Love at First Bite (1979)
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67% of critics liked it
(21 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(6,441 ratings)
George Hamilton confounded his detractors by turning in a first-rate comic performance in Love at First Bite. Hamilton plays Count Dracula, who is evicted from his Transylvanian domicile when the Communist government decides to nationalize his castle. With faithful toady Renfield (Arte Johnson) at… More George Hamilton confounded his detractors by turning in a first-rate comic performance in Love at First Bite. Hamilton plays Count Dracula, who is evicted from his Transylvanian domicile when the Communist government decides to nationalize his castle. With faithful toady Renfield (Arte Johnson) at his side, Dracula heads for the Big Apple, where he finds the vampire pickings radically different from those on his home turf: for example, ol' Drac suffers the mother of all hangovers when his sinks his fangs into the neck of a wino. Klutzy Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James) falls in love with Dracula, not fully aware of his colorful background. But Cindy's stuffy fiance Dr. Jeff Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin), a descendant of Dracula's perennial foe Professor Van Helsing, knows what Dracula's up to and does his best to thwart the vampire's plan. This proves very difficult, since such time-honored remedies as the stake through the heart are frowned upon by the New York City authorities. So successful was Love at First Bite that Hamilton was encouraged to have a satiric go at another literary icon in 1982's Zorro, the Gay Blade. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Stan Dragoti
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
PG,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1979 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
The production's genially tatty air enhances its anarchical mood and encourages one to go with its goofy yet often shrewd comic flow.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Casting Dracula as the Last Romantic, Scott Fitzgerald-style, was a clever idea, but nothing clever remains in the film's hodgepodge of flat one-liners and graceless slapstick.
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Variety Staff, Variety
What would happen if Dracula was victimized by life in modern New York City? It's a fun notion and George Hamilton makes it work.
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, Entertainment Weekly
If you haven't smoked any wolfsbane you might wonder why you have such fond memories of this one.
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, Time Out
See it when you feel at your silliest.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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George Hamilton
as Count Dracula
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Susan Saint James
as Cindy Sondheim
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Richard Benjamin
as Dr. Jeff Rosenberg
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Dick Shawn
as Lt. Ferguson
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Arte Johnson
as Renfield
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Sherman Hemsley
as Rev. Mike
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Isabel Sanford
as Judge
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Paul Barselou
as Bloodbank Guard
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Bob Basso
as TV Repairman
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Stanley Brock
as Cab Driver
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Jacque Lynn Colton
as Lady with Cat
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Danny Dayton
as Billy
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John Dennis
as Motorcycle Cop
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Robert Ellenstein
as VW Man
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Barry J. Gordon
as Flashlight Vendor
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Alan Haufrect
as Photographer
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Michael Heit
as Bellboy #2
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Basil Hoffman
as Desk Clerk
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Dave Ketchum
as Customs Inspector
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Lidia Kristen
as Commissare Woman
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Ralph Manza
as Limo Driver
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Tiger Joe Marsh
as Citizen Outside Castle
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Rose Michtom
as Elderly Lady
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Bryan O'Byrne
as Priest
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Lavelle Roby
as Mourner
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Merrie Lynn Ross
as Lady in Apartment
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Whitney Rydbeck
as Male Commissare
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Beverly Sanders
as Lady in Elevator
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Ronnie Schell
as Gay in Elevator
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Rolfe Sedan
as Maitre d'
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Hazel Shermet
as Lady in Elevator
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Susan Tolsky
as Model Agent
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David Landsberg
as Morty
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Eric Laneuville
as Russell
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Michael Pataki
as Mobster
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Charlie Dell
as Busboy
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Robert Nadder
as Bellevue Doctor
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Jerold Pearson
as Hippie in Customs
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Cicely Walper
as Grandmother
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Joe Medalis
as Istera
