Professor Abronsius (Jack MacGowran), and his assistant, Alfred (Roman Polanski), are a couple of bumbling vampire hunters. In their search for vampires, they stop at a small inn run by Shagal (Alfie Bass) and his wife, Rebecca (Jessie Robins). The Shagals have a young and beautiful daughter named Sarah (Sharon Tate). The inn also employs a young and pretty woman, Magda (Fiona Lewis) as a barmaid. The Professor and Alfred rest at the inn overnight. Alfred is attracted to the stunning Sarah.
Sarah is kidnapped by Count von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne) and taken to his castle. Alfred witnesses the kidnapping. Shagal races out into the night to try to save his daughter. In the morning, he is found dead with bite marks on his body. Shagal becomes a vampire and attacks Magda, who he was lusting after when he was alive.
Abronsius and Alfred, now on the hunt to find the Count, follow the tracks that lead up to his castle. They break into the castle but are caught. The Count, aware of who Abronsius is, welcomes the Professor and tells him he is a fan of his work. He invites them to stay. The Count introduces the vampire hunters to his son, Herbert (Iain Quarrier). Herbert is attracted to Alfred. Alfred is leery of staying under the same roof with vampires, but Abronsius agrees and thanks the Count for his hospitality. Abronsius considers it the perfect opportunity to dispatch both Count and son, but his plans end up not working as well as he had hoped.
“The Fearless Vampire Killers or Pardon Me but Your Teeth Are in My Neck” AKA “The Fearless Vampire Killers” AKA “Dance of the Vampires” was released in 1967 and was directed by Roman Polanski. It is a British and American horror black comedy.
I don’t think I’m really spoiling anything if I say that the fearless vampire killers never actually kill any vampires. The actual title of the film is “Dance of the Vampires”. It was changed for the U.S. release to the longer title but was commonly just called “The Fearless Vampire Killers”. In addition, some twelve minutes or so what cut from the film and an animated sequence was added to the U.S. version. Subsequently, the film has had several releases, some reestablishing the original cuts.
The movie has a lot of slapstick in it and is a bit of a farce. Not being a fan of most slapstick, I found the movie to be somewhat bland and drawn out. A lot of people compare the imagery to Hammer films but a little dustier. All in all, I’m not all that fond of it.
Roman and his father were Holocaust survivors. His mother died in Auschwitz. Roman and Sharon Tate were married in 1968. Sharon, pregnant with their first child, was murdered by the members of the Charles Manson family in 1969. Roman was arrested and convicted for the sodomy and statutory rape of a thirteen-year-old girl. He fled the U.S. in 1978 and has never returned.