The Vampire Happening
The Vampire Happening (German: Gebissen wird nur nachts, lit. Bitten only at night) is a 1971 West German comedy and horror film directed by Freddie Francis.[4]
| The Vampire Happening | |
|---|---|
 German film poster for The Vampire Happening | |
| Directed by | Freddie Francis |
| Produced by | Pier A. Caminnecci |
| Written by | August Rieger Karl-Heinz Hummel[1] |
| Music by | Jerry van Rooyen[2] |
| Cinematography | Gerard Vandenberg[2] |
| Edited by | Alfred Srp[2] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes[2] |
| Country | West Germany[2] |
| Language | German[4] |
Plot
An American actress inherits a castle in Transylvania. What she does not know is that her ancestor, the Baroness Catali, was in actuality a vampire countess, and emerges from her tomb to ravage the nearby village and Catholic seminary.
Cast
- Pia Degermark as Betty Williams, Clarimonde
- Thomas Hunter as Jens Larsen
- Yvor Murillo as Josef
- Ingrid van Bergen as Miss Niessen
- Joachim Kemmer as Martin
- Oskar Wegrostek as Abt
- Ferdy Mayne as Count Dracula
- Lyvia Bauer as Gabrielle
- Daria Damar as Kirsten
- Kay Williams
- Michael Janisch
- Toni Wagner
- Raoul Retzer
Production
In the early 1970s, Italian producer Pier A. Caminnecci was looking for a film for his wife Pia Degermark whose previous film Elvira Madigan (1967) was a critical and financial success.[1] Caminnecci set up an international production for her in West Germany directed by British director Freddie Francis and written by German screenwriters August Rieger and Karl-Heinz Hummel[1] The script features a sub-plot based on Theophile Gautier's short story "La Morte Amoureuse."[1]
Reception
The film was not well received.[5] Allmovie gave the film one and a half stars out of five, stating that it is "not considered to be one of the crown jewels of the genre"[4] In his book Comedy-Horror Films:A Chronological History, author Bruce G. Hallenbeck referred to the film as "sort of a ripoff of Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers" and "doesn't come within lightyears of Polanski's vision"[6]
See also
- List of comedy films of the 1970s
- List of horror films of 1971
- List of German films: 1970s
References
- Hallenbeck 2009, p. 92.
- Browning & Picart 2010, p. 91.
- "Gebissen wird nur nachts - das Happening der Vampire". filmportal.de. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
- Fountain, Clarke. "Vampire Happening". Allmovie. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
- Hallenbeck 2009, p. 93.
- Hallenbeck 2009, pp. 92–3.
Works cited
- Browning, John Edgar; Picart, Caroline Joan (2010). Dracula in Visual Media:Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010. McFarland. ISBN 0786433655.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-Horror Films:A Chronological History, 1914-2008. McFarland. ISBN 0786433329.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)