are unaware that it is too late for Sarah; she awakens in mid-flight as a vampire and bites Alfred, thus allowing vampires to be released into the world. Cast Jack MacGowran as Professor Abronsius Roman Polanski as Alfred, Abronsius's assistant Sharon Tate as Sarah Shagal Alfie Bass as Yoyneh Shagal, the innkeeper Ferdy Mayne as Count von Krolock / Narrator Terry Downes as Koukol, Krolock's servant Fiona Lewis as Magda, Shagal's maid Iain Quarrier as Herbert von Krolock Jessie Robins as Rebecca Shagal Ronald Lacey as Village Idiot Sydney Bromley as Sleigh Driver Andreas Malandrinos as Woodcutter Otto Diamant as Woodcutter Matthew Walters as Woodcutter Vladek Sheybal as Herbert von Krolock (voice, uncredited) Production Roman Polanski talks about production difficulties in his autobiography: "Our first month's outdoor filming became a series of ingenious improvisations, mainly because the last-minute switch from one location (Austria) to another (Urtijëi, an Italian ski resort in the Dolomites) had left us so little time to revise our shooting schedules. The fact that we were filming in Italy entailed the employment of a certain number of Italian technicians and that, in turn bred some international friction. Gene Gutowski (the film's European producer) rightly suspected that the Italians were robbing us blind." Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe said: "I think he (Roman) put more of himself into Dance of the Vampires than into any other film. It brought to light the fairy-tale interest that he has. One was conscious all along when making the picture of a Central European background to the story. Very few of the crew could see anything in it—they thought it old-fashioned nonsense. But I could see this background....I have a French background myself and could sense the Central European atmosphere that surrounds it. The figure of Alfred is very much like Roman himself—a slight figure, young and a little defenseless—a touch of Kafka. It is very much a personal statement of his own humor as he used to chuckle all the way through the scenes." This film was the source material for the European stage musical Tanz der Vampire. It is peppered with numerous references to King Richard III of England, who even appears in the ball scene. When the film was first released in the United States, MGM wanted to market it as a "farce". MGM Head Editor Margaret Booth and Head of Theatrical Post Production Merle Chamberlain cut 12 minutes' worth of