Ingrid Pitt gave her horror predators human feeling without making them harmless. We rate the actress more cautiously than the cult reputation, but her small part in The Wicker Man shows how little space she needed.
Fi1m perspective
In The Wicker Man (1973), Ingrid Pitt plays a librarian who is little inclined to help. The part is small, but an obstructive librarian is a useful addition to a police enquiry that mixes seduction, comedy and fear. We found her uncooperativeness unsettling because someone whose job involves supplying information ought to be more reassuring. Robin Hardy does not need her to dominate the film; Edward Woodward gives its religious conflict the stubborn human presence it needs. Pitt makes her own modest contribution to the unease.
The supporting role of Heidi in Where Eagles Dare (1968) brought her to the attention of British producers. Then came The Vampire Lovers (1970), Countess Dracula (1971) and the Amicus anthology The House That Dripped Blood (1971). Those three films established her place in British horror in a brief spell. Her Hammer work brought her together with Roy Ward Baker and Peter Sasdy. It also gave her the opportunity to play women who were themselves the danger, with enough prominence for that to become her speciality.
Low-cut gowns and seduction were plainly part of what those Hammer films offered. Pitt gave their predatory women human feeling, which made desire something she could act rather than merely advertise. The reservation is how much of her reputation rests on similar roles, with a comparatively brief run of substantial parts. The horror following is understandable, though it sometimes asks these few performances to prove too much.
Later work was largely on television, including Elvira in Smiley's People (1982). We recommend the series for performances that repay the attention its plotting demands, though the intricacy can keep feeling at a distance. Alec Guinness's restraint as George Smiley is its chief attraction, so this is not where we would begin with Pitt. Nor should our enthusiasm for The Wicker Man suggest that she is its principal attraction. Begin there for the film; turn to The Vampire Lovers if it is Pitt herself who has caught your interest.
Biography
Ingrid Pitt was a Polish-British actress and writer. Born on 21 November 1937, she died on 23 November 2010.
She is known for her roles in British horror films of the 1970s, including The Vampire Lovers (1970) as Marcilla/Carmilla, Countess Dracula (1971) as Countess Elisabeth, and The House That Dripped Blood (1971) as Carla Lind. She appeared as the Librarian in The Wicker Man (1973) and as Heidi in Where Eagles Dare (1968). Pitt also had television roles including in Doctor Who (1963) as Dr Solow and Galleia.
She worked in film from the mid-1960s until 2010 and wrote several books on horror cinema.
