Love at First Bite (1979)

A Brilliant Conflict

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Strains of disco/organ music accompany the first glimpse we see of Castle Dracula, with lightening and plenty of dry ice; the children of the night providing harmonies to Dracula's organ playing is dismissed with a curt 'Shut up!' Dracula's slave Renfield chuckles a very Dwight Frye-sounding chuckle. It is clear from the outset, this is a light-hearted homage by a production team clearly in love with vampiric cinema.The mighty George Hamilton, perma-tanned and pearly of tooth is perfect in the role of The Count. His delivery is more reminiscent of Bela Lugosi's accent even than Martin Landau's award winning performance. Hamilton is more talented than he is often given credit for, I think.One of those words that doesn't really mean anything, 'schmaltzy', seems to describe the worst excesses of this; the greatest crime is its dated-ness. Comedy is notoriously difficult because it is so subjective, but at its heart 'Love at First Bite' is a well observed (even Hamilton sauntering down a street in downtown New York is reminiscent of Bela Lugosi's sojourn down the streets of Universal's 'London' from the 1931 classic), surprisingly well-played comedy, in which Count Dracula's long lost love is Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James), a famous fashion model. The Count's journey to find her takes him through various modern day nightmares; his bewilderment when encountering disco music for the first time is entirely understandable. Equally, his crumpled expression when Sondheim sees him initially and assumes he is a waiter is a highlight. Sondheim's psychiatrist Jeffrey Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin) is The Count's protagonist, and it is telling he is viewed as the befuddled 'bad guy.' Rosenberg is a distant relative of Van Helsing. Michael Pataki, who fleetingly played Dracula in 'Zoltan, Hound of Dracula' the year before, appears in a brief scene in a lift.As the film goes on, the various homages to earlier Dracula projects give way to more knockabout comedy fare. Just when the joke is in danger of wearing thin with a car chase, Sondheim finally decides to become a vampire and the two bats are last seen wobbling towards Jamaica, where The Count's coffin has mistakenly been taken.

Forced out of his Transylvanian castle by government officials, Count Vladimir Dracula and his bug-eating man-servant, Renfield, pull up stakes and land in New York City, where the bloodsucker begins his search for the fashion model he believes is his soulmate. "Love at First Bite" is a sassy, snorting romp, but it isn't crude; it has too big of a heart to be just another vampire spoof. Bram Stoker's infamous Count has been modernized (via the 1970s) as a die-hard romantic with a ticklish side (he amuses himself), and George Hamilton could not be better in the role. Whether seducing flaky sexpot Susan Saint James with some fancy moves on the dance-floor, matching wits with Richard Benjamin as a nutty psychiatrist (and Van Helsing relative!) or robbing a blood bank with Arte Johnson's Renfield in tow, Hamilton never gets pushy with his Dracula incarnation; he's working in a surprising, charming lower key and doesn't resort to hamming for laughs. The movie isn't especially well-produced--the color is gloppy, the continuity is spotty and the third act business is squashed together--but it has a sense of naughty (but not vulgar) playfulness that audiences responded to. Hamilton's obvious delight with this comic-book approach to Dracula is infectious, as well. His Count may not be street-smart or completely self-assured, but he's a flexible vampire, willing to adapt to the times. He's also loyal to the people he loves, and this gives the romance a groovy kick (when this vampire says "I love you," you knows he means it; he swoons a little himself when he says it). Hamilton revels in the fun, and he looks great in the cape. *** from ****

In 1979, one of my favourite Vampire movies was released, 'Love at First Bite'. With its cheesy dialogue, romance plot line and toned, tanned and accented 'George Hamilton' playing the sad vampire, 'Count Vladimir Dracula', this movie was a comedy success just waiting to happen.Vladimir is a Vampire with a heart. He is lonely, tired of his un-life and longing for companionship. But each and every time he has tried throughout the centuries to find his true love, something terrible always happened. And now, he is being evicted from his Transylvanian home and so has decided to move to New York to find his love, 'Cindy Sondheim', played by the beautiful 'Susan Saint James'.Cindy is a model (naturally) but surprisingly isn't as up herself as one would expect. Her character is much more self-conscious and down to earth than I had expected, which added to my enjoyment of the film.Soon enough, with the help of his servant and companion, 'Renfield', acted with such creepiness and downright filth by 'Arte Johnson', Vlad finally meets Cindy and proceeds to woo her with his deadly charm. But there is one problem. Cindy's psychologist and part-time lover, 'Dr. Jeffery Rosenberg' gets in the way, by opening up and confessing that he changed his name and that he is really a 'Van Helsing'. Jeffery then does his best to save Cindy and kill Vlad.One of my favourite scenes is set in a restaurant. Cindy and Vlad are having dinner when Jeffery bursts in, pulls out a gun and shoots Vlad three times in the chest, proclaiming that three silver bullets would kill him. But Vlad simply laughs and replies that the joke was on him, silver bullets are for werewolves. Jeffery is dragged out by the police and exclaims as he goes; 'No harm done. The man's alright. This was for a werewolf. No problem. Calm down, take it easy. I'm a Doctor, I know what I'm doing. It's alright, he's even got a little colour.' Overall, an excellent movie with a great cast and wonderful camera work and effects. The dialogue can be a bit cheesy at times, but it's definitely funny either way. There a lot of good lines throughout, but you'll have to watch it to hear them for yourself.

...what I saw was funny enough. Featuring a tan-less George Hamilton as Count Vladimir Dracula looking for a bride in 1970s New York, the movie is basically an excuse to be silly. His bride to be in this case is Cindy Sondheim (Susan St. James), and Richard Benjamin is his usual funny self as Dr. Jeffrey Rosenberg trying to protect Cindy from the count. My favorite scene was when Jeffrey holds up the "cross". Dick Shawn - in a role fairly reminiscent of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Producers" - plays an uptight cop, and Arte Johnson plays Renfield. All that I can say is that you'll definitely want to sink your teeth into this movie.