I vampiri [1957]

Country of Origin: Italy
Year of Production: 1957
Running Times: 78 mins [Germany]     80 mins [USA – as The Devil's Commandment]    81 mins      90 mins [Italy]
Format: black and white     35mm
Ratio: CinemaScope     2.35:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Titanus / Athena Cinematografica
Producers: Ermanno Donati, Luigi Carpentieri
Production Manager: Piero Donati
Unit Manager: Claudio Agostinelli

SCRIPT
Script: Riccardo Freda, Piero Regnoli, Rik Sjostrom
Story: Piero Regnoli, Rik Sjostrom

DIRECTION
Director: Robert Hampton (real name: Riccardo Freda), Mario Bava [uncredited]
Assistant Director: Piero Regnoli

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Mario Bava
Camera Operator: Corrado Bartoloni
Cameras and Lenses: Bausch and Lomb

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editor: Roberto Cinquini

MUSIC
Music / Conductor: Roman Vlad

SOUND
Sound Editor: Mario Messina
English Language Version: Fouad Said

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Franco Freda
Hair: Ada Palombi
Costume Designer: Beni Montresor
Assistant Costume Designer: Adriana Berselli

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Mario Bava [uncredited]

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Beni Montresor
Set Dresser: Mario Sertoli

CAST
Gianna Maria Canale [Gisele Du Grand / Marguerite Du Grand]
Antoine Balpêtré [Dr Julien du Grand]
Paul Müller [Joseph Signoret]
Carlo D'Angelo [Inspector Chantal]
Wandisa Guida [Lorette]
Dario Michaelis [Pierre Lantin]
Charles Fawcett
Angelo Galassi
Miranda Campa
Riccardo Freda [autopsy doctor]
Emilio Petacci
Armando Annuale
Renato Tontini [Rinaldo]
Gisella Mancinotti
Barbara Wohl
Al Lewis [US version only]
Ronny Holiday [US version only]
Joy Holliday [US version only]

An ageing duchess, Giselle du Grand, is becoming increasingly obsessed with regaining her youth and has her scientist husband develop a technique to make her young again by transfusing the blood of young women into her body. A journalist gets wind of a series of mysterious disappearances of young women and sets out to investigate.

Italy
Theatrical Distributors: Titanus Distribuzione S.p.a.

USA
Theatrical Distributors: R.C.I.P. Inc. [1961]; Releasing Corporation of America [1963]
Video Distributors: Dark Dreams Video; Sinister Cinema; Something Weird Video
DVD Distributors: Image Entertainment [ID8481IFDVD (2001)]; Sinister Cinema

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Spain
Rating: 18

West Germany
Rating: 16 [nf]

1957
April
5: Italy – theatrical release

1958
November
28: West Germany – theatrical release

1998
July
2: UK - shown at the National Film Theatre, London

2001
July
3: USA - DVD release [Image Entertainment [ID8481IFDVD]]

Beautiful Parisian girls were his victims!

The Devil's Commandment – US title
Lady Vampire – French video title
Lust of the Vampire – US title
Der Vampir von Notre-Dame - West German title
Les vampires - French title
The Vampires
Los vampiros - Spanish title

MAGAZINES

The Dark Side August 1995 p.16 [UK]
credits, review

European Trash Cinema Special no.2 p.6
review

BOOKS

The Haunted World of Mario Bava by Troy Howarth [Godalming: FAB Press (2002)] pp.15-17
review

The Illustrated Vampire Movie Guide pp.33-34, 56
credits, review

OTHER SOURCES

NFT screening notes, Thursday 2nd July 1998
credits

KEYWORDS

vampires

Last Updated: 6 March, 2007