''Blood and Roses'' (french: Et mourir de plaisir, lit=And die of pleasure) is a 1960

erotic horror Erotic horror, alternately called horror erotica or dark erotica, is a term applied to works of fiction in which sensual or sexual imagery are blended with horrific overtones or story elements for the sake of sexual titillation. Horror fiction of th ...

film directed by

Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...

. It is based on the novella ''

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 ' ...

'' (1872) by Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu, shifting the book's setting in 19th-century

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

to the film's 20th-century

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Plot

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 World War II, 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 the 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.

Cast

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', ''Lili'' and ''Knights of the Round ...

as Leopoldo De Karnstein *

Elsa Martinelli Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Life and career Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto, Tuscany, she moved to Rome with her family. In 1953, she was discovered by Roberto Capu ...

as Georgia Monteverdi * Annette Vadim as Carmilla *

René-Jean Chauffard René-Jean Chauffard (24 August 1920 – 30 October 1972) was a French film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1945 and 1972. Selected filmography * ''Girl with Grey Eyes'' (1945) * ''The Ideal Couple'' (1946) * ''Les Amants du pont Sa ...

as Dr. Verari *

Marc Allégret Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director. Biography Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...

as Judge Monteverdi * Alberto Bonucci as Carlo Ruggieri *

Serge Marquand Serge Marquand was a French actor and film producer (12 March 1930 – 4 September 2004). He died of advanced leukemia. He was the brother of Nadine Trintignant and Christian Marquand. Filmography *1959: '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' ...

as Giuseppe * Gabriella Farinon as Lisa * Renato Speziali as Guido Naldi *

Edith Peters Edith Arlene Peters (April 14, 1926 – October 28, 2000) was an American singer and actress. She appeared in more than sixteen films from 1957 to 1981. Biography Peters was the fourth of five sisters. Her sisters Virginia, Mattye and Anne ...

as The Cook *

Giovanni Di Benedetto Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...

as Police Marshal *

Carmilla Stroyberg ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 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 in ''The Dark Blue'' (1871–72), the s ...

as Martha *

Nathalie LeForet Nathalie is a female given name. It is a variant of the name Natalie/ Natalia which is found in many languages, and is especially common in French and English speaking countries. Notable people with the name include: * Nathalie, Italian singer * ...

as Marie

Production

''Blood and Roses'' was filmed at

Hadrian's Villa Hadrian's Villa ( it, Villa Adriana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large villa complex built c. AD 120 by Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli outside Rome. The site is owned by the Republic of ...

in Italy.

Release

''Blood and Roses'' was released in France on 14 September 1960. It was released in Rome in January 1961 under the title ''Il sangue e la rosa''. It was also released in the United States in September 1961. Thus far the only DVD of Blood and Roses is a German one with German language and French with English subtitles options.

Reception

In a contemporary review ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' noted that "despite the elegance and beauty of the backgrounds in and about Hadrian's Villa" and "

Claude Renoir Claude Renoir (December 4, 1913Some sources, such as Ginette Vincendeau's ''Encyclopedia of European Cinema'', London: Cassell/BFI, 1995, p.328 indicate 1914 as his year of birth – September 5, 1993) was a French cinematographer. He was the ...

's Tehnicolor-Technicrama photography, this expensive attempt at an art horror film is nothing short of a travesty-both of the genre and LeFanu's marvellous short story." The review noted that the film was "awkward and pedantic" and that the "vampire story is ruined by leaden dialogue, stridently dubbed, and by the sometimes bathetic acting" and that the "film suffers badly from comparison with Dreyer's much freer adaptation of the story, ''

Vampyr ''Vampyr'' (german: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Gray, lit=Vampyr: The Dream of Allan Gray) is a 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. She ...

''."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blood And Roses 1960 films 1960 horror films French vampire films French erotic films Italian erotic horror films Italian vampire films Films based on works by Sheridan Le Fanu Films directed by Roger Vadim Films based on Irish novels 1960s French-language films Films shot in Italy Films set in Italy Films set in country houses Paramount Pictures films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films