Fearless Vampire Killers, The (1967)
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), directed by Roman Polanski.
First review
This spoof of Hammer Dracula films was one of my favorites as a kid, with that fine semi-horror delight of fools dancing on the edge of genuine fright. It's still fun, if not as much as before. Now it seems stuck in low gear and the constant slapstick is not as hilarious as it once was.
It's more lush than the originals, but has the same middle-European fantasy tone. We have the isolated village, the inn with the tight-lipped locals, the buxom daughter and serving wench, the cobweb-draped castle with the debonair undead Count, and the improvised crosses to hold back the vampires.
New features:
The Professor looks like Einstein, who is always good for a laugh. Jack MacGowran is the best thing in the movie: hilariously distracted and oblivious to danger, but with a certain craft when needed.
A Jewish innkeeper: crosses don't work when he's vampirized.
A gay vampire.
We have more sexual innuendo than usual:
quote
Sarah: I got into the habit of it at school. It's funny. You can't just change your habits in a couple of months, can you? Besides, it's good for your health. Once a day is the very least. Don't you agree?
Alfred: Yes...
Sarah: Do you mind if I have a quick one?
Alfred: Huh? I don't mind at all, but...
Sarah: Oh, thank you! You are being very nice. [goes to bathtub] Now could you get me some hot water?
The wild choral music is a good addition.
Polanski plays the Prof's nervous and love-struck young assistant. Sharon Tate is the love interest who needs rescuing from the castle. As I presume everyone here knows: they married and she and four others were murdered by the Manson family about 18 months later. Polanski is currently a fugitive for a sex crime committed in 1977.
Second review
I've rewatched Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019) several times recently and have come to think of it as a great film. And I'm not a Tarantino fan, although I do like Jackie Brown (1997).
It helps to be familiar with TV and movies of the 1950s and 60s, and especially with the history of the Manson Family, the Spahn Movie Ranch and Sharon Tate's murder. When the camera pans to the "Cielo Dr" street sign everyone who was following the story at the time freezes: "Oh, no..." What are we about to see? Did you know that a stuntman was murdered at the Ranch?
I read Tarantino's novel which gives possible background to "Rick Dalton" and "Cliff Booth", and an absurdly detailed variant on that pilot epsisode of Lancer. (Historical note: In the real pilot Joe Don Baker played DiCaprio's part, just as Burt Reynolds was the villain in that episode of The F.B.I.)
In the novel we learn:
Did Cliff really kill his wife?
Where did he get pit bull Brandy?
Why did Sharon go to her own matinee that day?
Anyway, this all makes me think of Sharon Tate. With a brief filmography and stunning looks she quckly rose to the top of Hollywood royalty. Not much to distinguish her work: you can't build a reputation on Valley of the Dolls (1967) and that Matt Helm silliness.
Then her sudden, ghastly end, the stuff of nightmares.
What might have been if she'd lived? Very beautiful people are not allowed to do much acting. It takes time to break out if it happens at all.
Sad to say: I tend to think this vampire spoof is her best work. They could have given her more comedy, some action, anything. Her job was always to "just be pretty".
This seems like an odd subject choice for Polanski, who had already made Knife in the Water (1962), Cul-De-Sac (1966) and Repulsion (1965) and would make Rosemary's Baby (1968) the next year.
Also odd that he would star in his own comedy. He is clearly not a professional actor, but his befuddled comic mugging is good: the naive assistant to the nutty professor
Jack MacGowran as the prof: I love him. From The Quiet Man (1952) to The Exorcist (1973).
This time I immediately recognized bushy-bearded Sydney Bromley as the sleigh driver early in the film. He was the wizard's old assistant in Dragonslayer (1981): "We don't do tests!"
We spend a lot of time goofing around in the Count's castle. It could have been tightened up.
Photographed by the great Douglas Slocombe.
Scored by Krzysztof Komeda who did other Polanski films. Love his Hammer Horror chorus.
The director: what to say about him? Vast talent, personal tragedy, sex crimes. Loved by Hollywood until the times changed, then they hated him.
Available on Blu-ray from Warner. I didn't compare with the DVD but I'm guessing the Blu-ray is only a modest upgrade. My thumbnails are from the DVD.
