Blood and Roses

This article is about the film. For the song by The Smithereens, see Blood and Roses (song). For the book by Helen Castor, see Blood and Roses (book).

Blood and Roses
French film poster for Blood and Roses
Directed by	Roger Vadim
Written by	Sheridan Le Fanu (story Carmilla) Claude Brulé Claude Martin (writer) Roger Vailland
Produced by	Raymond Eger
Starring	Mel Ferrer Elsa Martinelli Annette Stroyberg René-Jean Chauffard
Cinematography	Claude Renoir
Edited by	Maurizio Lucidi Victoria Mercanton
Music by	Jean Prodromidès
Production companies	Documento Film, Films EGE
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures (USA, 1961)
Release dates	14 September 1960 (1960-09-14) (France) 18 January 1961 (1961-01-18) (Italy)
Running time	87 minutes
Countries	France Italy
Language	French
Box office	1,205,106 admissions (France)

Blood and Roses (1960) — French title Et mourir de plaisir (Le sang et la rose); literally, And die of pleasure (The blood and the rose) — is a French vampire film directed by Roger Vadim and loosely based upon the novella Carmilla (1872) by Irish writer Joseph Sheridan le Fanu. The story's locale was shifted from 19th century Styria to 20th century Italy.

Plot summary

Set in the modern day at a European estate, Carmilla is torn emotionally by the engagement of her friend Georgia to her cousin Leopoldo. It is hard to tell for whom she has the strongest unrequited emotions. During the masquerade ball celebrating the upcoming marriage, a fireworks display accidentally explodes some munitions lost at the site in WWII, disturbing an ancestral catacomb. Carmilla wearing the dress of her legendary vampire ancestor wanders into the ruins, where the tomb of the ancestor opens slowly. Carmilla returns to Leopoldo's estate as the last guests depart. Over next few days she proceeds to act as though possessed by the spirit of the vampire and a series of vampiric killings terrorize the estate.

Difference in versions

The original French version is 87 minutes long and is introduced by a discussion of Carmilla's case by a doctor who starts the tell of her story, leaving to the viewer to decide if Carmilla was really possessed or just delusional. The most common English language version is 74 minutes long and, among other deletions, drops the doctor's introduction and the discussions of vampire legends by the servants' children. The added English voice-over narration by the vampire ancestor removes any ambiguity.

Cast

• Mel Ferrer as Leopoldo De Karnstein
• Elsa Martinelli as Georgia Monteverdi
• Annette Vadim as Carmilla
• René-Jean Chauffard as Dr. Verari
• Marc Allégret as Judge Monteverdi
• Alberto Bonucci as Carlo Ruggieri
• Serge Marquand as Giuseppe
• Gabriella Farinon as Lisa
• Renato Speziali as Guido Naldi
• Edith Peters as The Cook
• Giovanni Di Benedetto as Police Marshal
• Carmilla Stroyberg as Martha
• Nathalie LeForet as Marie

Soundtrack - Discography

The core of the original soundtrack composed by Jean Prodromidès for Blood and Roses was first released on an EP offering 12 minutes of music. In 2010, this content was finally reissued on CD by Canadian label Disques Cinemusique, as part of a compilation devoted to the composer and which features his music for Danton. The CD is now out of print but both these soundtracks are available for downloading and stream. More information here.

See also

• Lesbian vampire
• Vampire film

External links

• Online Review
• Blood and Roses at IMDb