''The Velvet Vampire'', also known as ''Cemetery Girls'', is a 1971 American

vampire film Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptati ...

directed by

Stephanie Rothman Stephanie Rothman (born November 9, 1936, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, known for her low-budget independent exploitation films made in the 1960s and 1970s, especially ''The Student Nurses'' (1 ...

. It stars

Celeste Yarnall Celeste Jeanne Yarnall (July 26, 1944 – October 7, 2018) was an American actress primarily of the 1960s and 1970s. She started her career on television before moving to feature film roles. Career A native of Long Beach, California, Yarnall w ...

Michael Blodgett Michael Blodgett (September 26, 1939 – November 14, 2007) was an American actor, novelist, and screenwriter. Of his many film and television appearances he is best known for his performance as gigolo Lance Rocke in Russ Meyer's 1970 cult cl ...

, Sherry Miles, Gene Shane, Jerry Daniels,

Sandy Ward Sandy Brown (July 12, 1926 – March 6, 2005) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the recurring role of "Logger Pete" on 11 episodes of the American sitcom television series ''Malcolm in the Middle''. ...

, and Paul Prokop. It has been cited as a

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

Plot

Lee Ritter (

) and his wife Susan (Sherry Miles) accept the invitation of the mysterious Diane LeFanu (

) to visit her in her secluded

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

estate. Tensions arise when the couple, who are unaware that Diane is in reality a centuries-old

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

, realize that they are both objects of the pale

temptress Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

's seductions.

Cast

as Diane LeFanu *

as Lee Ritter * Sherry Miles as Susan Ritter * Gene Shane as Carl Stoker * Jerry Daniels as Juan *

as Amos * Paul Prokop as Cliff * Chris Woodley as Cliff's Girl *

Robert Tessier Robert W. Tessier (June 2, 1934 – October 11, 1990) was an American actor and stuntman who was best known for playing heavy, menacing characters in films and on television. Early life Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, of Abenaki and French desc ...

as The Biker *

Johnny Shines John Ned Shines (April 26, 1915 – April 20, 1992) was an American blues singer and guitarist. Biography Shines was born in the community of Frayser, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was taught to play the guitar by his mother and spent most of h ...

as The Bluesman

Production

The film was

's follow-up to her 1970 hit ''

The Student Nurses ''The Student Nurses'' is a 1970 American film directed by Stephanie Rothman. It was the second film from New World Pictures and the first in the popular "nurses" cycle of exploitation movies. It has since become a cult film. Plot Four young women ...

''. She and her husband Charles Swartz had written a script, ''

The Student Teachers ''The Student Teachers'' is a 1973 film directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It was inspired by the "nurse" cycle of pictures starting with ''The Student Nurses'' (1970). Roger Corman says it was one of the best of the cycle. Plot Three new high school t ...

'', but producer

Larry Woolner The Woolner Brothers were an American film releasing company formed in 1955, made up of Lawrence (April 22, 1912 – July 21, 1985), Bernard (June 9, 1910 – February 21, 1977), and David Woolner. History After US Army service in World W ...

wanted to make a vampire film after the success of ''

Daughters of Darkness ''Daughters of Darkness'' is a 1971 erotic horror film directed by Harry Kümel and starring Delphine Seyrig, Danielle Ouimet, John Karlen and Andrea Rau. Plot Stefan Chilton, the son of an aristocratic British family who was raised in the United ...

'' (1970). Rothman and Swartz came up with a present-day vampire story originally entitled ''Through the Looking Glass''. Rothman wanted to make the vampire female and have a woman as the protagonist rather than the victim.'Exploiting Feminism: An Interview with Stephanie Rothman (Part One)' ''Confessions of an Aca Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins'', October 15 ,2007
/ref> The character name "Diane Le Fanu" was a reference to author Sheridan Le Fanu, writer of ''

Carmilla ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 Gothic fiction, Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897) by 26 years. First published as a Serial (literature), serial in ' ...

''. The art gallery where Lee and Susan first meet Diane is called "The Stoker" after its owner, the character Carl Stoker, an evident reference to

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

, the author of ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

''. The script was written over three months. Rothman added comedic elements to make it different from similar material.

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

artist Johnny Shines appeared in the movie and performed his self-penned song "Evil-Hearted Woman." The movie was shot in February 1971. Yarnall, who had just given birth, remembers "everyone was very accommodating, just a joy to work with. Stephanie ... was wonderful, open. It was my first experience having a female director and it was remarkable especially concerning the sexual scenes. Stephanie was very sensitive. She closed the set during the more explicit shots, and there was often just Michael and I and the cameraman."

Reception

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

later claimed he was disappointed with the final product and released it on a double bill with an Italian

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

, ''

Scream of the Demon Lover ''Scream of the Demon Lover'' (released in Italy as ''Il castello dalle porte di fuoco''/ ''The Castle With the Door of Fire'') is a Spanish-Italian horror film, originally written under the title ''Ivanna''. It was released in France as ''Le Monst ...

''. It has become a cult film.

Box office

Stephanie Rothman admitted the film's commercial reception was disappointing. She thought the problem may have been the movie:

Fell between two stools. It's not a traditional horror film nor a hard-core exploitation movie. In some places it was booked into art theatres. In others it had one-week saturation release in drive-ins and hard-top theaters. There was no consistent distribution pattern for it because people responded differently to it and I think that may be part of the problem. Also it was an independent producer. There were a lot of other competing vampire movies at the time with star names. ... But the film has not been forgotten. It keeps popping up at festivals and retrospectives, even though it did not draw attention to itself at the box office.Tony Williams, 'Feminism, Fantasy and Violence: An Interview with Stephanie Rothman', ''Journal of Popular Film & Television'' 9. 2 (Summer 1981): 84. See also Readers' Forum A Letter of Correction from Stephanie Rothman Journal of Popular Film & Television10.3 (Fall 1982): 137.

Critical

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote "Miss Rothman is at her best in love scenes... handled with rare sensual beauty and taste. Unfortunately there's little else to be said for ''The Velvet Vampire''."

References

External links

*
A review of the movie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velvet Vampire, The 1971 films American vampire films Vampire comedy films 1971 horror films American comedy horror films Films set in country houses Erotic fantasy films 1970s comedy horror films New World Pictures films 1971 comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films