1970 The Loves of Count Iorga, VAMPIRE

2 months ago
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One of my favorite vampire characters was Count Yorga. Here is his first appearance from 1970. The Loves of Count Iorga, VAMPIRE. Also known as Count Yorga, Vampire.
Count Yorga, Vampire (also known as The Loves of Count Yorga, Vampire) is a 1970 American vampire horror film written and directed by Bob Kelljan and starring Robert Quarry, Roger Perry and Michael Murphy. It was followed by a sequel, The Return of Count Yorga.
The film opens with a narration by character actor George Macready, whose son, Michael Macready, produced the film and also played "Michael".
The film was originally to have been a soft core porn film called The Loves of Count Iorga, and some prints of the film display this as the on-screen title. Quarry told actor/producer Michael Macready he would play the vampire role if they turned the story into a straight horror film. AIP head Samuel Z. Arkoff was responsible for changing the title from Iroga to Yorga to make it easier for buyers to pronounce. The film was made on a budget of approximately $100,000 and filmed on location in Los Angeles.
Stephen Farber's 1972 book, The Movie Rating Game, details the problems that the film's distributor American International Pictures had in securing a GP rating (formerly known as M, later renamed to PG) from the Motion Picture Association of America, which initially was divided as to whether to give the film an R or X rating. AIP insisted that they needed an unrestricted GP rating for the film in order to get the film released into the largest possible number of theaters, most importantly drive-in theaters.

The film ended up going before the MPAA ratings board six times before being granted the GP rating, and two or three minutes of violent and sexual content were ultimately removed by AIP. Alterations to the movie's soundtrack were also required to lessen the impact of violent scenes that remained in the film.
Count Yorga, Vampire premiered in Los Angeles on June 10, 1970, through American International Pictures. Its New York City release occurred later that fall, on November 11, 1970.

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