Lust for a Vampire
Encyclopedia
Lust For a Vampire is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Yutte Stensgaard
, Michael Johnston and Barbara Jefford. It is the second film in the so-called Karnstein Trilogy loosely based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla
. It was preceded by The Vampire Lovers
and followed by Twins of Evil
(1971). The three films do not form a chronological development, but use the Karnstein family as the source of the vampiric threat. The three films were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes
. It was given an R rating in the United States for some violence, gore, strong adult content, and nudity.
Production of Lust For a Vampire began not long after the release of The Vampire Lovers.
The film has a cult following although some Hammer Horror fans have accused it of being overly camp
and silly. Its most noted scene shows Yutte Stensgaard drenched in blood and partially covered by blood-soaked rags, although the filmed scene is not as explicit as that shown in a promotional still.
Other notable actors in the film are Ralph Bates
, Harvey Hall (who has a different role in each film of this series), David Healy
and popular radio DJ Mike Raven
.
family. As students in the school, inhabitants of the nearby village and those who suspect Mircalla is responsible start to die, suspicion turns toward the Karnsteins and their ominous castle.
as director at very short notice. Partially due to censorship restraints from the British Board of Film Classification
, this film and its sequel had increasingly less overt lesbian elements in the story. Carmilla, for example, in this film falls in love with a man. Ingrid Pitt
was offered the lead but turned it down. Peter Cushing
was supposed to have appeared in the film but bowed out to care for his sick wife. Cushing was replaced by Ralph Bates
, who described Lust for a Vampire as "one of the worst films ever made". Bates had earlier appeared in Taste the Blood of Dracula
with Madeline Smith
, who starred in the previous Karnstein film, The Vampire Lovers
.
Yutte Stensgaard
Yutte Stensgaard is a Danish actress born in Thisted, Jutland, Denmark, best known for her starring role in Hammer's Lust for a Vampire.-Career:...
, Michael Johnston and Barbara Jefford. It is the second film in the so-called Karnstein Trilogy loosely based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla
Carmilla
Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla...
. It was preceded by The Vampire Lovers
The Vampire Lovers
The Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Hammer Horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, Kate O'Mara, and Jon Finch. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in...
and followed by Twins of Evil
Twins of Evil
Twins of Evil is a 1971 horror film by Hammer Film Productions starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life twins and former Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson....
(1971). The three films do not form a chronological development, but use the Karnstein family as the source of the vampiric threat. The three films were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes
Lesbian vampire
Lesbian vampirism is a trope in 20th century exploitation film that has its roots in Joseph Sheridan le Fanu's novella Carmilla about the predatory love of a female vampire for a young woman :...
. It was given an R rating in the United States for some violence, gore, strong adult content, and nudity.
Production of Lust For a Vampire began not long after the release of The Vampire Lovers.
The film has a cult following although some Hammer Horror fans have accused it of being overly camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
and silly. Its most noted scene shows Yutte Stensgaard drenched in blood and partially covered by blood-soaked rags, although the filmed scene is not as explicit as that shown in a promotional still.
Other notable actors in the film are Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom Dear John and for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company....
, Harvey Hall (who has a different role in each film of this series), David Healy
David Healy (actor)
David Healy was an American-born actor who starred in many British and American television shows. His credits include voices for the Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, as well as parts in UFO, The Troubleshooters, Randall and Hopkirk , Space...
and popular radio DJ Mike Raven
Mike Raven
Austin Churton Fairman , who used the name Churton Fairman but was more widely known under the pseudonym Mike Raven in the 1960s and early 1970s, was a British radio disc jockey, actor, sculptor, sheep farmer, writer, TV presenter and producer, ballet dancer, flamenco guitarist and...
.
Synopsis
In 1830, at a finishing school in Styria, Mircalla arrives as a new student. A visiting author, Richard Lestrange, instantly falls in love with her; but Mircalla is a vampire—Carmilla Karnstein—who has been resurrected by her vampiricVampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
family. As students in the school, inhabitants of the nearby village and those who suspect Mircalla is responsible start to die, suspicion turns toward the Karnsteins and their ominous castle.
Cast
- Yutte StensgaardYutte StensgaardYutte Stensgaard is a Danish actress born in Thisted, Jutland, Denmark, best known for her starring role in Hammer's Lust for a Vampire.-Career:...
as Mircalla Herritzen/Carmilla Karnstein - Michael Johnson as Richard Lestrange
- Ralph BatesRalph BatesRalph Bates was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom Dear John and for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company....
as Giles Barton - Barbara JeffordBarbara JeffordBarbara Jefford, OBE is a British Shakespearean actress best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre, and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 film of James Joyce's Ulysses.-Early life:Jefford was born Mary Barbara Jefford in...
as Countess Herritzen - Suzanna LeighSuzanna LeighSuzanna Leigh is a former English actress.Born to a manufacturer of car engines Suzanna Leigh grew up in the Belgrave district of Leicester, England and later went to convent schools outside London...
as Janet Playfair - Helen ChristieHelen ChristieHelen Christie was an Indian-born British film and television actress. She was married to Patrick Crean.-Selected filmography:Film* Up for the Cup * Wide Boy * Castle in the Air * The Beggar's Opera...
as Miss Simpson - Pippa SteelPippa SteelPippa Steel was a British actress best known for her roles in two Hammer horror films: The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire ....
as Susan Pelley - David HealyDavid Healy (actor)David Healy was an American-born actor who starred in many British and American television shows. His credits include voices for the Supermarionation series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, as well as parts in UFO, The Troubleshooters, Randall and Hopkirk , Space...
as Raymond Pelley - Harvey Hall as Inspector Heinrich
- Mike RavenMike RavenAustin Churton Fairman , who used the name Churton Fairman but was more widely known under the pseudonym Mike Raven in the 1960s and early 1970s, was a British radio disc jockey, actor, sculptor, sheep farmer, writer, TV presenter and producer, ballet dancer, flamenco guitarist and...
as Count Karnstein - Michael BrennanMichael Brennan (actor)Michael Brennan was an English film and television actor.Born in London, Brennan was married to actress Mary Hignett. He appeared in such films as Nicholas Nickleby, Thunderball, The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, Tom Jones, and The 39 Steps...
as Landlord - Jack MelfordJack MelfordJack Melford was a British film and television actor. He was the brother of screenwriter and film director Austin Melford.-Selected filmography:* Find the Lady * Luck of the Turf * Scruffy...
as Bishop - Christopher Cunningham as Coachman
- Judy MathesonJudy Matheson-Biography:Judy Matheson began her career in 1967 with The Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company, touring USA, & Europe, in 3 of Shakespeare's plays. She was in the TV series City 68, "Spindoe",and several other Granada TV series. Her first movie, with Gregory Peck, was The Most Dangerous Man in the World...
as Amanda - Christopher NeameChristopher NeameChristopher Neame is an English actor.-Education:Neame was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, an independent school in Canterbury in Kent.-Life and career:...
as Hans - Sue LonghurstSue LonghurstSue Longhurst is an English actress, most famous for appearing in several X-rated comedies in the 1970s.-Life and work:Born on 27 January 1943, Sue trained at the Royal Academy of Music, and was initially a music teacher, but was soon posing for magazines, record sleeves, book covers & TV...
as Schoolgirl - Kirsten LindholmKirsten LindholmKirsten Lindholm, born Kirsten Lindholm Andreassen on 1 September 1943 in Odense, Denmark, was a model and a film actress in Hammer horror movies, in which she first appeared as Kirsten Betts...
as Peasant girl
Production
Jimmy Sangster replaced Terence FisherTerence Fisher
Terence Fisher was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. He was born in Maida Vale, a district of London, England.Fisher was one of the most prominent horror directors of the second half of the 20th century...
as director at very short notice. Partially due to censorship restraints from the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
, this film and its sequel had increasingly less overt lesbian elements in the story. Carmilla, for example, in this film falls in love with a man. Ingrid Pitt
Ingrid Pitt
Ingrid Pitt was an actress best known for her work in horror films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Background:Pitt was born Ingoushka Petrov in Warsaw, Poland to a German father of Russian descent and a Polish Jewish mother. During World War II she and her family were imprisoned in a concentration camp...
was offered the lead but turned it down. Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
was supposed to have appeared in the film but bowed out to care for his sick wife. Cushing was replaced by Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom Dear John and for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company....
, who described Lust for a Vampire as "one of the worst films ever made". Bates had earlier appeared in Taste the Blood of Dracula
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Taste the Blood of Dracula is a British horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions and released in 1970. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, and was directed by Peter Sasdy...
with Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2...
, who starred in the previous Karnstein film, The Vampire Lovers
The Vampire Lovers
The Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Hammer Horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, Kate O'Mara, and Jon Finch. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in...
.