pearl Tipaldi

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Scott MacGregor
Construction Manager: Bill Greene

LOCATIONS
Made at: Associated British Pproductions Studios, Boreham Wood, England

CAST

Ingrid Pitt (Mircalla/Marcilla/Carmilla)
George Cole (Morton)
Kate O'Mara (the governess)

and
Peter Cushing as "the general" [Spielsdorf]

Also Starring
Ferdy Mayne (doctor)
Douglas Wilmer (Baron Hartog)
Madeline Smith (Emma)

and Guest Star
Dawn Addams (the Countess)

With
Jon Finch (Carl)
Pippa Steele (Laura Spielsdorf)
Kirsten Betts (1st vampire)
Janet Kay (Gretchin)
Harvey Hall (Renton)
John Forbes-Robertson (man in black)
Charles Farrell (landlord)
Shelagh Wilcocks (housekeeper)

Graham James (first young man)
Tom Browne (second young man)
Joanna Shelley (woodman's daughter)
Olga James (village girl)

UNCREDITED CAST

Jill Easter (woodmans wife)
Lindsay Kemp (Jester)
Sion Probert (young man in tavern)
Vicki Woolf (landlords daughter)

PLOT SUMMARY

Mircalla is left in the care of General Spieldorf while her mother travels around Europe. Mircalla befriends Spieldorf's niece Laura who soon falls ill and starts to dream of being attacked by a giant cat. When Laura eventually dies, Mircalla - now calling herself Carmilla - turns up at the home of Spieldorf's neighbour, Morton, whose daughter Emma is seduced by Carmilla. Meanwhile, Spieldorf has heard from his friend Baron Hartog, who has been slaying the vampiric Karnstein family. He's destroyed them all except for one - a young woman whose portrait looks exactly like Carmilla...

Despite an impressive performance from Ingrid Pitt, The Vampire Lovers is far too sluggishly paced and too cynically exploitative for its own good. It also never quite has the courage of its own convictions - it desperately wants to be daring and erotic and, although it has some potent moments, overall it must surely have looked coy and unconvincing even in 1970.

Portugal
Theatrical Distributor: Exclusivos Triunfo

UK
Theatrical Distributor: MGM-EMI Film Distributors Limited
Video Distributor: Rank

USA
Theatrical Distributor: American International Pictures
Video Distributors: Embassy Home Entertainment; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Orion Home Video

Australia
Rating: M

Finland
Rating: K-16

Portugal
Rating: M/18

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X (with cuts); 15 (uncut)

USA
Rating: R
MPAA: 22545

1970
July
16: UK - rated X by the BBFC (with cuts, for theatrical release)

October
4: UK - theatrical release
22: USA - theatrical release

November
23: Sweden - theatrical release

1972
December
8: Finland - theatrical release

1978
September
29: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

1991
February
4: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

Even the dead can love.

If you dare... taste the deadly passion of the BLOOD-NYMPHS

An erotic nightmare of tormented lusts that throb in headless, undead bodies!

Carmilla is really queen of lesbian vampires!

Beautiful temptress... or bloodthirsty monster?

...She's the NEW HORROR FROM HAMMER!

Amantes do Vampiro, As - Portugese title
Gruft der Vampire - German title
Vampire lovers ­ kuolleiden intohimot - Finnish title
Vampiri amanti - Italian title
Vampyren - en erotisk mardröm - Swedish title
Vampyyrit - eroottinen painajainen - Finnish title

SEQUELS
Lust for a Vampire (1971)
Twins of Evil (1971)

SEE ALSO
Hunger, The (1983)
Novia ensangrentada, La (1972)

PERIODICALS

Filmfax no.61 (June/July 1997) pp.61, 62 (USA)
illustrated credits, review

Films and Filming vol.17 no.3 (December 1970) pp.56, 59 (UK)
review

The House That Hammer Built no.7 (February 1998) pp.380-385 (UK)
illustrated credits, synopsis, review

Kine Weekly no.3282 (5 September 1970) p.8 (UK)
review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.37 no.441 (October 1970) pp.207-208 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Today's Cinema no.9772 (20 January 1970) p.8 (UK)
credits

Today's Cinema 28 February 1970 p.15 (UK)
note

Today's Cinema no.9838 (11 September 1970) p.8 (UK)
review

Variety 16 September 1970 p.23 (USA)
credits, review

Video Junkie no.1 p.20 (USA)
review

BOOKS

Elliott's Guide to Films on Video p.848
credits, review

English Gothic (2nd edition) pp.169-171
illustrated credits, review (by Jonathan Rigby)

The Hammer Story p.136-137
illustrated article, review (by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes)

Ten Years of Terror pp.61-64
illustrated credits, review (by Tim Greaves)

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

vampires, lesbianism, decapitations, severed heads

Last Updated: 3 January, 2010