R.I.P. Ingrid Pitt (1 Viewer)

[dpippel]

One of Hammer Studios' greatest female talents has passed away. Ingrid Pitt died yesterday at the age of 73:


Ingrid Pitt Passes Away In London - November 23, 2010


"The Vampire Lovers" is one of my all-time favorite Hammer films, due mostly to the presence of Ms. Pitt. She was a gifted actress who survived internment in a Nazi concentration camp as a child. Fortunately for us, she lives on in the wonderful performances she left behind.

 

[Steve Christou]

So sad. I saw her in Where Eagles Dare a few weeks ago.


One of the horror genres greatest femme fatales. She will be missed.


R.I.P.

 

[Richard--W]

I met Ingrid Pitt at a reception in Michael Carrera's hotel room In New York City in 1975. She had only just arrived from London and came to the reception straight from the airport, and instantly she ruled the room. Standing in front of her, I thought to myself, the camera did not capture a fraction of her beauty. When my friend and I were introduced she insulted us and turned her back. It was her first encounter with fans of Hammer films, and I don't think she enjoyed it. Later that weekend, I remember her getting understandably annoyed with persistent questions about nudity, and telling an audience that "The nudity was nothing! It was nothing! Forget about it!" That was before she mellowed.

I've only seen her in six or seven films --

The Omegans
Where Eagles Dare
The Vampire Lovers
The House That Dripped Blood
Countess Dracula
The Wicker Man
Smiley's People
Hannah K

-- and some of those appearances were hardly more than cameos. She exuded a combination of strength and vulnerability. In Smiley's People she has a long scene as a grieving secretary which she plays on the verge of tears and barely suppressed rage. There was something odd in hearing that deep, low voice coming out of such a bright, sunny face. I thought, after those three horror hits she made in 1970-71, that she would become a big movie star, if not in genre films, than in films in general. I don't know why she didn't. She was more than capable of it. Even in the smallest cameo, she was a stunning beauty and a charismatic woman. She has always been a strong and undeniable presence in my moviegoing mind and will remain so.

Rest in peace, Ingrid Pitt.

Richard