RIP Ingrid Pitt
by Ben Bussey
This is a sad day indeed. Ingrid Pitt, one of the greatest scream queens ever to grace celluloid, passed away today. According to BBC News, “The Polish-born star passed away at a hospital in south London after collapsing a few days ago… suffering from heart failure.” She was 73.
In an era when most horror actresses were immediately designated the role of the damsel in distress with the heaving bosom, Ingrid Pitt stood head and shoulders above the pack as a bona fide leading lady, a true female equal to Hammer’s male icons Lee and Cushing. Absolutely, she sported a heaving bosom and was not shy about showing it off – The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula were landmark films for sexually explicit content in horror – but above and beyond this, Pitt brought a natural screen presence that was all her own: regal, primal, fearsome, as intimidating as she was alluring. This charisma is also there in her notable horror titles outside Hammer: the comedic Amicus anthology movie The House That Dripped Blood, and Robin Hardy’s all-around cult classic The Wicker Man.
While she enjoyed much success outside of horror, notably in Where Eagles Dare, Pitt never turned her back on the genre, writing books on vampires, regularly popping up at numerous conventions and film festivals (she was set to appear at the recent Abertoir and Bram Stoker festivals until ill health forced her to withdraw), and returning to the screen for Beyond The Rave, the recent web movie that relaunched the Hammer brand.
Coming so soon after the passing of her Vampire Lovers director Roy Ward Baker, this is an emotional time for fans of Hammer Horror, but of course not nearly as emotional as it is for the loved ones they leave behind. Our thoughts are with Ms Pitt’s family and friends.
