Originally Roman Polanski wanted to shoot his film on location in and around a castle in Switzerland which he saw during a vacation, but as this was impossible, other locations in the Alps were found, along with studio shoots in England. While on location, Polanski employed dozens of local artisans to make the large numbers of coffins needed in the film. Unfortunately tourists were rather unnerved by the sight of these, and hotels had to erect signs to assure their guests that the area hadn't been struck by plague.
Roman Polanski was most displeased with the American version of this film. In addition to changing the title from "Dance Of The Vampires", the film was cut by over twenty minutes, and, because the plot had been made incomprehensible by these cuts (so Polanski claimed), an animated sequence was added to make the plot a little clearer. In addition, the two leading actors - Jack MacGowran and Polanski himself - were dubbed by others. However, Polanski's version of the film, under its correct title, was shown in Europe. The film was shown on British television under its proper title for some years, but has been known as "The Fearless Vampire Killers" in the UK, both on TV and on DVD, since the mid-1990s, although it is otherwise as Polanski intended it to be. No-one seems to know why the title has been changed, and a generation has grown up believing "The Fearless Vampire Killers" to be the film's actual title.
Producer Martin Ransohoff discovered Sharon Tate on the set of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), and insisted that director Roman Polanski use her instead of Jill St. John (who withdrew shortly before shooting) as Polanski had planned.
Sharon Tate initially had dinner with Roman Polanski but it was mostly without conversation. After a second awkward dinner Sharon was invited to Polanski's apartment and he then disappeared, leaving her alone. He then burst in wearing a scary mask, making Sharon scream in terror. Sharon had won the role.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
