Abstract
The Polish film actress Ingrid Pitt has long been associated, in a range of critical and fan accounts, with the ‘cult star’ label. Pitt appeared prominently in only a relatively small number of films during the course of her career, including four key British horror films from the 1970s — Hammer studios’ The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Countess Dracula (1971), Amicus studios’ The House that Dripped Blood (1971) and Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man (1973). However, since at least the early 1980s, she has been considered, by fans and critics, to be one of the most memorable actresses in British horror film history and has consistently been labelled a cult icon of British horror.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anon. (1968) ‘Biography of Ingrid Pitt’, Where Eagles Dare Press Release (3 January), Ingrid Pitt BFI Clippings File.
Anon. (1970) Untitled interview with Ingrid Pitt, Daily Sketch (21 January), Ingrid Pitt BFI Clippings File.
Clark, Mark (2004) Smirk, Sneer and Scream: Great Acting in Horror Cinema. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Dyer, Richard (1986) Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society. London: Macmillan.
— (1991) ‘A Star is Born and the Construction of Authenticity’, in Christine Gledhill (ed.), Stardom: Industry of Desire. London: Routledge, 132–40.
Everitt, David (1981) ‘Ingrid Pitt’, Fangoria, Vol. 22, No. 3: 25–9.
firehouse44 (n.d.) Ingrid Pitt IMDb Mini Biography, Internet Movie Database [online]. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0685839/bio (accessed 21 March 2012).
Geraghty, Lincoln and Mark Jancovich (2008) ‘Introduction: Generic Canons’, in Lincoln Geraghty and Mark Jancovich (eds), The Shifting Definitions of Genre: Essays on Labeling Films, Television Shows and Media. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1–14.
Harrington, C. Lee and Denise D. Bielby (2010) ‘A Life Course Perspective on Fandom’, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 13, No. 5: 429–50.
Hills, Matt (2010) ‘Attending Horror Film Festivals and Conventions: Liveness, Subcultural Capital and “Flesh-and-Blood Genre Communities”’, in Ian Conrich (ed.), Horror Zone: The Cultural Experience of Contemporary Horror Cinema. London: I. B. Tauris, 87–102.
Hollinger, Karen (2006) The Actress: Hollywood Acting and the Female Star. London: Routledge.
Hutchings, Peter (1993) Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
IMDb User Reviews: The Vampire Lovers, Internet Movie Database [online]. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066518/reviews (accessed 29 June 2010).
‘Ingrid Pitt’, YouTube [online]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcGiYYcTZmA (accessed 21 July 2011).
Ingrid Pitt Condolences Group (Est. 2010) Facebook [online]. Available at: http://www.facebook.com/ (accessed 21 July 2011).
Ingrid Pitt Group (Est. 2008) Facebook [online]. Available at: http://www.facebook.com/ (accessed 21 July 2011).
‘Ingrid Pitt — hilarious Q&A’, YouTube [online]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY9mn428ddY (accessed 21 July 2011).
Kenworthy, Christopher (1987) ‘Haunted by a Real-Life Horror’, TV Times, 23 August: 23–4.
Macnab, Geoffrey (2000) Searching for Stars: Stardom and Screen Acting in British Cinema. London: Cassell.
Marshall, Andrew G. (1997) ‘The Queen of Horror, Acting out a Lifetime’s Dread’, Independent, 11 August: 13.
Mathijs, Ernest and Jamie Sexton (2011) Cult Cinema: An Introduction. Malden and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Maxford, Howard (1996) ‘Pitting Wits’, Shivers, Vol. 31 (1 July): 44–7.
Middlehurst, Lester (1995) ‘A Question of Sex: Ingrid Pitt’, Daily Mail Weekend, 4 February, Ingrid Pitt BFI Clippings File.
Monster Kid Classic Horror Forum [online]. Available at: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/forums/76 (accessed 12 July 2011).
Newman, Kim (ed.) (1996) The BFI Companion to Horror. London: Cassell.
Petley, Julian (2001) ‘There’s something about Mary …’in Bruce Babington (ed.), British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to Sean Connery. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 205–17.
Pitt, Ingrid (1999) Life’s a Scream: The Autobiography of Ingrid Pitt. London: William Heinemann.
Pitt of Horror, The Official Website of Ingrid Pitt [online]. Available at: http://www.pittofhorror.com/ (accessed 12 July 2011).
Vincendeau, Ginette (2000) Stars and Stardom in French Cinema. London: Continuum.
Williamson, Milly (2005) The Lure of the Vampire: Gender, Fiction and Fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy. London: Wallflower Press.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Kate Egan
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Egan, K. (2013). A Real Horror Star: Articulating the Extreme Authenticity of Ingrid Pitt. In: Egan, K., Thomas, S. (eds) Cult Film Stardom. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291776_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137291776_13
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-33305-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-29177-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave Media & Culture CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)