FILM : Satire Is in ‘Vampire’s’ Blood

The Hollywood vampire phase crested in the ‘60s, when Christopher Lee and Vincent Price, bad makeup, black capes, bulging eyes and pointy teeth plagued screens everywhere, especially at the drive-ins.

These mostly silly movies may have been immune to satire (so campy already, they were naturally self-deprecating), but that didn’t deter Roman Polanski in 1967.

Polanski, a young director known for verrry serious, sometimes brilliant films, took a frivolous detour with “The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, but Your Teeth Are in My Neck,” a spoof in which he also starred.

Polanski had cemented his career with “Knife in the Water,” his 1962 film, but American audiences had yet to embrace him.

“The Fearless Vampire Killers,” which screens Friday night at UC Irvine as part of the “Early Films by Acclaimed Directors” series, was a comedic attempt to win them over.

But the film had minor box office appeal, and it took the release of “Rosemary’s Baby” in 1968 for Polanski to really make an impact on the American market.

Looking back on “The Fearless Vampire Killers,” it’s easy to see why audiences weren’t excited; Hollywood has a habit of liking its spoofs done in big, outrageous strokes, and this movie is low-key.

The plot is interchangeable with just about any of those Dracula flicks on which Polanski based his satire.

Prof. Ambronsius (Jack MacGowran) journeys to the Central European country of Slovania with his assistant, Alfred (played with a wide-eyed foolishness by Polanski), to destroy Count Von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne), a vampire terrorizing the local folk. Alfred falls for the town beauty (Sharon Tate), who is abducted by the Count.

Although some critics now give it higher marks than they did in 1967, the picture can’t be called a riot. Polanski plays with the vampire flick cliches but doesn’t stretch them very far, often not far enough.

The cleverest snatches--his take on the Village Idiot and Igor the Hunchback stereotypes are amusing, if not brilliant--have to break through much that is deadpan to the point of being deathly.

To a real film fan, “The Fearless Vampire Killers” is, as the UCI series suggests, interesting as an example of a talented filmmaker’s varied repertoire.

As for technique, Polanski further shows one of his main contributions to film, the use of color for both stylistic and emotional effect.

Shot in vivid Technicolor by cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, “The Fearless Vampire Killers” looks like it was hand-painted.

As for Hollywood history, the movie marked the only time Polanski worked and appeared with Tate, whom he married the following year.

What: Roman Polanski’s “The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, but Your Teeth Are in My Neck.”

When: Friday, May 22, 7 and 9 p.m.

Where: UC Irvine’s Student Center Crystal Cove Auditorium.

Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway to Jamboree Road and head south. Go east on Campus Drive and take Bridge Road into the campus.

Wherewithal: $4.

Where to Call: (714) 856-6379.