Love at First Bite

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Love at First Bite

PG,

1979,

1h 36m,

Romance/

Comedy

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Watchlist

Watchlist

75%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

55%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

When the government of Transylvania appropriates his castle, Count Dracula (George Hamilton) is obliged to relocate and decides to give New York City a try. He suffers all manner of adjustment problems, but finds solace in a new relationship with Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James). Unfortunately, her fiancé, Dr. Jeff Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin), is a direct descendant of Dracula's old nemesis, Van Helsing, and is prepared to do whatever is necessary to stop his undead rival.

Critics Consensus

Love at First Bite could use some more warm-blooded barbs to liven up its undead comedy, but George Hamilton's campy charisma gives the prince of darkness some welcome pizazz.

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Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

Oct 19, 2009

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

Oct 19, 2009

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

Mar 26, 2009

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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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Oct 15, 2025

4/5

The fast and furious fun is superbly scripted by Robert Kaufman and wonderfully pulled together by director Stan Dragoti.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Sep 13, 2021

3/5

...may have a few regrettable scenes, but there's plenty of comedy meat on these often gnawed bones...

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Augusto Martínez Torres

El Pais (Spain)

Aug 7, 2019

An entertaining and sarcastic comedy. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Finn M

Mar 19, 2019

It really is a three star film but for Hamilton's performance and for nostalgia's sake (this was my first Dracula film) it gets an extra half star. Looks great on Blu-Ray. Good job Shout Factory.

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Anakin W

Aug 12, 2018

Or Dracula Updated and Down In New York. Nobody's buying the old routines and so Drac & Renfield go to disco era Big Apple where they try to fit into the modern vibe. Mostly the deal throughout is hokey, but Arte Johnson and Richard Benjamin do provide some chuckles.

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Hagrid M

Feb 16, 2017

Yikes. That was painfully unfunny. The string of corny one-liners that don't land at all are almost cringeworthy. The premise of Dracula wandering around in the 70s is kind of amusing, but was done better by Christopher Lee.

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Albus P

Nov 29, 2012

another Dracula film but with more laughs and romance thrown into the mix George Hamilton stars the most famous vampire and funny enough he's actually kicked out of his Transylvanian residence now he and his servant Renfield are forced to reside to 1970's New York City life Dracula also intends to track down model Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James) in hopes of finding true love, little does he know though that her psychiatrist boyfriend Rosenberg is actually a descendant of his arch enemy Van Helsing her boyfriend is also onto Dracula making things a bit more tricky so even if it means he looks crazy by comparison he'll do whatever it takes to save Cindy the big question is whether or not Cindy wants actual love with someone like Dracula it's actually pretty goofy watching the lord of the undead adjust to the modern urban cityscape but there's something so lovable watching him in this light plus he seems like the only being in the world giving someone like Cindy a new perspective about life and commitment eternity is lonely and loveless, is a woman's career like a man (it's fun for a while but deep down is it what they want), in a world without love it is better to be dead a very likable 70's flick that's not too scary but so full of chuckles putting a modern spin on the prince of darkness

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Stan Dragoti

Director

George Hamilton

Count Dracula

Susan Saint James

Cindy Soundheim

Richard Benjamin

Doctor Jeff Rosenberg

Dick Shawn

Lieutenant Ferguson

Arte Johnson

Renfield

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Synopsis

When the government of Transylvania appropriates his castle, Count Dracula (George Hamilton) is obliged to relocate and decides to give New York City a try. He suffers all manner of adjustment problems, but finds solace in a new relationship with Cindy Sondheim (Susan Saint James). Unfortunately, her fiancé, Dr. Jeff Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin), is a direct descendant of Dracula's old nemesis, Van Helsing, and is prepared to do whatever is necessary to stop his undead rival.

Director: Stan Dragoti
Producer: Joel Freeman
Screenwriter: Robert Kaufman
Distributor: Vestron Video, Orion Pictures, American International Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: Melvin Simon Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 27, 1979, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Feb 10, 2015
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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