Sharpen your stakes and protect your daughters because this week we're entering the wonderfully gothic, increasingly racy world of Hammer Horror with 1970's The Vampire Lovers.

By the dawn of the 1970s, Hammer's familiar formula of castles, cleavage and Christopher Lee was facing competition from a new generation of increasingly explicit cinema. The answer? More blood, more nudity and, in The Vampire Lovers, one of horror cinema's most enduring figures: the lesbian vampire.

Directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing and Kate O'Mara, the film was adapted from Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, a vampire story that actually predates Bram Stoker's Dracula. We explore how Hammer transformed it into the first instalment of its Karnstein trilogy and helped launch a cycle of lesbian vampire films that became a distinctly provocative corner of 1970s horror.

But who exactly was The Vampire Lovers made for? We dig into the film's complicated legacy, asking whether its lesbian relationships offered rare queer visibility at a time when that was almost nonexistent—or whether they were primarily designed for the heterosexual male gaze. And when female desire is ultimately destroyed by men restoring the traditional order, is Hammer reinforcing the status quo or accidentally giving queer audiences someone far more interesting to root for?

We also celebrate the extraordinary life of Ingrid Pitt, whose journey to becoming one of Hammer's greatest icons was every bit as remarkable as her screen career.

And in Culture Corner, we're travelling back to Britain in 1970: the news stories, television and chart hits—including the inescapable "In the Summertime"—plus major changes to British film censorship that allowed filmmakers like Hammer to push sex, nudity and horror further than they had before.

Sexy, camp, gothic and dripping with subtext, The Vampire Lovers captures Hammer at a fascinating crossroads: an old studio trying to survive a new decade by discovering that apparently the answer to everything was more vampires and fewer nightdresses.

Join us as we sink our teeth into one of Hammer Horror's most fascinating cult classics.

We watched The Vampire Lovers on Amazon Prime Video. Click here

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We're back! After a short summer break, our bonus episode, The Problematic Gazette returns with plenty to catch up on, including holidays, television recommendations, listener emails, and a sneak peek at the gloriously gothic world we'll be exploring next week.

We start by looking back at our recent recording with special guest Andrew Mercado, where we revisited Crocodile Dundee, before swapping holiday stories. Dave headed to the South of France, where a blocked ear became an unexpected travelling companion, while Lee escaped London's heat with a trip to Northumberland in search of cooler weather—and found it!

Naturally, the Great British Weather makes an appearance. We chat about the latest heatwave, hosepipe bans, and the strange moment when you've become so desperate for rain that you find yourself listening to a YouTube thunderstorm just to remember what it sounds like.

We've also got plenty of television recommendations. From Apple TV's eerie Widow's Bay and ITV's atmospheric Highlands mystery The Dark to Prime's Ride or Die with Hannah Waddingham, plus the wonderfully bittersweet comedy Ann Droid, starring Diane Morgan and Sue Johnson, we share the shows that have kept us entertained over the summer—and a few that might deserve a place on your watchlist.

Elsewhere, we welcome new listeners who discovered us through our posts about the remarkable Rent Boys documentary, give an update on our new website and recent photoshoot, and open the postbag to read your emails, corrections and recommendations.

And finally, we look ahead to next week's deep dive into one of Hammer Horror's most influential—and controversial—films: The Vampire Lovers. Expect gothic castles, vampires, and plenty to sink our teeth into.

So grab a cold drink, settle in, and join us for another relaxed catch-up packed with pop culture, recommendations, and the usual amount of delightful nonsense. Summer may be ending... but we're just getting warmed up.

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Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at theproblematicgaze@gmail.com. We love hearing from you!

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This week we're heading into the Australian Outback—and the streets of New York—to revisit one of the biggest global movie sensations of the 1980s: Crocodile Dundee.

Joining us is Australian author and co-host of the TV Gold Podcast Andrew Mercado, who brings first-hand insight into the remarkable phenomenon that turned Paul Hogan from a household name in Australia into one of the world's biggest movie stars almost overnight.

Together we explore how Crocodile Dundee became an international box-office sensation, the story behind its production, its different theatrical cuts, its enduring popularity, and why, nearly forty years later, it's still one of Australia's most recognisable cultural exports. We also discuss the 40th anniversary 4K restoration and the film's lasting place in cinema history.

Andrew explains Paul Hogan's extraordinary television career before Dundee, Australia's famous tourism campaigns, and how one low-budget comedy helped reshape the world's image of Australia for an entire generation.

As always, we also step back into 1986 in our Culture Corner, revisiting the television, music and headlines that surrounded the film's release. From Wham! calling it a day and Madonna's True Blue era to chart hits from EastEnders, Grange Hill, The Young Ones, Spitting Image, and more, it's a nostalgic return to one of pop culture's most memorable years.

Finally, we ask how Crocodile Dundee looks through modern eyes. We discuss its ideas about masculinity, its affectionate send-up of New York culture, Linda Kozlowski's role, the film's portrayal of First Nations Australians, and the removal of one scene in later releases that has become increasingly controversial.

Funny, charming and packed with behind-the-scenes stories, this episode revisits a film that became far more than a box-office hit—it became part of Australia's national identity and one of the defining movies of the 1980s.

So grab your hat, watch out for crocodiles... and remember, that's not a knife...

To watch the TV Show Australian Story: Paul Hogan mentioned in this podcast click the YouTube Link Here

To watch the trailer for Love Of An Icon: The Legend of Crocodile Dundee. Click here

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Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!

Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at theproblematicgaze@gmail.com. We love hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.