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A Real Horror Star: Articulating the Extreme Authenticity of Ingrid Pitt

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Cult Film Stardom

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.

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© 2013 Kate Egan

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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

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