Following the success of 1958’s DRACULA [aka HORROR OF DRACULA] and his being recognized as the Count Dracula for audiences worldwide, Christopher Lee almost immediately followed up his second appearance in a Hammer Studios’ movie (and the first as Dracula) with a surprise turn in a comedic role. In 1959, he starred in the Italian-made TEMPI DURI PER I VAMPIRI (“Hard Times for A Vampire”). Also known as UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE, the film — primarily a vehicle for comedic actor Renato Rascel — is one of the first (but not the last) of Lee’s having fun with the role he made famous. It is also the first of many Italian film productions with which he would be involved in his career. Is it silly? Yes. Does imposing 6′ 5″ Lee play the straight-man to Rascel’s 5′ 2″ diminuitive, loveable clown? Yes. Is it funny? Ocassionally. Is it a horror movie? No. Nor was it ever really meant to be.

NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER’S DRACULA

Not wanting to taint the serious nature of Bram Stoker’s legendary creation by playing him for laughs,* Lee insisted that the vampire not be referred to as Dracula in UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE. Instead, Lee plays Baron Roderico da Frankurten, uncle to Rascel’s Baron Osvaldo Lambertenghi. Seems Osvaldo was forced to sell his castle to pay debts, and now working at a bellhop at his former home — now a hotel — he receives a steamer trunk from a long-lost uncle and a letter that his uncle will arrive that night, at midnight. Inside the trunk? Baron Roderico da Frankfurten’s coffin. And inside that? The baron himself, a 400-year-old vampire that had his castle — believed abandoned — slated for demolition (to build a nuclear power plant!).

It isn’t long before Roderico is revealed to be a vampire (it seems he keeps a diary) and sinks his fangs into Osvaldo — hoping to pass along his curse.  We learn that a vampire’s bite can temporarily curse a human with a thirst for blood, as Osvaldo begins nocturnal activity that involves fangs of his own, a cape, and a marathon series of attacks on the hotel’s female guests (42!) [though surprisingly not including the character of Carla (Sylva Koscina), a girl in love with a teen idol — leading to the question: is a teen idol more hypnotic than a vampire?].

To their playboy boyfriends’ shock and consternation, two of the young women (played by Kai Fischer and Susanne Loret) behave differently, covering their throats, acting as if nothing strange has happened. Victims of a fumbling novice vampire, they are nonetheless mesmerized by him. And Osvaldo? His curse? His job? His unrequited love for a young gardener named Lillana (played by Antje Geerk)? His loyalty to his uncle? His wanting to reclaim his ancestral home? The slapstick? It becomes too much for the aristocrat turned bellhop.

Becoming human again at daylight, Osvaldo eventually agrees to join the hotel owners and guests who are determined to save their women by finding and then staking the vampire. Only problem: unbeknownest to them, the vampire they are hunting is Osvaldo.

Comedy ensues. And Christopher Lee plays it straight. Though his own English is dubbed** (with a disconcerting echo), he is arguably the only reason for any modern audience to watch the movie. Deadpan delivery. No hamming it up for the camera. No smiles. Of course, there’s some levity: first, when Roderico shows off his fangs. Then, when he confronts the townsfolk about their superstitions, telling them that Osvaldo is “no more a vampire than I am!” Lee’s timing is spot-on, and though his very presence can be menacing, one gets the impression that Lee was actually enjoying himself.

LESS-THAN SOPHISTICATED SATIRE

UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE is not a genre parody or spoof like the first well-recognized monster comedy ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948). Instead, UNCLE is more of a satire — not so much satirizing the horror genre as a whole, but taking its tropes and then, intentionally or not, exploring themes of male/female relationships and a crumbling aristocracy vs. the middle class. Man and woman. Old and young. Rich and poor. Undead and alive.

Osvaldo, groomed to take the place of Roderico, just can’t get the knack of being a vampire, despite puckish enthusiasm. And being hunted is no fun. He learns from Roderico’s book that a woman’s kiss will free him from the curse. So it’s a good thing that Osvaldo loves the gardener; as their relationship grows, so do the chances of him being freed from the curse. He ultimately is cured, and the conclusion of the movie finds Osvaldo wrapping everything up (in Italian, oddly enough, and not dubbed English like the rest of the film). He stands above the steamer trunk, presumablty occupied by his uncle, when Christoper Lee walks past, arm and arm with the playboys’ girlfriends.

LEE GETS THE GIRL(S)

For once, Christopher Lee’s vampire truly gets the girl(s)! No need to bury one outside of the castle (DRACULA) or get revenge on an enemy by trying to turn his daughter into a vampire (1968’s DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE). No need to be the boogeyman. Instead, Lee’s Roderico closes out the film by curiously walking away from his nephew without a word, each of the playboys’ girlfriends at his side.

The movie ends wth Osvaldo noting comedically that some people are “better off undead.”

It seems Roderico certainly is. And the charismatic Christopher Lee — barely in the film except for a few memorable moments — makes it look cool. He’s a ladies’ man. And a new life awaits him with a young woman on each arm.

 

*Lee did his best to differentiate Roderico from Dracula, but a curious carryover from the movie is his red-lined cape — worn for the first time here — showing up in future Dracula films for Hammer. Lee played Dracula for Hammer a total of seven times, often in capes with the red lining. In UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE, Rascel, too, wears the red-lined cape, albeit a smaller size.

**The dubbed version is what’s currently available streaming on Tubi.