"Vampire Lovers" obviously broke some new territory in terms of eroticism and lesbian story elements, and I would say that it was very well acted (especially by Pittman), quite steamy in spots...and that the director and screenwriter deserved a lot of credit for trying something new. But, and this is a big but, after the gruesome and compelling opening scene, the movie slowed to a crawl.The screenplay just sat there, for long, long minutes, building atmosphere but not having anything overly interesting actually happen. And then there was a flurry of activity, and then...the same situation and setup repeated, almost note for note, for ANOTHER 20 minutes. Only this time Peter Cushing was out of the story. Even going through the motions in a character he's played many times, Cushing managed to light up a scene whenever he was on camera. With him gone the remaining cast, although filled with hardworking journeyman actors, simply couldn't keep things focused. Well, there was the whole lesbian vampire/"viper in the bosom" thing unfolding, but I'm way past the point in my life where boobs get me excited.And then in the last 15 minutes, every thing happened at once; Cushing and the rest of the "men heroes" charged to the rescue, and all was set right with the world. The payoff was...ALMOST...worth the wait. It sounds as if I thought the movie sucked. I don't. There are lots of things right with the movie. Pittman's character seemed to be capable of some complex, bittersweet emotions and wasn't just a simple predator, and I liked that. A vampire movie that didn't overuse the Dracula character was a nice change of pace - it's as if this was actually a Dracula "side story" that fleshed out part of the Hammer canon, and I liked that, too. But for me, the movie dragged in too many spots for too long to really be considered one the first rank of Hammer films. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

By 1970, the formula that had been successful for Hammer was sliding out of fashion. Audiences were tiring of the European 'bloodshed and bosoms' stories the company were releasing with regularity. Their answer was to up the quotient of both, and the cleavage on display here is provided by no less than three main players – Kate O'Mara, Pippa Steele, Maddie Smith and especially Ingrid Pitt.Based on Sheridan de Fanu's masterful 'Carmilla' tale, this forms the first in a trilogy of films to feature the titular character, although 'The Vampire Lovers' is the only one that really uses the original novel as its inspiration. The sequels, 'Lust for a Vampire' and 'Twins of Evil' feature Carmilla/Marcilla/Mircalla as an increasingly peripheral figure played, bizarrely, by three different actresses. Perhaps the writers Harry Fine/Tudor Gates/Michael Style were trying to suggest that not only does she transcend age and time, but occupies multiple personalities too.After opening with a voice-over (strongly reminiscent of the opening of Hammer's ground-breaking 'Dracula (1957)') and a convincing model effect of the castle, the low-budget is betrayed in a very studio-bound yet sinister graveyard as Baron Hartog (Douglas Wilmer) witnesses the arrival of a wraith-like vampire (Kirstin Lindholm) before beheading her. The story proper begins with the introduction of Marcilla to a rather threadbare party, where she is placed in the care of General von Speilsdorf (Peter Cushing) and his niece Laura (Pippa Steele). It is then that strange dreams and occurrences begin in earnest. Following Laura's death, Speilsdorf is written out of the narrative for much of the film, leaving George Cole's Roger Morton and his niece Emma (Maddie Smith – and her Governess Kate O'Mara) as Carmilla's later protagonists/victims for a brief spell before he leaves 'for Vienna'. Jon Finch plays young Carl, who completes the quartet of angry men with a grievance against the mysterious vampire woman.'The Vampire Lovers' is an enjoyable, unpolished production. Occasional scenes are dogged by signs of the raggedness that was creeping into Hammer's dense production schedule at this time. The inn where the butler Renton (splendidly played by Harvey Hall) visits is filmed in close-up to avoid revealing a lack of customers; there are recurrent location scenes featuring a tennis court complete with chain-mail fencing; also, the camera lingers on scenes of Carmilla casting reflections – although she happily exists in daylight, suggesting she is perhaps more than a vampire.Perhaps the best scene is a brief one. Witnessing the funeral of one of her victims (although no-one has yet made the connection between the mysterious girl and the succession of blood-drained victims) in the woods, Carmilla is terrified by the religious symbolism, and the ceremony overwhelms her.Whilst it is great when the four protagonists finally gang up to rid 19th century Styria of Carmilla, to have them fractured throughout the film means that each one is severely underwritten. They are little more than cogs that come together, rather than characters with personalities. The greatest written part goes, of course, to Ingrid Pitt's titular character. The actress rises brilliantly to the challenge of playing a seductive, occasionally vulnerable, centuries old vampire. Her apparent infatuation with Emma is brought to life more by the actresses than anything in the script, and that is what stalls her plans to seduce everyone in sight. Never a step out of place, Pitt's charm and presence underlines how incredible it is that she never played the part in the following two films in this trilogy.

Seductive vampire Carmilla Karnstein (Ingrid Pitt) and her family target the beautiful and the rich a remote area of late 18th century Germany.At only a £165,227 budget, how could they afford to do anything other than hire Peter Cushing and Ingrid Pitt? The answer, of course, is that these horror icons were not earning the huge salaries their counterparts today are. But Pitt and Cushing are not even the biggest deal here. Although not as well known as Cushing or Pitt, Madeline Smith was a Hammer regular and is half of the "vampire lovers" from the title. She had previously appeared in "Taste the Blood of Dracula" (1969) and go on to do "Theatre of Blood" (1972) and "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" (1972) before going even more mainstream as a Bond girl.Further, director Roy Ward Baker is perhaps best known for his work with Hammer and Hammer horror, but actually had a long, distinguished career in Hollywood, including directing the Golden Globe-winning "A Night to Remember" (1958) and a young Marilyn Monroe in "Don't Bother to Knock" (1952).This is seen as a "female-driven film" when seen from a feminist perspective, and more generally thought of as a lesbian vampire film. Pitt says this is not a lesbian film and stresses that "vampires are not lesbians", they are just very physical and passionate. Baker says the producers probably wanted to suggest lesbian themes, but that was never his intention -- he wanted a good film, not a sensational one. He further says the lesbian theme is not in the original story, regardless of what others claim.The audio commentary on the MGM disc features director Roy Ward Baker and actress Ingrid Pitt, which is well worth a listen.

The vampire Countess Carmilla Karnstein makes her way through the Austrian countryside creeping into the households of aristocrats and taking their daughters as victims. The families begin to catch on when a pattern of deaths in the area takes shape. Vampire hunter Baron Hartog is called upon to put an end to Carmilla's wicked ways and end the legacy of terror the Karnstein family is known for.I would like to first comment that I'm not a fan of this sort of risqué entertainment. I steer clear of movies that delve into racier subject matter like this. As a horror film history junkie and huge fan of everything Hammer, "The Vampire Lovers" intrigues me because of its place in a bygone era. I am stupefied that a movie dealing with the "off-limits" ideas it does was even allowed to be shown in theaters in 1970.My main draw to "The Vampire Lovers" is two-fold. First, I love Peter Cushing with all my heart. I've been fascinated with the man since seeing him in "Star Wars" as a child. He commands every scene of every film he appears in no matter how briefly he's on screen. I can't even begin to imagine what such a "perfect gentleman" as Cushing thought when he saw this movie.Secondly, you can't beat the atmosphere of a period piece Hammer film. The sets are wonderfully dreary and Gothic. I absolutely adore the Victorian design and gloriously green exterior shots."The Vampire Lovers" is an essential piece for any collector of Hammer horror films. Although I don't necessarily condone the themes of the movie, it is a fascinating entry in the vampire genre and a unique part of cinema history. I will say this isn't your usual classic 1970's PG gore fest and shouldn't be viewed by young eyes. http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/849014/eric_shirey.html