Biography for Ingrid Pitt
Ingrid Pitt as Carmilla
The Countess is called away to tend a sick friend and imposes on the General to accept her daughter Marcilla as a houseguest. Some of the villagers begin dying, however, and the General's daughter Laura soon gets weak and pale, but Marcilla is there to comfort her. The villagers begin whispering about vampires as Marcilla finds another family on which to impose herself. The pattern repeats as Emma gets ill, but the General cannot rest, and seeks the advice of Baron Hartog, who once dealt a decisive blow against a family of vampires. Well, almost.
Biography for Ingrid Pitt
Birth name
Ingoushka Petrov
Date of birth
21 November 1937
Poland
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Mini biography
Best known as Hammer Films most seductive female vampire of the early 1970s, the Polish born Pitt possesed dark, alluring features and a sexy figure that made her just right for gothic horror! Ingrid Pitt (born Ingoushka Petrov) survived WWII and became a well known actress on the East Berlin stage, however she didn't appear onscreen until well into her twenties. She appeared in several minor roles in Spanish films in the mid 1960s, mostly uncredited, before landing the supporting role of undercover agent "Heidi", assisting Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton defeat the Third Reich in _Where Eagles Dare (1967). Her exotic looks and eastern European accent came to the notice of Hammer execs who cast Pitt as vampiress "Mircalla" in the sensual horror thriller _Vampire Lovers, The (1971)_ . The film was a box office success with its blend of horror and sexual overtones, and Pitt was a beautiful, yet ferocious bloodsucker. Next up, Pitt was cast by Amicus Productions as another gorgeous vampire in the episode entitled "The Cloak" in the superb The House That Dripped Blood (1970). This time Ingrid played an actress appearing in horror films alongside screen vampire Jon Pertwee, but then later reveals herself to be a real vampire keen on recruiting fresh blood.
Ingrid donned the fangs for her third vampire film in a row, Countess Dracula (1971) which was loosely based around the legend of the 16th century blood thirsty Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Whilst not as successful, as the two prior outings, Ingrid Pitt had firmly established herself as one of the key ladies of British horror of the 1970s.
She then appeared in the underrated 'Wicker Man, The (1973)_ as an uncooperative civil servant annoying Edward Woodward in his search for a missing child. Further work followed in Who Dares Wins (1982), as "Elvira" in the adaptation of the John Le Carr� Cold War thriller _"Smileys People" (1982)_ , Wild Geese II (1985) and The Asylum (2000).
Pitt still makes regular appearances at horror conventions and fan gatherings, has penned several books on her horror career, and she still relishes talking to fans about her on screen vampiric exploits. Ingrid's fan club is known as the "Pitt of Horror"! A much loved and genuine cult figure of modern horror cinema.
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Trivia
She has a daughter, Steffanie Pitt.
She was lived in a Nazi concentration camp for thee years, surviving the Holocaust.
While filming "The Vampire Lovers", Ingrid and the rest of the girls had a lot of trouble getting through scenes without giggling. In the scene where Ingrid has to drink from Kate O'Mara, her vampire teeth kept falling out and into Kate's cleavage. She eventually had to steal some gum from one of the stagehands to stick the fang back in.
She grew up in East Berlin, escaped to the West and married the man who helped her escape.
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Personal quotes
It's great meeting the fans. They say I'm more beautiful now than I was 25 years ago. All lies of course, but sweet. Where else is an old bag like me going to find strapping young men and women to whisper sweet nothings in her ear?
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Where are they now
(November 2002) living in London. Has written several books, mainly in the horror genre. Does a monthly column in Shivers magazine & appears at horror conventions.
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Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
This busty, exotic-looking actress decorated several British horror films in the early 1970s, including The Vampire Lovers (1970, as a lesbian bloodsucker), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), Countess Dracula (1972), and The Wicker Man (1973), accounting for her limited but clearly defined status as a cult figure. Perhaps more talented than she was able to display onscreen, Pitt frequently appeared in characterizations that traded mostly on her physical attributes. Other appearances include Where Eagles Dare (1969), The Final Option (1982), Hanna's War (1988), and the British TV miniseries "Smiley's People."
Asylum, The (2000) .... Isobella
Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994) (TV) .... Herself
Hanna's War (1988) .... Margit
Underworld (1985) .... Pepperdine
... aka Transmutations (1985)
Wild Geese II (1985) .... Hooker
Bones (1984) .... Widow
... aka Parker (1984)
Comedy of Errors, The (1983) (TV) .... Courtesan
... aka Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors, The (1983) (TV) (UK: series title)
"Smiley's People" (1982) (mini) TV Series .... Elvira
Final Option, The (1982) .... Helga
... aka Who Dares Wins (1982)
Artemis 81 (1981) (TV) .... Hitchcock blonde
"Where the Action Is" (1975) TV Series
... aka "Killing Game, The" (1975) (USA)
... aka "Thriller: Where the Action Is" (1975) (UK: series title)
Wicker Man, The (1973) .... Librarian
... aka Anthony Shaffer's The Wicker Man (1973)
Nobody Ordered Love (1971) .... Alice Allison
Countess Dracula (1971) .... Countess Elisabeth
House That Dripped Blood, The (1970) .... Carla Lynde (segment "The Cloak")
Vampire Lovers, The (1970) .... Marcilla/Carmilla/Mircalla Karnstein
Where Eagles Dare (1969) .... Ethel Schmidt (alias 'Heidi')
Omegans, The (1968) .... Linda
On Location: 'Where Eagles Dare' (1968) (uncredited) .... Herself
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A (1966)
Duendes de Andaluc�a, Los (1966)
... aka Splendour of Andalucia, The (1966)
Beso en el puerto, Un (1966)
... aka Kiss in the Harbour (1966)
... aka Kiss on the Harbour, A (1966)
Campanadas a medianoche (1965) (uncredited)
... aka Chimes at Midnight (1965) (UK)
... aka Falstaff (1965) (Switzerland: German title)
Doctor Zhivago (1965) (uncredited) .... Extra
Sonido prehist�rico, El (1964) .... Sofia Minelli
... aka Prehistoric Sound, The (1964)
... aka Sonido de la muerte, El (1964)
... aka Sound from a Million Years Ago (1964)
... aka Sound of Horror (1967) (USA)
Other Ingrid Pitt pages on Women of Horror:
Countess Dracula
