cinematographer douglas slocombe said: "i think he (roman) put more of himself into "dance of the vampires" than into any other film. it brought to light the fairy-tale interest that he has. one was conscious all along when making the picture of a central european background to the story. very few of the crew could see anything in it—they thought it old-fashioned nonsense. but i could see this background...i have a french background myself and could sense the central european atmosphere that surrounds it. the figure of alfred is very much like roman himself—a slight figure, young and a little defenseless—a touch of kafka. it is very much a personal statement of his own humor as he used to chuckle all the way through the scenes." this film was the source material for the european stage musical "tanz der vampire". it is peppered with numerous references to king richard iii of england, who even appears in the ball scene.