Et mourir de plaisir (1960) - film review

Carmilla von Karstein becomes anxious when she hears the legend of an ancestor of hers, Millarca, who escaped the grisly death reserved for vampires.  During a lavish party organised by her cousin Leopoldo to celebrate his engagement to Georgia Monteverdi an explosion destroys a nearby abbey.  A secret passage is revealed, at the end of which Carmilla discovers an ancient tomb which she is certain is that of Millarca.  Not long afterwards, Leopoldo becomes aware of a dramatic change in Carmilla’s behaviour.  His worst fears are confirmed when a peasant girl is found dead a short time later, her body defiled by the mark of the vampire...
© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium)

After Les Liaisons dangereuses, film director Roger Vladimir Plemiannikov, better known as Roger Vadim, made Et mourir de plaisir, a horror movie adapted in all its splendour from the novel Carmilla written in 1872 by the Irish writer Joseph Sheridan le Fanu, transposed to the 1960s.  This Franco-Italian production came out in cinemas on the 14th September 1960 and has a spectacular location, Hadrian’s villa in the splendid Italian countryside.  The film is photographed by Claude Renoir in ravishing colour and black and white and has an exquisite score by Jean Prodomires featuring the rarely used Irish Harp.

Better known for his great taste in woman (Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Jane Fonda) than for his filmmaking talents, Vadim’s cast is an interesting combination of international stars.  Christopher Lee was considered for the role of Count Karnestein but the part went to his friend Mel Ferrer.  The lead female role went to the Italian actress Elsa Martinelli, a familiar face beside actors such as Kirk Dougla, Robert Hossein, Bourvil, Orson Welles, John Wayne and Jean Marais.  Ferrer and Martinelli have a wonderful chemistry together and the supporting actors are perfectly chosen - the one who steals the show is the gorgeous Danish actress Annette Stroyberg, who became Annette Vadim when she married the director after making the film.  Stroyberg’s performance is a mysterious combination of detachment, passivity and childlike felicity; the actress totally brings her character to life (not that this should be too difficult for a vampire...).  In a small part, we recognise French film director Marc Allégret, who had given Vadim an early start when he engaged him as his assistant.

Let’s not beat about the bush - Vadim’s direction fails to get the full potential out of the story and there are a couple of jarring moments that don’t sit right.  Of course, romance and vampires were an unusual mix at the time in French cinema but still the plot shows more eroticism than horror and the vampire themes are more soft-focus and soft-core in intent.  Nevertheless, Vadim’s adaptation is a dark and tragic story with a gentle Gothic atmosphere, an enchanting and harrowing piece of work which is occasionally compulsive with some undeniably striking shots.

At the time, the film was criticised for some sequences involving Martinelli and Stroyberg on account of their freely erotic lesbian character, although Vadim responded by saying this was merely an expression of Carmilla’s predilection for female victims.  Et mourir de plaisir is a rare incursion by French cinema into a universe which belonged almost exclusively to the British and Americans.  Sadly, the film is currently only available as a bad VHS print which doesn’t show its full Technicolor glory.  Hopefully one day Paramount will release this unknown gem on DVD or Blu-ray with its gorgeous visuals as Vadim intended.

© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium) 2012

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