Uncle Was a Vampire (1959)

I keep trying, but Italian comedies hardly ever work for me, 25 April 2017

Because he owes back taxes to the government, Baron Osvaldo Lambertenghi (Renato Rascel) is forced to sell his family's castle. The new owners turn the castle into a hotel and hire Osvaldo as a bellboy. Osvaldo receives a letter telling him an uncle he's never met, Baron Roderico da Frankurten (Christopher Lee), intends to pay Osvaldo a visit. Osvaldo is unaware that his long lost uncle is, in fact, a vampire. Roderico arrives and much hilarity ensues as he turns Osvaldo into a sort of temporary vampire. In one night, Osvaldo bites every woman in the hotel on the neck and has them all swooning for him.

I love a lot of Italian cinema from the 50s through the 70s. I enjoy Italian Gothic horror, Gialli, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurospy, Poliziotteschi, Peplums, war movies, cannibal movies, zombie movies, and even some straight up dramas. But, with a few exceptions, I've never been a big fan of Italian comedies. Maybe something gets lost in the translation, but the broad approach to comedy taken in most of these movies just doesn't work with me. And that's my main problem with Uncle Was a Vampire. Most, but not all, of the comedy doesn't work on me. I didn't find most of Rascel's brand of comedy appealing. Instead, Rascel annoyed me – not what you want in a comedy. Sure, there were bits a pieces that worked – all the women going nuts over Osvaldo, all the men in the hotel running around with wooden stakes, and some of Rascel's scenes with Christopher Lee. Overall, however, the comedy was inconsistent at best.

Speaking of Christopher Lee, he's quite good in Uncle Was a Vampire. For the most part, he plays it straight and it works. Standing next to the diminutive Rascel, Lee looks huge and menacing. Lee probably has more vampire screen time here than in any of his Hammer films. The cast also includes the lovely Sylva Koscina. While her role is more limited that I would prefer, as I've said before, any movie with Sylva Koscina is better simply because she's in it. Uncle Was a Vampire is worth watching just to check out Lee and Koscina. As a result, I'll be generous and rate this movie a 5/10.

5/10