IMDb > Dance of the Vampires (1967)
Dance of the Vampires
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Dance of the Vampires (1967) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   9,593 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 24% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Roman Polanski
Writers:
Gérard Brach (story) &
Roman Polanski (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Fearless Vampire Killers on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
June 1967 (UK) more
Genre:
Comedy | Horror more
Tagline:
Who says Vampires are no laughing matter?
Plot:
A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
what Poland once was, with a smile (revealing fangs) more (112 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Jack MacGowran ... Professor Abronsius

Roman Polanski ... Alfred, Abronsius' Assistant
Alfie Bass ... Shagal, the Inn-Keeper
Jessie Robins ... Rebecca Shagal

Sharon Tate ... Sarah Shagal
Ferdy Mayne ... Count von Krolock
Iain Quarrier ... Herbert von Krolock
Terry Downes ... Koukol, the Servant
Fiona Lewis ... Magda, the Maid
Ronald Lacey ... Village Idiot
Sydney Bromley ... Sleigh Driver
Andreas Malandrinos ... Woodcutter
Otto Diamant ... Woodcutter
Matthew Walters ... Woodcutter
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Fearless Vampire Killers (USA)
The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck (USA) (DVD box title)
The Vampire Killers (USA) (working title)
Vampire Ball (Europe) (working title)
Le bal des vampires (Canada: French title) (France) (dubbed version) [fr]
A Dança dos Vampiros (Brazil) [pt]
Der Tanz der Vampire (Switzerland: German title) [de]
El baile de los vampiros (Spain) [es]
I nyhta ton vrykolakon (Greece) [el]
La danza de los vampiros (Argentina) [es]
Nieustraszeni pogromcy wampirów (Poland) [pl]
Per favore, non mordermi sul collo (Italy) [it]
Por Favor Não Me Morda o Pescoço (Portugal) [pt]
Tanz der Vampire (West Germany) [de]
Vámpírok bálja (Hungary) [hu]
Vampyrdrådarna - Ursäkta, ja har era tänder i nacken (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Vampyrernas natt (Sweden) [sv]
Vampyrernes nat (Denmark) [da]
Vampyyrintappajat (Finland) [fi]
Vampyyrintappajat - anteeksi, hampaanne ovat niskassani (Finland) [fi]
more
Runtime:
108 min
Country:
USA | UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Brazil:Livre | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:16 (1968) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (w) (f) (re-rating) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating)
Company:
Cadre Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Originally Polanski wanted to shoot his film on location in and around a castle in Switzerland which he saw during a vacation, but as this was impossible, other locations in the Alps were found, along with studio shoots in England. While on location, Polanski employed dozens of local artisans to make the large numbers of coffins needed in the film. Unfortunately tourists were rather unnerved by the sight of these, and hotels had to erect signs to assure their guests that the area hadn't been struck by plague. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When the Professor and Alfred attempt to enter the underground crypt of Count Von Krolock, footsteps in the snow appear and disappear. more
Quotes:
Professor Abronsius: Takes me for a nincompoop, that necrophile. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Lair of the White Worm (1988) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
32 out of 45 people found the following comment useful.
what Poland once was, with a smile (revealing fangs), 25 June 2006
9/10
Author: (winner55) from United States

Well, what is this movie about? To begin with: although the vampire was best popularized in the modern era by English writers, it is really a myth of Eastern European Roman Catholicism. (I could explain that better - and why the English so well co-opted it - but obviously not here.) This type of Catholicism (which finally produced a Pope in John Paul II) now only thrives (and none too well) in Poland - Polanski's home country. During the Second World War, Poland was utterly decimated. First, a large portion of its wealthiest citizens, who happened to be Jewish, were exterminated. The Polish catholics themselves were split radically between anti-semitic nationalists (who also, mistakenly, thought the Nazis would save them from the Russians) and pro-Communists who, mistakenly, thought the Russians would save them from the Nazis. Obviously, this was a no-win situation for the Poles. And yet the first cinematic impression of this disaster arrived in the form of - a comedy - Ernst Lubitsch's "To Be Or Not To Be" (later remade by Mel Brooks).

Does the reader really need to know all this to appreciate this movie? actually, yes. This film is laughter at death's door. The funniest and most memorable line in the film is from the Jewish vampire, responding to a threatened crucifix: "Oy vey, have you got the wrong vampire!" Funny? - Hilarious. Unfortunately, if this Vampire had any grandchildren, they all died in Auschwitz.

Why am I playing such a heavy hand here? Because this really is a great horror-comedy, far better and far more important than the studio hacks at MGM who released this film (after chopping it up) could ever have understood.

There is unfortunately no rumor that there's a director's cut in the vaults; it is well to remember that Polanski nearly disowned this film on release, and really only reclaimed it after the brutal slaying of his wife, who plays such an important role in the film.

But even as shredded as it is (pay especially close attention to the discontinuities involving the Professor), this is still marvelously written, directed, and photographed - truly frightening at moments, utterly hilarious at others, but always grounded in a particularly Polish sensibility which is now, alas, a thing of the past; - the preservation of a culture that, at its best, was among the best in Europe.

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