In jazz, only black women. One of the first paintings of the future master of thrash Jesus Franco did not give anything away that soon its creator will go into all seriousness and become famous both for the number of films he shot and for the complete lack of taste when creating them. True, fans of the Spaniard in response to this may object that it is in the absolute tastelessness of their idol and lies his main dignity, and this statement, frankly, there will be nothing to object to.
Especially since Franco did not differ in good taste and sense of proportion from the first steps of his career, which the seemingly unpretentious musical comedy “Vampiresas 1930” can serve as an excellent confirmation. By the way, “Vampiresas” is just the name of a jazz band created by the heroes of the film. The hands of the novice maestro have not yet reached the real vampires.
The beginning of the tape looks, however, charming, and the Russian viewer will also be strongly reminded of Karen Shakhnazarov’s masterpiece “We are from jazz”. The nostalgic atmosphere of the turn of the 20-30s of the last century, half-forgotten melodies, an easy and vaguely familiar story about a young provincial woman coming to conquer Paris with a half-empty plywood suitcase ... It seems that we are waiting for an easy and pleasant musical, especially since in the musical field, as it may seem strange, Franco always had a delicate taste and was an excellent connoisseur of jazz.
Indeed, the first half of the Vampiresas fully meets expectations. The plot usually rolls in a cozy channel, allowing you to enjoy retro melodies that successfully combine classical jazz and sultry Spanish flamenco. Young Carolina, who plays double bass, meets two musicians who manage to get an audition for rising jazz star Dora. Together they create a group that is beginning to be successful. But then, it seems, Franco becomes frankly boring, and the future thrashmaker wakes up in him. The script, written by the youngest director at the time, makes a sharp turn and the film quickly turns into... a remake of the famous musical Tony Wilder. Yes, yes, the same one, known to our audience under the title "Only girls in jazz." And this, to put it mildly, unauthorized remake can pretty much spoil the favorable impression left over from the first half of the picture.
Accidentally getting in the way of the mafia, four musicians run where their eyes look. Or rather, they pretend to be the same black jazz band called “Vampiresas”. And since all of its real participants were female, our heroes, like the characters of Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, start a game with dressing, in addition to this, and smeared properly with gutalin. That’s just, playing the role of singer Dora Michaela even a miserable copy of Marilyn Monroe to call the language will not turn. And with a sense of humor, Mr. Franco was always a little tight. It cannot be said that he did not possess it at all, but his manifestations were too specific. And for the musical in any case, they were not suitable enough. So, the only bright spot on the screen was Lina Morgan, whose transformation into a young negro turned out to be extremely successful. Unfortunately, along with this transformation, her character was pushed to the background and could not save the rapidly sliding into a frank thrash film.
However, soon this thrash will become a real calling card of Jess Franco. And few people will remember that at the dawn of his creative activity he tried to shoot quite decent and traditional genre films, including even a musical. And let in the series of musical comedies "Vampiresas 1930" looks ugly duckling, but something to understand its creator, this film still allowed. At least that such projects in the future are better not taken.