The Fearless Vampire Killers
1967 film by Roman Polanski
The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, but Your Teeth Are in My Neck (shortened to The Fearless Vampire Killers; originally released in the United Kingdom as Dance of the Vampires) is a 1967 gothic comedy horror film directed by Roman Polanski, written by Gérard Brach and Polanski, produced by Gene Gutowski and starring Polanski with his future wife Sharon Tate, along with Jack MacGowran and Alfie Bass, and featuring Ferdy Mayne.
In the film, a doddering vampire hunter (Jack MacGowran) and his bumbling assistant (Roman Polanski) travel to a small mountain village where they find the tell-tale traces of vampirism. The assistant becomes enchanted by the local tavern keeper's daughter, Sarah (Sharon Tate), who is promptly abducted. Determined to save the buxom maiden, they confront the undead Count in his castle. The film has been adapted into a musical, Dance of the Vampires (first adapted in German under the translated title Tanz der Vampire).
Plot
In the mid-19th century, Professor Abronsius, formerly of the University of Königsberg, and his young apprentice Alfred are on the hunt for vampires. Abronsius is old and withering and barely able to survive the cold ride through the wintry forests, while Alfred is bumbling and introverted. The two hunters come to a small village in Transylvania seemingly at the end of a long search for signs of vampires. The two stay at a local inn full of angst-ridden townspeople who perform strange rituals to fend off an unseen evil.
While staying at the inn, Alfred develops a fondness for Sarah, the overprotected daughter of the tavern keeper, Yoine Shagal.
“The Fearless Vampire Killers” enters the record as 1967 film by Roman Polanski. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Fearless, Vampire and Killers can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q834530. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1967.
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