I vampiri (1957)

Curiosidades

I Vampiri is a 1957 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo, Dario Michaelis, Wandisa Guida, Paul Müller and Antoine Balpêtré. The film is about a series of murders of young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Giselle Du Grand who is in love with Lantin.

Production

Around the time I Vampiri was in development, Italian film productions had grown exponentially. Italian film productions rose from 25 films in 1945, to 204 in 1954. This growth allowed film makers in Italy to approach new genres and new styles not attempted before. In 1956, the chief executive officer of Titanus, Goffredo Lombardo, stated that Italian film productions should be aimed a European market opposed to just an Italian one.

Freda's ambition to make a horror film derived from his desire to make films in the fantastique style, feeling that only the Americans and German expressionists were able to make such films in the past. Freda approached film producer Luigi Carpentieri with the idea of the film despite not having a treatment ready.

The screenplay of I Vampiri is credited to Piero Regnoli and the fictional writer and scenarist Rijk Sijöstrom. The story of the film features contributions from Freda, who has only mentioned Regnoli during the writing process. Both Freda and Regnoli have uncredited roles in the film as the autopsy doctor and Mr. Bourgeois respectively.

Gianna Maria Canale took the female lead in the film, despite not initially wanting the role. The film was the last of her many films she made with Freda. Freda and Canale had first worked together on Il cavaliere misterioso (1948); their relationship led to Freda leaving his wife to go with Canale to Brazil where they made two more films.

Filming began in Rome in 1956. The film was a low budget production as Lombardo did not care for horror films. Freda and his crew utilized mostly existing sets with only a single scene at the Aniene river filmed outside the studio. The film was shot in black-and-white by cinematographer Mario Bava, who felt that that style would better suit the special effects in the film and keep the budget down.

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