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The Vampire Lovers

  • 19701970
  • RR
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
6.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Home Video Trailer from MGM
Play trailer2:15
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Horror

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

IMDb RATING
6.4/10
6.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Roy Ward Baker
  • Writers
    • Sheridan Le Fanu(story "Carmilla")
    • Harry Fine(adapted by)
    • Tudor Gates(adapted by)
  • Stars
    • Ingrid Pitt
    • Pippa Steel
    • Madeline Smith
Top credits
  • Director
    • Roy Ward Baker
  • Writers
    • Sheridan Le Fanu(story "Carmilla")
    • Harry Fine(adapted by)
    • Tudor Gates(adapted by)
  • Stars
    • Ingrid Pitt
    • Pippa Steel
    • Madeline Smith
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 101User reviews
    • 99Critic reviews
    • 63Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Vampire Lovers
    Trailer 2:15
    The Vampire Lovers

    Photos179

    Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Ingrid Pitt in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Ingrid Pitt at an event for The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Peter Cushing, Dawn Addams, Kate O'Mara, George Cole, Ingrid Pitt, and Pippa Steel in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Peter Cushing in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, and Madeline Smith in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Ingrid Pitt in Countess Dracula (1971)
    Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Peter Cushing and George Cole in The Vampire Lovers (1970)
    Kate O'Mara in The Vampire Lovers (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ingrid Pitt
    Ingrid Pitt
    • Marcillaas Marcilla…
    Pippa Steel
    • Lauraas Laura
    Madeline Smith
    Madeline Smith
    • Emma Mortonas Emma Morton
    Peter Cushing
    Peter Cushing
    • General von Spielsdorfas General von Spielsdorf
    George Cole
    George Cole
    • Roger Mortonas Roger Morton
    Dawn Addams
    Dawn Addams
    • The Countessas The Countess
    Kate O'Mara
    Kate O'Mara
    • The Governess (Mme. Perrodot)as The Governess (Mme. Perrodot)
    Douglas Wilmer
    Douglas Wilmer
    • Baron Joachim von Hartogas Baron Joachim von Hartog
    Jon Finch
    Jon Finch
    • Carl Ebhardtas Carl Ebhardt
    Ferdy Mayne
    Ferdy Mayne
    • Doctoras Doctor
    Kirsten Lindholm
    • First Vampireas First Vampire
    • (as Kirsten Betts)
    John Forbes-Robertson
    John Forbes-Robertson
    • Man in Blackas Man in Black
    Shelagh Wilcocks
    • Housekeeperas Housekeeper
    Harvey Hall
    Harvey Hall
    • Rentonas Renton
    Janet Key
    • Gretchinas Gretchin
    Charles Farrell
    Charles Farrell
    • Landlordas Landlord
    Graham James
    • First Young Manas First Young Man
    Tom Browne
    • Second Young Manas Second Young Man
    • Director
      • Roy Ward Baker
    • Writers
      • Sheridan Le Fanu(story "Carmilla")
      • Harry Fine(adapted by)
      • Tudor Gates(adapted by) (screenplay by)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>
    • bathtub
    • female full frontal nudity
    • female pubic hair
    • female rear nudity
    • towel
    • 69 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • She's the New Horror from Hammer!
    • Genre
      • Horror
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ingrid Pitt said in a 2009 column she wrote for Den of Geek that "When it came to the nude scenes, the director asked Madeline Smith and me if we wanted a closed set. It didn't bother me one way or the other because I've always been a bit of an exhibitionist so I had no problem letting people see me naked. Maddy Smith, being very British, was a little more nervous about prancing around in the nude. So we had a closed set. Producers Harry Fine and Michael Style were a bit peeved about this because they were barred from set too. They thought it was producer's perks to watch what was going on. Then one day I was walking to the set wearing just a dressing gown with nothing on underneath when I saw them coming in the opposite direction wearing a doleful look. As I went past them I open my dressing gown and said, Wheeeee! There was a spring in their step as they went on their way."
    • Goofs
      The story is set in the late 1700s, but at the General's ball the orchestra plays a couple of pieces by Johann Strauss Sr. (1804 - 1849) and Léo Delibes (1836-1891).
    • Quotes

      Marcilla: You must die! Everybody must die!

    • Alternate versions
      The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to reduce the opening decapitation and shots of Carmilla kissing Emma's breasts, and the same print was featured on video releases. The 2002 ILC DVD saw the cuts fully waived though the print used was an edited US one which missed a brief full frontal shot of Carmilla in a bathtub scene. The 2006 Optimum DVD featured the fully uncut and complete print.
    • Connections
      Edited into Bride of Monster Mania (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Whistle Stop Polka
      (uncredited)

      Music by Johann Strauss

      Arranged by Harry Robertson

    User reviews101

    Review
    Top review
    A Hammer Classic
    This film gets a lot of ribbing for the casual nudity that bedecks it. Not fair. This film is in many ways another Hammer classic with its good solid acting, its lush photography and costuming, and general sense of horror. It is based in part on Sheridan Le Fanu's classic female vampire story Carmilla about a young girl that befriends other young girls only to vampirize them. Ingrid Pitt plays the toothy(and toothsome) vampire wench in all her busty splendour. She is magnificent on the screen and oozes sex appeal. Yes, she goes topless as do her female co-stars....but although one sees that these scenes feel forced...they do not detract from the film(and for me they enhanced it greatly). The rest of the cast is good with Peter Cushing as a general in a small role and Harvey Hall as a servant standing out. The best part of the film for me is the eerie graveyard of the Castle Karnstein that we are introduced to in the prologue and again visited to in the epilogue. It really sets the mood of the story and was a pretty inspired rendition of the Carmilla tale.
    helpful•29
    6
    • BaronBl00d
    • Aug 7, 2000

    FAQ2

    • Is "The Vampire Lovers" based on a book?
    • Who were The Countess and The Man in Black?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 22, 1970 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Gruft der Vampire
    • Filming locations
      • Wall Hall, Hertfordshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Hammer Films
      • Fantale Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 31 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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