The Kiss of the Vampire

Year: 1963

Country: UK

Tagline: Giant devil Bats...summoned from the caves of Hell to destroy the lust of the Vampires!  »

Plot: Gerald [Edward de Souza] and Marianne [Jennifer Daniel] Harcourt are motoring through Europe on their honeymoon when their car runs out of petrol. Looking out over the valley from his chateau window, Dr Ravna [Noel Willman] sees them, but cannot do anything before Gerald goes for help, leaving Marianne in the car. Gerald gets a tow to the nearest hotel, where they take a room for the night. There are no other guests, save for Professor Zimmer [Clifford Evans], who spends much of his time drinking. The owners, Anna [Vera Cook] and Bruno [Peter Madden], try to make the newlyweds' stay a happy one, but they are obviously troubled by something and haven't had guests in a long time, attested to by the sheets over the furniture and remarks like, "Nobody ever stays here anymore." But no one will say why. While Gerald and Marianne take tea in their room, a letter arrives for them. It is from Dr Ravna, inviting them to dine with him. When Bruno tells them that Dr Ravna's table is the best in the country, they decide to go.Gerald and Marianne find the pheasant and wine to be tasty, Dr Ravnos to be a charming host, and his son Carl [Barry Warren] is a fine pianist. When Carl plays one of his own compositions, Marianne is almost entranced. As an added surprise, Dr Ravna says that he's sending for some petrol for their car, but it may take several days. Gerald and Marianne return to their hotel. It's late, and Marianne is tired, but not tired enough not to hear Anna sobbing in a room down the hall. Marianne peeks in and sees Anna sitting on the floor, going through some clothes and photos of her daughter Tania, who has been lost to Ravna.The next day, Carl Ravna and his sister Sabena [Jacquie Wallis] drop by the hotel to invite Gerald and Marianne to a party they are giving on Saturday night. It's going to be a gala. Ravna is bringing in a chef from Paris and an orchestra from Vienna, and Carl and Sabena offer to loan Gerald and Marianne formal clothes so they don't have to worry about their dress. Gerald invites them in for a drink, but they leave quickly when Professor Zimmer informs that the weather is changing...the sun is coming out.It's a masked ball. Marianne is given a black mask, and Gerald is given a red devil mask. Carl and Marianne dance and dance. When Marianne takes a break and wonders where Gerald has gone, Carl switches his mask for one like that being worn by Gerald and, without saying a word, he leads Marianne upstairs, where he abruptly pushes her into a room and locks the door. Marianne is alone, except for Dr Ravna, who mesmerizes her and then bites her neck. Gerald is chatting downstairs with Sabena and drinking a bit too much champagne. He wonders where Marianne is, but Sabena offers him one more "special" class of champagne. Gerald drinks it and begins to feel faint, so Sabena takes him upstairs so that he can lie down.The party-goers suddenly take off their masks, change into white gowns, and enter a ceremonial chamber where Ravna introduces Marianne as a new disciple. When Gerald wakes up, there is no evidence of any party, and everyone denies knowing Marianne. Carl tells Gerald that he came alone, drank too much, and had to sleep it off. They throw Gerald out, where he is later found laying in the road by Professor Zimmer who takes him back to the hotel. Bruno also denies knowing Marianne, and all her clothes are gone. Not even the police believe him. Only Zimmer remembers, and he tells Gerald that Marianne is being held at Ravna's chateau. Zimmer knows about the vampires. He tells Gerald about his own daughter who was made into a vampire by Ravna.That night, Gerald goes to the castle. He happens upon Tania [Isobel Black] and asks for her help. Tania leads him straight to Ravna, who calls for Marianne. Marianne, obviously entranced, doesn't want anything to do with Gerald. To prove it, she spits in his face. Ravna then tells Tania to "initiate" Gerald. Tania scratches his chest, drawing blood. As she bends forward to bite his neck, Gerald pushes her away and makes a cross on his chest using his own blood. At that moment, Zimmer enters the room. They grab Marianne and take her back to the hotel. Zimmer has placed crosses drawn with distillation of garlic on all the entrances to the chateau, which seals the vampires inside. Tonight is the full moon, he says, and Capricorn is in conjunction with Saturn, a perfect night for performing a ritual that he's been working on to destroy the vampires. While Zimmer prepares, Ravna summons Marianne, who starts walking back to the castle. When Gerald discovers that Marianne is gone, he and Father Xavier [Noel Howlett] pursue. Zimmer summons a scourge of bats that fly into the castle and bite all the vampires to death, which releases Marianne from her trance.NOTE: US version has the following story interwoven with the one above.The Stanghers live in the same village as Dr Ravna. Rosa Stangher [Virginia Gregg] sews robes for Dr Ravna, although neither she nor husband Otto [Horst Ebersberg?] know what he uses them for. Daughter Theresa [Shiela Welles] wants to step out for a while, but her father is worried about her being out alone. When he finds that his wife actually sent Theresa to Ravna's castle that afternoon to tell him that his robes were ready, Otto is really angry. Rosa refuses to believe the gossip about Ravna. Theresa's boyfriend Anton [Carl Esmond] drops by. When he finds that Theresa has received a music box as a gift from Ravna, he gets angry and warns her to never go to the chateau again. Later, as Theresa listens to the music, she feels strangely compelled to put on her shawl and go for a walk, but her mother stops her and sends her to bed. Theresa has also been invited to the ball. Her mother helps her get ready, but her father refuses to let her go. The day after the ball, the town is happy and alive again. Anton and Theresa are back together. Everyone is going to church. While Theresa gets her hat, Anton burns the musicbox. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl]Honeymooning in Bavaria, Gerald and Marianne Harcourt experience car trouble and get stranded in a vampire cult. An aristocratic family in the area reaches out to help them with sinister consequences.

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