MGM/Filmways, 1967

starring: Jack MacGowran, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate, Ferdy Mayne, Alfie Bass
directed by: Roman Polanski

the plot: Professor Abronsius (MacGowran), driven from his position in Konigsberg as “the nut,” is hunting Transylvanian vampires with his young and sole disciple, Alfred (Polanski). They visit a village beset by attacks and fear. When the innkeeper Shagal’s (Bass) beautiful daughter Sarah (Tate) is snatched by Count von Krolock (Mayne), the smitten Alfred and fearless professor infiltrate the Count’s castle, where they are soon held prisoner. There will be a huge vampire ball that evening with Sarah as the main course (“They’ll be sure to make her last. It’s their idea of fun”), and Alfred is the intended for the Count’s gay son.

why it’s good: What a lovely film this is. From the opening credits and haunting music to the snow of Transylvania to the coziness of the inn near Count Krolock’s castle, we realize we are snugly in the folds of a winter’s fairy tale. The “Metro Color” patented by MGM brought out deep and vivid shades on the celluloid. Fake snow, phony battlements and bad fangs all add to the charm of this minor gem. The production design by Wilfred Shingleton and art direction by Fred Carter are both masterful accomplishments; the portraits of dead ancestors and deathly murals on the Count’s castle walls have never been equaled. The green decay from the copper on Sarah’s bathtub shows an attention to detail that is laudable. Krzysztof Komeda did his third haunting score for Polanski (still available on CD) before his final, Oscar-nominated lullabies for “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) and an early death. Unprecedented jokes about homosexuality and necrophilia zing past, and when a pretty victim pulls a crucifix on Jewish and newly vampirized Shagal, he laughingly responds, “Oy yoy! Have you got de wrong vampire!” The entire cast is stellar at comic timing.

why you should own it: Polanski was making his first movie in the West, “Repulsion” (1965), living in London, and became intrigued by Hammer Films’ vampire movies with their heaving cleavage, sharp fangs, orgasmic victims and buckets of blood. He thought the genre a hoot. Polanski and the ever-reliable Gerard Brach crafted an elegant, funny script and secured funds from America’s Filmways Company and producer Martin Ransohoff (perpetrator of such TV atrocities as “Petticoat Junction”). Polanski fell in love with future wife and Manson murder victim Sharon Tate, and her scenes are directed and photographed with loving care. The film was cut for its U.S. release by MGM hatchet editor Margaret Booth, and the elegant title “The Dance of the Vampires” was changed to the asinine “The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth are in my Neck.” Predictably, it was a flop in America and a huge hit everywhere else, but paved the way for Polanski’s breakthrough with “Rosemary’s Baby.” The murky Warner DVD has a fun but silly promotional featurette and theatrical trailer.