THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) – Episode 206 – Decades Of Horror 1970s

“Mircalla?” “Marcilla?” “But that girl is a guest in my house. Her name is Carmilla. And my daughter is dying!” Looks like “Anagrams ‘R’ Us” is at it again. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they cover the last film standing from Doc Rotten’s and The Black Saint’s favorite 70s horror films, Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers (1970)!

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 206 – The Vampire Lovers (1970)

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Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

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

 

• Directed by: Roy Ward Baker
• Writing Credits: Tudor Gates (screenplay); Sheridan Le Fanu (story “Carmilla”) (as J. Sheridan Le Fanu)
• Adaptation by: Harry Fine, Tudor Gates, Michael Style
• Art Direction by: Scott MacGregor
• Selected Cast:
  • Ingrid Pitt as Marcilla / Carmilla / Mircalla Karnstein
  • Pippa Steel as Laura (as Pippa Steele)
  • Madeline Smith as Emma Morton
  • Peter Cushing as General von Spielsdorf
  • George Cole as Roger Morton
  • Dawn Addams as The Countess
  • Kate O’Mara as The Governess (Mme. Perrodot)
  • Douglas Wilmer as Baron Joachim von Hartog
  • Jon Finch as Carl Ebhardt
  • Ferdy Mayne as Doctor
  • Kirsten Lindholm as First Vampire (as Kirsten Betts)
  • John Forbes-Robertson as Man in Black
  • Shelagh Wilcocks as Housekeeper
  • Harvey Hall as Renton
  • Janet Key as Gretchin
  • Charles Farrell as Landlord
  • Graham James as First Young Man
  • Tom Browne as Second Young Man
  • Joanna Shelley as Woodman’s Daughter
  • Olga Anthony as Village Girl (as Olga James)

Can you believe that in over 200 episodes we have yet to cover Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers (1970)? Well, now is the time! Featuring Peter Cushing and Ingrid Pitt, this Roy Ward Baker classic is likely beloved by many Monster Kids growing up with Famous Monsters of Filmland and their many coffee table monster movie books as it was featured often in those beloved tomes. The film also stars Pippa Steel, Madeline Smith, Kate O’Mara, George Cole, Jon Finch, Ferdy Mayne, Dawn Adams, Harvey Hall, and John Forbes-Robertson. Hammer not only kicks off the 1970s but also their Karnstein trilogy with fangs, blood, and ample nudity. The Grue Crew share their thoughts on the film, the cast, and the trilogy.

The Vampire Lovers is the last of the twenty films that Doc Rotten and The Black Saint chose as their ’70s favorites back in 2013, an event that led to the creation of the Decades of Horrors 1970s podcast. The two episodes were edited for video and rereleased in 2022. Below are links to those two landmark podcasts and episodes on the other two films in the Karnstgein Trilogy.

• TOP 10 HORROR FILMS OF THE 1970s, Part 1 – Episode 160
• TOP 10 HORROR FILMS OF THE 1970s, Part 2 – Episode 161
• LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971) – Episode 196
• TWINS OF EVIL (1971) – Episode 110

At the time of this writing, The Vampire Lovers is available to stream from Tubi, Freevee, and Flix Fling. The film is available on physical media as a Collectors Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Doc, will be Scream and Scream Again (1970) from Amicus, sporting the horror trifecta of Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. Well, they are all three in the movie.

We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at [email protected].