YouTube reviews:
Trailer:
Alternate version:
Re-titled Kiss of Evil for American TV, Universal trimmed so much of the original film for its initial television screening that more footage had to be shot to fill the missing time. Additional characters that didn’t appear at all in the original release were added, creating a whole new subplot.
Every scene that showed any blood was edited out, e.g. the pre-credits scene in which blood gushes from the coffin of Zimmer’s daughter after he plunges a shovel into it. Also, in the televised version it is never revealed what Marianne sees behind the curtain, a sight that makes her scream. A couple of the cuts result in scenes that no longer makes sense: while the theatrical release had Harcourt smearing the blood on his chest into a cross-shaped pattern (keeping the vampires away as he escapes), the televised version omits the blood-smearing, leaving the vampires’ inaction unexplained.
The additional footage shot for the televised version revolves around a family that argue about the influence of the vampiric Ravna clan, but never interact with anybody else in the movie. The teenage daughter throws over her boyfriend in favour of Carl Ravna (unseen in these scenes) who has given her a music box that plays the same hypnotic tune that he plays on the piano elsewhere in the movie. The middle-aged parents are played by Carl Esmond and Virginia Gregg (who gained fame by voicing Mother in three of the Psycho films), while their teenage daughter is played by Sheila Welles.
Filming locations:
Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England
Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England
Highgate Cemetery, Highgate, North London, England (opening burial scene)
Technical details:
1 hour 28 minutes
Eastmancolor
Aspect ratio: 1.66: 1
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