User Reviews

Here's an early entry in the Italian horror revival of the 60s, following on the heels of Freda's "I Vampiri". It fits in well with the contemporaneous Gothics "The Playgirls and the Vampire", "Slaughter of the Vampires", etc., but is more superficial and haphazardly constructed. Most horror buffs have dismissed it as a clumsy imitation of its cinematic cousins. As proved by his later, supremely bizarre contributions to the horror genre, Polselli was a hack with no interest in continuity or story structure, but he certainly could sustain a ferociously obsessional, surrealistic atmosphere, and this title can be quite hypnotic despite its poor make-up and effects and relentless lack of narrative drive.

On the other hand, if you're a fan of kitschy early-60s Euro-chic, then by all means check this one out (if you can find it -- it only seems available on hazy grey-market copies that may have been clipped of brief sights of nudity and lasciviousness). The proceedings come to a halt every so often to allow the (supposedly classical) ballet troupe of leggy, leotard-clad bambinas an opportunity to break into sultry, acrobatic jazz ballet (shades of Chicago and Cabaret), to some mind-bending cocktail lounge music. It's as if José Benazeraf checked in one afternoon as guest director on a Bava picture! Definitely a cheeky, retro-chic cross-pollination, along the lines of "The Hands of Orlac" (remake) and "Death on the Four Poster".

Despite its obvious shortcomings...this early 60's Italian horror film is compelling for reasons other than ranking high on the fright index. The Vampire and The Ballerina is frankly anything but horrifying for the most part. Although, the expressionistic black and white photography lends the film a surreal and hypnotic quality that can't be dismissed. This is NOT your classical vampire flick. Thank God. Having endured the relentless tedium of countless Hammer vampire horror films, I can be grateful for that fact alone. No, the performances are not stellar but given the cheesecake Euro-babe thrust of the movie, they didn't have to be. The convoluted storyline is something David Lynch would appreciate. And so is the fixation on visual imagery such as the storm winds whipping those mysterious trees repeatedly whenever there is a hint of menace. The effective contrasts of shadow and light throughout the film does create a certain surreal moodiness that renders the need to frighten meaningless. It was simply enough for this viewer to be swept away by a tide of tight black leotards and fishnet stockings. A fetishistic confession? Perhaps...although what red-blooded vampire could possibly resist the urge to pray on a troupe of jazz-dancing nymphets posing as ballerinas?

Before television presenters, members of parliament, glam rockers, Hollywood producers, cigar-toting disc jockeys, Australian artists and weird haired American actors, all a young person had to worry about was attacks by classic monsters. This cautionary tale warns us that if you're looking after a troupe of ballerinas, it's best not to put them up in a village where there's a vampire on the loose.

A young, non-dancer girl from the village is attacked first and brought to the huge mansion all the girls are staying in. Turns out half the village believe there's a vampire loose, whereas the other half think that's a load of crap, including the dance troupe leader's uncle – and it's his house all these scantily clad girls are lounging about. So he sits them all down and tells them the story of a curse – you know, the one you've heard about a million times.

The village girl dies and there's a creepy scene where she wakes up in the coffin shortly before being buried. Later that night the vampire turns up and offers to take her to his castle to start a new life as a bloodsucker, but this is a ruse when he stakes her instead – looks this vamp doesn't want any rivals. But never mind that – these vampire attacks have inspired the dance troupe to do a vampire themed performance, so we get a great Fame-like sudden improvised dance workout!

Of course two of these girls have boyfriends and some of them end up in the vampire's castle getting their necks sucked on and one of the boyfriends gets seduced by a female vampire. It's this kind of thing that gets in the way of one's marriage plans, so the boyfriends have to band together to take on these anaemic goth bastards.

An early Italian horror with a lot of campy atmosphere, fast paced and gorgeous looking. It's not scary but it has a beautiful cheese level. And the vampire looks like a contemporary Mickey Rourke! Some of the 'vampire melting' effects are quite good too.

Due to it being so early, there's not too much gore and no nudity, but that doesn't stop them trying! There's even a slightly implied lesbian relationship between the two main girls (and it seems to be symptom of vampirism in that it makes you bisexual). It's short too, which is good after sitting through so many gialli.

Seen 54 years after its initial release "L'amante del vampiro" (1960) was a most pleasant surprise, a good horror film that introduced vampires with fangs into the golden age of Italian "cinéma fantastique", including (and often mixing) horror, péplum, spy spoof, comic-book heroes, giallo, and even science-fiction. When discussing this film directed by Renato Polselli, most sources indicate the influence of Terence Fisher's "Dracula" (United Kingdom, 1958), but I would say that Fernando Méndez's "El vampiro" (Mexico, 1957) was also a source of inspiration: the constant irruption of the Italian vampire (Walter Brandi) into the house of the ballerinas, is evocative of the menacing presence of a Eastern European vampire in the Mexican hacienda. It is evident that the financial resources were scarce, but this little film was made with conviction, imagination and a lot of humor. I suppose the erotic elements came mostly from Polselli, who would eventually direct a few pornographic films: in this case he handled them with the typical restraint of mainstream cinema of its day, but they are by no means deprived of sensuality. First, the film includes two welcome dance sequences, one even emerging from the beautiful ballerinas' sudden inspiration. Any dance academy would love to have this kind of students, who are good-looking, suggestive, dance well and can choreograph themselves! Then there is the vampire baroness (Maria Luisa Lombardo), a lady constantly in heat, even when she is wearing medieval gowns; while the erotic undercurrent rises whenever hunk Gino Turini (as Giorgio, the choreographer) appears bare chested, in bathing suits or in bed with his lover. The most sensual moment though, is when ballerina Luisa (Hélène Remy) moves ardently in bed, waiting for the vampire to arrive. The castle used as the vampires' lair is superb, with actors obviously working in very cold conditions; the black and white cinematography is a big plus, and even the ugly vampire's evident mask points to one important plot element. But I believe that the great strength of "L'amante del vampiro" is the music by Aldo Piga, even if some find it annoying. He not only added rhythm to scenes shot at a slow pace, but he also did a great job combining suspenseful contemporary music with a portentous and dramatic score that magnifies the terror described. Renato Polselli was not the most inspired director, yes, and it shows that he handled the material just adequately. But everybody involved in this production contributed more than the usual quota of professionalism and enthusiasm, and I believe that this is what has contributed to make "L'amante del vampiro" an attractive and interesting horror work up to this day.

Great title and to my surprise there really is a ballerina, well several of them, more 'dancers' to be honest. These leggy ladies prance about a lot but the music for the film is so dreadfully inappropriate most of the time, it is to little effect. Shame really that the whole film is so mixed in quality. Some scenes are really effective, although these tend to be ones reminding one of earlier b/w horrors and others seem about to slip into farce. dialogue equally unreliable and overall the movie is confused and in turn confusing. I know the business of vampire victims coming back as vampires or remaining as 'blood banks' has always seemed a bit arbitrary but here even the characters don't seem to get it. This has to be the first such film when head vampire puts a stake through the heart of a potential fellow to prevent her from causing trouble on his patch. Worth a look, especially bearing in mind the director's later greats but a certain amount of patience required.

The plot is so routine it plays more like a late entry in the Eurohorror period of the 1960s than like the early entry it is. Clearly, few involved in the film took any serious care with the material, even throwing in some rather herky-jerky musical numbers, far from ballet. But the photography by Angelo Baistrocchi is both crisp and moody, attractively using the weathered castle locations.

Clearly influenced by (HORROR OF) Dracula, still it's more in the Italian mode than Hammer horror. But it's weakened by mostly uninteresting characters and a lot of running about, often near a rocky stream. Still, the weird relationship between the two vampires is unusual: she's a contessa, he's her servant, but he made her a vampire--so as humans, she dominates him, while as vampires, he dominates her. This leads to an intense love-hate relationship climaxed by them turning on each other at the climax--while still loving one another.

I saw this black-and-white Italian made vampire movie at the Cloverleaf Drive-In in Cleveland, Ohio back in the early 1960s. The theater often booked triple feature horror programs (and triple features period. I even saw "El Cid" on a triple bill there). The drive-in's location was part of its appeal. If the movie wasn't worth watching, you could stare at the neon Goodyear sign off in the distance.

I only have a vague recollection of this film as it appeared theatrically. Like some others who have commented on it, I know it primarily from a 12-minute Super 8 silent home movie edition that Ken Films distributed in its United Artists series (which was primarily dedicated to condensed versions of the classics UA picked up from Warner Bros). In that abbreviated state, it wasn't at all bad, with a climax as memorable as Christopher Lee's demise in "Horror of Dracula." Helene Remy got top billing, above the title, but I'm not even sure any of her scenes made it into the home movie version. Then again, I don't think I would recognize her anyway.

Considerably less than the sum of its parts. The English-language title is extremely misleading (the original translates as 'The Vampire's Lover'), for there are plenty of dancers but not much ballet; one of the film's highlights being a supposed 'rehearsal' with the girls cavorting athletically in matching leotards and fishnets as one reclines languidly in the foreground drawing on a cigarette, which resembles a beatnik cabaret act rather than ballet.

Characters aimlessly wander in and out of the plot as well as about the local countryside and the local abandoned castle as in an episode of 'Scooby Doo'. Angelo Baistrocchi's photogaphy - particularly the nighttime exteriors - are pleasing to the eye but far too overlit for the purposes of suspense; while Aldo Piga's score varies wildly in style and suitability from scene to scene. Helene Remy as Luisa and Tina Gloriani as Francesca are both immaculate in their high heels and fifties dresses and hairstyles; maybe too immaculate, since their blonde good looks and their clothes render them so similar it gets difficult in the later stages of the film to keep track who's doing what and to whom at critical moments.

Someone involved in the production was obviously familiar with 'Nosferatu' and 'Vampyr', since a number of images (the wolves emerging from the woods, the coach driver, even the closing shot) have been lifted from the former, and the subjectively shot funeral from the latter.

Strange Moments The peasant Brigitta is attacked by a vampire, but her employer, Professor (Pier Ugo Gragnani), and the local doctor believe it is superstition from the locals and she died of anemia. In the Professor's mansion, a troupe of female dancers are training a play. When the young Luca (Isarco Ravaioli) returns, he meets his girlfriend Francesca (Tina Gloriani) dancing and proposes the group to go to a picnic on the next day. They go to a waterfall and Luca asks Francesca in marriage. She calls her best friend Luisa (Hélène Rémy), who is the fiancée of Giorgio (Gino Turini), to tell the news. However, the weather changes and Luca seek them out in the woods while Giorgio returns to the mansion with the other dancers. When the rain starts, they seek protection and stumble upon a nearby derelict castle. However, they are invited to stay by a mysterious Countess Alda (Maria Luisa Rolando) that explains that she lives there, and her servant Herman (Walter Brandi) brings tea for the guests. When Countess Alda needs to pull out of the room, Luisa leaves Luca and Francesca to snoop around and is attacked by an old vampire. Then the trio leaves the castle and returns to the mansion and soon Francesca notes that Luisa changed her behavior, but nobody pays attention on her.

"L'amante del vampire", a.k.a. "The Vampire and the Ballerina", is a vampire movie from the 60's with strange moments. The ballerinas actually are dancers, and there are boring dancing moments along the plot. The relationship of Herman and Alda is very weird. Francesca is afraid of the castle, but returns alone looking for Luisa. Luca has just asked Francesca in marriage, but leaves her to meet the Countess. But anyway the cinematography in black-and-white is beautiful and the vampires follow the traditional legend, fearing crosses and the sunlight. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Vampiro e a Bailarina" ("The Vampire and the Ballerina")

This movie begins with a young woman named getting bitten by a vampire late at night in the forest. She is taken to a doctor's house where several young ladies are staying in preparation for an upcoming ballet. Since she seems to be okay she is taken back to the farm where she works but subsequently dies a little later and is buried. At least, all of the villagers believe she is dead. In any case, that same night a young man named "Luca" (Isarco Ravaioli) and two of the women by the names of "Luisa" (Helene Remy) and "Francesca" (Tina Gloriani) get lost in the forest and happen to come upon a castle which they take refuge in from an approaching thunderstorm. Not long afterward they are greeted by a woman named "Countess Alda" (Maria Luisa Rolando) who offers them some tea. When Countess Alda temporarily excuses herself, Luisa decides to look around the castle and it's at this time that she is bitten by the same vampire who attacked the young woman in the woods. From that point on Luisa is irresistibly drawn to the vampire by the name of "Herman" (Walter Brandi) and this endangers everyone who is close to Luisa. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that from what I understand this movie had some difficulty with the Italian censors due-strangely enough--to the graphic images exhibited during the death of the vampires and the special effects related to the mask worn by Herman. While it all seems rather tame in this day and age I suppose it goes with the territory back then. Be that as it may, although this film is definitely dated, it wasn't too bad as far as vampire films are concerned and because of that I have rated it accordingly. Average.

A group of sultry Italian ballerinas is terrorized by the vampire and his countess Lucia in an old and dusty castle."The Vampire and the Ballerina" is arguably the first Italian horror movie of early 60's.Mario Bava's immortal "Black Sunday" went into production three months later.The film is worth seeing for its vintage B&W atmosphere,a subtly erotic elements and glorious Gothic mood.All the ladies are strikingly beautiful and there is some tame bloodsucking action.Actually one of the dancers is a very young Femi Benussi."The Vampire and the Ballerina" was shot in Piccolomini castle built in 1470 on the remains of a previous fortified structure and now surrounded by a wonderful green park.If you are a fan of Italian horror watch this stylish mood piece as soon as possible.8 out of 10.

This movie came out in the 70's as a 11 minute Super 8 silent digest from Ken Films. Pre video days by the way. Anyway, this is the way to watch this film. Has the last 10 minutes of this movie which is the best part Was Italian, so silent with sub titles does not matter. Can find this version on YouTube. Check it out!

The first time I saw THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA, it was in an 8-millimeter version that belonged to my cousin(remember the old 8 and Super 8 millimeter versions of old movies you could buy at K-mart and show on your folks home movie projectors?)That abbreviated version only included the final scene, and honestly, that was the best part of this Italian-made horror cheapie that obviously filled out many a drive-in double feature or "shock theater" spooky show on independant television. A troupe of dancers come to a spooky medieval castle for . . . some reason. It's not clear. At any rate, they're accompanied by several males: a choreographer, a male dancer, and a boyfriend(if I remember). The next door neighbors in the ajoining castle are a strange, imperious woman and her male servant who, in his more interesting moments, turns into a mouldering, rubber-faced vampire. But who are they really? Is the woman the master of the vampire, or the vampire the master of the woman? The vampire attacks one of the dancers(the "ballerina" of the title)and makes her his slave, which leads two of the male characters to chase the vampire and the mysterious lady to a thrilling rooftop climax! Inbetween there's lots of nonsensical action, such as dialogue with long meaningful pauses, sequences in which the dancers are alternately chased or are following people, usually traversing steep banks in stiletto heels, and dance rehearsal scenes in which nary a hint of a ballerina is seen--unless all ballerinas rehearse by doing cartwheels and interpretive dance moves while wearing black leotards and character shoes. Go figure. If you rent this thing, fast forward to the last ten minutes. Therein lies the payoff.

A group of dancers gets stuck in a brooding old castle that, naturally, has thirsty vampires who are thrilled to see them. That said, the film is basically just a dull, glacially-paced exercise in routine plotting. The only redeeming feature is the beauty of the actresses.

Hammer introduced sensuality and eroticism to the vampire movie, but trust the Italians to run with the idea, Renato Polselli's The Vampire and the Ballerina being chock full of busty young women who, having been 'penetrated' by the titular bloodsucker, become hooked on the vamp like a drug.

The sexy ladies in question are members of a dance troupe who, when they not gyrating in leotards and stockings to jazzy music (there's not a lot of ballet going on), wander around in really short nighties that reveal their knickers. All of this titillation is there to hide the fact that the film has very little in the way of plot: Francesca (Tina Gloriani) and Luisa (Hélène Rémy) fall victim to four-hundred-year-old vampire Herman (Walter Brandi) and his Countess, Alda (María Luisa Rolando); concerned boyfriends Luca (Isarco Ravaioli) and Giorgio (Gino Turini) attempt to destroy the vamps and free their women.

When the hot babes aren't bending, stretching, and twirling, or swanning around in baby dolls, the film is quite dull, with only the final five minutes or so delivering the type of thrills one expects from such fare. Luca and Giorgio trapping the vampires on the castle roof as the sun rises, turning them into dust, is a lot of fun: it's a shame that I cannot say the same for the majority of the film.

By utilizing expertly lit Gothic interior sets, this film is saturated with an incredibly surreal look and feel. Viewing a pristine print of this film on YouTube, I was impressed with the production design, the gorgeous cast, and the intense power struggle and love/hate relationship between the two undead residents of the abandoned castle.

Between the moody chilling scenes there is a fair amount of eroticism, and frivolous fun. One of the more gripping scenes was that of a recently converted vampire in her windowed coffin being carried to the cemetery. The POV shots from the nascent vampire are of the towering Lombardy Poplars, passing under the arc of the cemetery gate, and seeing the dirt pile up on the coffin's window pane.

For true vintage horror fans who don't need lots of blood and gore, this film is well worth a look.

This is a slightly off-beat vampire film; how many times have you seen a vampire staking one of its kind through the heart?

Made in black and white, presumably to give it extra atmosphere, it features a swathe of gorgeous Italian girls - including blondes - residents/students of a rural dance school. So far, so good. Two of them and their male companion go for a walk in the woods, and take shelter in a mysterious castle which is inhabited by an even more mysterious countess. Yes, she is a vampire, but things are not that simple. She may be four hundred years old, but she is not mistress of her own domain; she is also in an unhappy marriage, and she wants out of it.

This may not be the best vampire film ever made, but considering the state of Italian cinema in 1960, it is a credible effort, and no doubt later Italian horror films owe much to it.

The Vampire and the Ballerina (1960)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A small town has had three vampire attacks on the full moon and locals are terrified that something evil is stalking them. Not everything believes these myths and that includes a troupe of young dancers who end up staying at a castle but it doesn't take long for the vampire to come after them.

THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA, or its original title L'AMANTE DEL VAMPIRO, is credited for being one of the earliest Italian horror films to mix sex and violence. The film today is quite tame in regards to both but it's easy to watch the film and see that it would have been an influence on several others that were to be released but at the same time there's no question that it's a flawed picture to say the least.

I think the biggest problem with the film is the fact that there's really not too much that happens throughout its running time. There are very long stretches where we basically see the characters either talking or not doing a thing and this really makes for a slow film and one that you're going to need patience with. There are a couple other extended sequences with the girls doing their dances and this here is just as boring, although I'm sure people in 1960 enjoyed watching these beautiful ladies and their big breasts packed into these tight costumes.

With that being said, there are some very good things scattered throughout the movie that makes it worth watching. As I said, the ladies are quite beautiful and easy to look at throughout the picture. There's also some nice atmosphere and especially the opening sequence, which gets the film off to a great start. Then there's the vampire himself who looks wonderful. I really liked the deformed monster look that they gave the vampire and it made the attacks all the more effective. There's also the ending, which I won't spoil but it's wonderful too.

THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA isn't a masterpiece but it is an important film in Italian horror cinema. As I said, there are certainly some flaws with it but the picture is certainly worth watching.

Renato Polselli tried similar formula of gothic lore mixed with sexy female dancers and somewhat silly musical showstoppers in Il mostro dell' opera a couple of years later. I like them both; the films have a great moody atmosphere and are well shot and even scripted. The actresses, goes without saying, are gorgeous and the sex factor is high. These early films make one wonder, why Polselli isn't up there in the par with the likes of Bava; but then some of his later work is really sloppy and that's probably the reason why. This one is definitely a very enjoyable piece of period horror, especially if you like modernist dance moves and beatnik music (don't be fooled, there's no classical ballet in this one).

A group of impossibly hot ballet dancers is dutifully working on their jazz / ballet routines. Unbeknownst to these nubile goddesses, a devilish -and ugly!- vampire is roaming the countryside in search of blood.

Dancers Francesca and Luisa (Tina Gloriani and Helene Remy) get lost in the woods with a mutual male friend and stumble upon a mysterious castle. It's inhabited by a Countess and her robotic servant.

Oh no!

Luisa wanders off, encountering the vampire and receiving his hickey of doom! When the trio rejoins their ballet cohorts, the terror begins. But first, it's time for another snappy number!

THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA is a sublime Italian horror film. The aforementioned females alone are reason enough to watch this movie!

Highly entertaining...