The Vampire Lovers

The Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, Kate OMara and Jon Finch. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is part of the socalled Karnstein Trilogy of films, the other films being Lust for a Vampire 1971 and Twins of Evil 1972. The three films were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian vampire themes.

Faking a carriage breakdown, Marcillas mother leaves her now using the alias Carmilla at the residence of a Mr. Morton, where Carmilla befriends and seduces Mortons daughter Emma Madeline Smith. Thereafter Emma suffers nightmares of penetration over the heart, and her breast shows tiny wounds. Emmas governess, Madame Perrodot Kate OMara, becomes Carmillas accomplice. The butler and a doctor suspect them but Carmilla kills each one. A mysterious man in black watches events from a distance, smiling his presence is never explained. Having killed the butler, Carmilla takes Emma prisoner and departs. When Madame Perrodot begs Carmilla to take her too, Carmilla kills her. Emma is rescued by a young man named Carl Jon Finch, and Carmilla flees to her ancestral castle, now a ruin. All this coincides with the arrival of the General, who brings a nowaged Baron Hartog. They find Carmillas grave, which reveals that her true name is Mircalla Karnstien, where the General forces a stake into Carmillas heart, and cuts off her head. Thereupon Carmillas portrait on the wall shows a fanged skeleton instead of a beautiful young woman.Before production, the script of The Vampire Lovers was sent to the chief censor John Trevelyan, who warned the studio about depictions of lesbianism, pointing out that a previous lesbian film, The Killing of Sister George, had had five minutes excised by his office. In response, Hammer replied that the lesbianism was not of their doing but was present in the original story by Le Fanu. Trevelyan backed down. Production of The Vampire Lovers began at Elstree Studios onJanuary 1970 and used locations in the grounds of Moor Park Mansion, Hertfordshire standing in for Styria, Central Europe. Produced on a relatively low budget of 165,227, it was the final Hammer film to be financed with American moneymost of the later films were backed by Rank or EMI. ........

Source: Wikipedia