History Film / Vampyr1932

''Vampyr'' is a 1932 horror film from the Danish director Creator/CarlTheodorDreyer. The film, a German-French coproduction, was first conceived shortly after Dreyer's previous (and arguably most famous) film, ''Film/ThePassionOfJoanOfArc'', and loosely based on Creator/JosephSheridanLeFanu's collection of short stories ''In a Glass Darkly'', most notably the stories ''{{Literature/Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant''. Dreyer's first film with synchronized sound, ''Vampyr'' nonetheless was produced much like his previous [[SilentMovie silent movies]], with descriptive intertitles, limited dialogue, and all sound added during post-production. Most of the cast were not professional actors: star and financier Nicolas de Gunzburg was a minor German/Russian (though he had been raised primarily in England and France) who adopted the stage name Julian West in an attempt to break into acting against his family's wishes, and Jan Hieronimko, who played the villainous village doctor, was discovered by Dreyer one night on the Paris Metro.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vampyr.jpg]]

''Vampyr'' is a 1932 horror movie directed by Danish director Creator/CarlTheodorDreyer. The film, a German-French coproduction, was first conceived shortly after Dreyer's previous (and arguably most famous) film, ''Film/ThePassionOfJoanOfArc'', and loosely based on Creator/JosephSheridanLeFanu's collection of short stories ''In a Glass Darkly'', most notably the stories ''{{Literature/Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant''. Dreyer's first film with synchronized sound, ''Vampyr'' nonetheless was produced much like his previous [[SilentMovie silent movies]], with descriptive intertitles, limited dialogue, and all sound added during post-production. Most of the movie's cast were not professional actors: star and financier Nicolas de Gunzburg was a minor German/Russian (though he had been raised primarily in England and France) who adopted the stage name Julian West in an attempt to break into acting against his family's wishes, and Jan Hieronimko, who played the villainous village doctor, was discovered by Dreyer one night on the Paris Metro.

The story involves Allan Gray, a young student of the occult whose wanderings take him to the village of Courtempierre, France. He is contacted by a local manor lord, who begs him to ensure that his eldest daughter, Léone, not be allowed to die and leaves him with a mysterious package to be opened in the event of the lord's death. The next day, Allan explores a nearby abandoned castle before traveling to the lord's manor just in time to see the lord shot by an unknown assailant.

''Vampyr'' was not well received in its German premiere. When audiences in Vienna demanded their money back and were denied by the theater, a small riot broke out. Although Dreyer went back and made some minor edits before its subsequent French premiere, where it was somewhat better received, the overall press reaction was negative, and the film was a financial failure that led to Dreyer having a nervous breakdown and being institutionalized. Modern critics have been much more receptive to the film, with critics frequently citing it as one of the most effective horror movies of all time, and praising its expressionistic and surrealistic qualities.

Allan, the manor's manservant, and the lord's youngest daughter, Giséle struggle to save the dying Léone. The village doctor arrives that night and explains that Léone is suffering from severe blood loss. Allan provides his blood for a transfusion, and falls asleep only to be awoken by the manservant. The two interrupt the doctor's attempt to poison Léone and give chase to the perpetrator. As Allan experiences a vision of his own burial, the manservant unearths the grave of long-dead Marguerite Chopin, whom he now believes to be the vampire responsible for Léone's condition.

* SilenceIsGolden: The first half of the film is almost completely silent, with only a handful of lines of dialogue and extensive intertitles. The second half of the movie is a bit talkier, but still unusually quiet for what is nominally a sound movie. There are a couple of practical reasons for this. For one thing, this was Dreyer's first work with sound, and he may have still be uncomfortable with the format. For another, the plan was to produce three different versions of the movie, one in German, one in French, and one in English (though the English-language version was never completed). To facilitate this, the film actually *was* shot silent, with all dialogue and sound effects edited in during post-production. Keeping the amount of spoken dialogue to a minimum helped keep post-production simpler

''Vampyr'' is a 1932 horror movie directed by Danish director Creator/CarlTheodorDreyer. The film, a German-French coproduction, was first conceived shortly after Dreyer's previous (and arguably most famous) film, ''Film/ThePassionOfJoanOfArc'', and loosely based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of short stories ''In a Glass Darkly'', most notably the stories ''{{Literature/Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant''. Dreyer's first film with synchronized sound, ''Vampyr'' nonetheless was produced much like his previous [[SilentMovie silent movies]], with descriptive intertitles, limited dialogue, and all sound added during post-production. Most of the movie's cast were not professional actors: star and financier Nicolas de Gunzburg was a minor German/Russian (though he had been raised primarily in England and France) who adopted the stage name Julian West in an attempt to break into acting against his family's wishes, and Jan Hieronimko, who played the villainous village doctor, was discovered by Dreyer one night on the Paris Metro.

* AdaptationDistillation: Although the film is inspired by the stories ''{{Literature/Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant'' from L. Sheridan Le Fanu's ''In a Glass Darkly'', only the basic plot points of a female vampire and live burial are appropriated. The actual plots and many of the themes (such as ''Carmilla'''s lesbian subtext) are completely dropped or altered beyond recognition.

* TheFilmOfTheBook: L. Sheridan Le Fanu's ''In a Glass Darkly'', at least nominally. In reality, the story is largely the original work of Carl Theodor Dreyer and Christen Jul.

* SurrealHorror: Though less overt than earlier examples of [[GermanExpressionism German Expressionist]] cinema like ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'', owing in part to the fact that it was mostly shot on location, the heavy use of shadows and soft-focus effects still manage to add a distinct sense of surreality to proceedings.

''Vampyr'' is a 1932 horror movie directed by Dutch director Creator/CarlTheodorDreyer. The film, a German-French coproduction, was first conceived shortly after Dreyer's previous (and arguably most famous) film, ''Film/ThePassionOfJoanOfArc'', and loosely based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of short stories ''In a Glass Darkly'', most notably the stories ''{{Literature/Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant''. Dreyer's first film with synchronized sound, ''Vampyr'' nonetheless was produced much like his previous [[SilentMovie silent movies]], with descriptive intertitles, limited dialogue, and all sound added during post-production. Most of the movie's cast were not professional actors: star and financier Nicolas de Gunzburg was a minor German/Russian (though he had been raised primarily in England and France) who adopted the stage name Julian West in an attempt to break into acting against his family's wishes, and Jan Hieronimko, who played the villainous village doctor, was discovered by Dreyer one night on the Paris Metro.

''Vampyr'' is a 1932 horror movie directed by Dutch director Creator/CarlTheodorDreyer. The film, a German-French coproduction, was first conceived shortly after Dreyer's previous (and arguably most famous) film, ''Film/ThePassionOfJoanOfArc'', and loosely based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of short stories ''In a Glass Darkly'', most notably the stories ''{{Literature/Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant''. Dreyer's first film with synchronized sound, ''Vampyr'' nonetheless was produced much like his previous [[SilentMovie silent movies]], with descriptive intertitles, limited dialogue, and all sound added during post-production. Most of the movie's cast were not professional actors: star and financier Nicolas de Gunzburg was a minor German/Russian (though he had been raised primarily in England and France) who adopted the stage name Julian West in an attempt to break into acting against his family's wishes, and Jan Hieronimko, who played the [[spoiler:villainous]] village doctor, was discovered by Dreyer one night on the Paris Metro.

The story involves Allan Gray, a young student of the occult whose wanderings take him to the village of Courtempierre, France. He is contacted by a local manor lord, who begs him to ensure that his eldest daughter, Léone, not be allowed to die and leaves him with a mysterious package to be opened in the event of the lord's death. The next day, Allan explores a nearby abandoned castle before traveling to the lord's manor [[spoiler:just in time to see the lord shot by an unknown assailant]].

Allan, the manor's manservant, and the lord's youngest daughter, Giséle struggle to save the dying Léone. The village doctor arrives that night and explains that Léone is suffering from severe blood loss. Allan provides his blood for a transfusion, and falls asleep only to be awoken by the manservant. The two [[spoiler:interrupt the doctor's attempt to poison Léone]] and give chase to the perpetrator. As Allan experiences a vision of his own burial, the manservant unearths the grave of long-dead Marguerite Chopin, whom he now believes to be the vampire responsible for Léone's condition.

* DeadManWriting: The lord of the manor leaves a "to be opened in the event of my death" letter.

* LeftHanging: The lord of the manor manages to enter Allan's room at the inn despite the door being locked and the key being shown to be inside the room. This is never explained. Neither is [[spoiler:the identity of the figure who shoots the lord of the manor]].

* TheRenfield: The vampire book says that humans that sell their souls to the devil may be assigned to serve a vampire in life, and the vampire in this story appears to have several such human servants, most notably [[spoiler:the town doctor]].

* SurrealHorror: Though less overt than earlier examples of [[GermanExpressionism German Expressionist]] cinema like ''TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'', owing in part to the fact that it was mostly shot on location, the heavy use of shadows and soft-focus effects still manage to add a distinct sense of surreality to proceedings.

* AmbiguousEnding: The ending sequence is a bit of a headscratcher. It's not entirely clear whether [[spoiler:Léone]] lives or dies. And what exactly happens with [[spoiler:Allan and Giséle]], anyway? They are shown climbing onto a boat and getting lost in the fog before disembarking and entering a brightly lit clearing, none of which seems to follow from previous events, before the film abruptly ends. The original script is much less ambiguous ([[spoiler:Léone dies, and there is dialogue describing how Allan and Giséle get lost in the fog]]), but the filmed ending seems to directly contradict the script in several details, so the script can't really be used for clarification. It's not clear whether this was a deliberate GainaxEnding, or if the production just [[NoBudget ran out of money]].

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The [[spoiler:village doctor]] dies slowly, being BuriedAlive in flour and suffocating in the town's mill.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The [[spoiler:village doctor]] dies slowly, being buried alive in flour and suffocating in the town's mill.

* GentlemanAndAScholar: Allan Gray is introduced as a scholar (although possibly more of the amateur variety) of the supernatural, and carries himself with the the style and manners of the nobility.

* GreatBigBookOfEverything: The book on vampires that the manor lord leaves to Allan provides extremely detailed (down to the identity of the vampire who plagues the town) plot-convenient information to both Allan and the manservant precisely when needed.

* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Allan has a nightmare/vision of his own burial. Although the dream itself does not come to pass, he learns the location where Giséle is being held captive from it.

[[quoteright:271:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kh0xndo1_7785.jpg]]

-->--The Lord of the Manor

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The titular vampire is weak not to the traditional wooden stake, but an iron one. In addition to the traditional "viral" form of vampirism (victims of a vampire become vampires themselves), it is said that particularly cruel or impious individuals may become vampires after death.

''Vampyr'' is a 1932 horror movie directed by Dutch director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film, a German-French coproduction, was first conceived shortly after Dreyer's previous (and arguably most famous) film, ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'', and loosely based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of short stories ''In a Glass Darkly'', most notably the stories ''{{Literature/Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant''. Dreyer's first film with synchronized sound, ''Vampyr'' nonetheless was produced much like his previous [[SilentMovie silent movies]], with descriptive intertitles, limited dialogue, and all sound added during post-production. Most of the movie's cast were not professional actors: star and financier Nicolas de Gunzburg was a minor German/Russian (though he had been raised primarily in England and France) who adopted the stage name Julian West in an attempt to break into acting against his family's wishes, and Jan Hieronimko, who played the [[spoiler:villainous]] village doctor, was discovered by Dreyer one night on the Paris Metro.

* NoImmortalInertia: [[spoiler:Marguerite Chopin]] is positively identified as the vampire when the heroes open the grave and find the body intact despite having been buried a generation ago. After driving an iron stake through the heart, the body instantly decays to little more than bones and dried skin.

* ColdIron: As in the novel version of ''[[Literature/Dracula]]'' (and numerous folklore tales), an iron stake is just as effective at destroying the undead as the traditional oak wood variety.

* LeftHanging: The lord of the manor manages to enter Allan's room at the inn despite the door being locked and the key being shown to be inside the room. This is never explained.

[[quoteright:271:[[Film/{{Vampyr}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kh0xndo1_7785.jpg]]]]

The story involves Allan Gray, a traveling scholar whose studies of the supernatural lead him to the village of Courtempierre, France. On his first night at the local inn, his sleep is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious old man, who insists that "she mustn't die," and leaves Allan a package with instructions to open it in the event of the man's death. The next day, Allan follows a group of mysterious shadows to a nearby abandoned castle. The castle appears to be haunted, with shadowy specters engaged in a dance, an old blind woman, and a brusque and unpleasant old doctor. When Allan hears a child's screams and asks the old doctor about it, the doctor denies hearing anything, insists that there are no children here, and chases Allan away.

Leaving the castle, Allan follows the shadows to a nearby mansion, where, from a window, he sees the same old man who visited him the previous night get shot by a mysterious assailant. The man, the manor lord's, servant is alerted by Allan's frenzied knocking at the door, and Allan and the servant rush the lord's care, but are too late to save the man's life. They send a servant out via carriage to fetch the police, but the carriage returns sometime later, with the servant having been bled to death. Allan meets the lord's two daughters, Léone and Giséle. Léone, the older of the sisters, is dying of a mysterious ailment, and the town doctor, who refuses to come calling except after dark, has been summoned to care for her.

Unwrapping the package the manor lord left for him, Allan finds a book about vampires. He reads it attentively until the doctor arrives, who Allan recognizes from the castle earlier. Suspicious of the man, Allan goes to assist (and keep a watchful eye on) the doctor. The servant picks up and begins reading the book, and finds a section mentioning a disease outbreak in Courtempierre a generation ago that folklore attributes to a vampire, an old woman name Marguerite Chopin.

At the doctor's request, Allan volunteers to give a blood transfusion to Léone, and passes out from exhaustion shortly thereafter. He is awoken some time later by the servant, and the two of them interrupt the doctor as he attempts to poison Léone. The doctor grabs Giséle and flees the manor. Allan gives chase, but, still weak from blood loss, he passes out and experiences a vision of the doctor and the old blind woman he saw in the castle preparing to bury him alive. When he awakens, he finds the manor's servant at the graveyard, preparing to unearth the grave of Marguerite Chopin. When they open the coffin, the find the old blind woman, perfectly preserved despite having died a generation ago. Following the instructions from the book, they drive an iron stake through her heart, and she immediately decays.

Following his vision, Allan tracks Giséle to the vampire's hideout and frees her, but the doctor has already fled. The doctor hides out in a neighboring flour mill, but accidentally locks himself into the chamber where the sacks of flour are filled. The manor's servant tracks him down and, activating the mill's machinery, fills the chamber with flour and suffocates the doctor. With the curse of the vampire lifted, Léone recovers from her illness, and the film ends with Allan and Giséle crossing a river and entering into a sunlit clearing.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: German censors found the death-by-suffocation scene in the flour mill too gratuitous, and forced it to be toned down before release.

* GainaxEnding: While not the most egregious example, the ending sequence following Allan's rescue of Giséle is a bit of a headscratcher. The two are seen climbing on to a boat (despite both having travelled overland from the manor to the hideout in the first place), rowing through heavy fog, and eventually entering a brightly lit clearing before the film abruptly ends. And it's not like the preceding death-by-flour or [[spoiler:Léone's abrupt death]] were exactly straightforward to begin with.

''Vampyr'' is a 1932 horror movie directed by Dutch director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film, a German-French coproduction, was first conceived shortly after Dreyer's previous (and arguably most famous) film, ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'', and loosely based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of short stories ''In a Glass Darkly'', most notably the stories ''{{Carmilla}}'' and ''The Room in the Dragon Volant''. Dreyer's first film with synchronized sound, ''Vampyr'' nonetheless was produced much like his previous [[SilentMovie silent movies]], with descriptive intertitles, limited dialogue, and all sound added during post-production. Most of the movie's cast were not professional actors: star and financier Nicolas de Gunzburg was a minor German/Russian (though he had been raised primarily in England and France) who adopted the stage name Julian West in an attempt to break into acting against his family's wishes, and Jan Hieronimko, who played the [[spoiler:villainous]] village doctor, was discovered by Dreyer one night on the Paris Metro.

Both the original German and French negatives were subsequently lost, and plans to produce an English language version of the film were halted following its poor reception. Most of the surviving copies of the film were of poor quality and/or heavily edited, until restoration efforts in the 1990s and 2000s sought to restore something closer to Dreyer's original vision.