After dipping a tentative toe in the water for a number of years , Hammer finally embraced full-on sex and nudity with this one.
In a Styrian village seemingly exclusively populated by lesbian women who find Ingrid Pitt irresistible, the surviving members of an evil family of vampires carry out a reign of terror. Chief among them is Carmilla who is placed in two families headed by Peter Cushing and George Cole and lures their women to their doom with the promise of lesbian sex. The film isn't so great on story - the presence of a dark-robed horseman- goes unexplained - but that's not really the point in this one.
Ingrid Pitt ( as Carmilla )
Sex : Carmilla snares nearly all her victims with the promise of lesbian sex but it's not clear if she delivers before taking a bite out of their breast
Death : Staked and then decapitated by the General ( Cushing )
Ingrid was born in Warsaw and survived internment at Stutthof Concentration Camp. She married an American GI called Pitt and found her way to Hollywood, initially working as an actress. Her first decent part was as a British spy in Where Eagles Dare but this is the film that made her name. In later years she took up writing as well as continuing to act. She died of congestive heart failure in 2010 aged 73.
Madeline Smith ( as Emma )
Sex : Emma is stripped for sex with Carmilla then bitten on the left breast
Death : Survives
Emma's doe-eyed innocence was apparently for real as Madeline has said she was a virgin at the time of filming.
Kate O' Mara (as Madamoiselle Perradot )
Sex : She goes to Carmilla's room for sex
Death : Carmilla gives her a fatal bite
Unlike most of her co-stars Kate wasn't required to disrobe.
Pippa Steel ( as Laura )
Sex : Laura's blouse is opened by the doctor after her death
Death : From blood loss after repeated attacks by Carmilla
Pippa was born in Flensburg and was active from the late sixties. She retired in 1978 to run a hotel and catering business with her husband but appeared sporadically on TV in the eighties. She died of cancer in 1992 aged 44.
Dawn Addams ( as the Countess )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Dawn's part in the film is somewhat ambiguous - is she a vampire herself or just a mortal helper ?
Kirsten Lindholm ( as Vampire Woman )
Sex : No
Death : Decapitated by Baron Hartog
Kirsten was a Danish model who had a brief film career at the end of the sixties. She met a Sikh convert at a yoga class and has worked as an instructor and healer ever since. The couple now live in New Zealand. She is now 74.
Janet Key ( as Gretchen )
Sex : No
Death : Survives
Janet had a consistent career on TV from the late sixties until her death in 1992 aged 47 with regular roles in Flesh and Blood and Running Wild.
Joanne Shelley ( as Woodman's daughter )
Sex : She welcomes Carmilla's attentions as a lover
Death : Carmilla tears her throat out
Joanne was active in the early seventies with a regular role in The Silver Sword but this was her only film appearance.
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