My Favorite Scream Queen

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 11, 2009

Categories | Rants & Raves, Horror, Actresses

Fall has finally arrived in all its gold and copper splendor. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Autumn is my favorite season. Summer be damned! I’m more than happy to see it go and I look forward with unabashed glee to dark mornings, cold evenings and watching lots of horror movies during the month of October.

Over at the TCM Movie Morlocks’ blog Richard Harland Smith has gathered together a nice collection of links to other blogs that are spending the month focusing on all things spooky and scary. I personally recommend making some time to visit The Groovy Age of Horror, Arbogast on Film, Frankensteinia, Cinema Styles and Final Girl where the fun never ends and the dead never rest!

I hope to find some time to write about a few of my favorite horror films that are in desperate need of a DVD release before the month is over, but in the meantime I thought I’d share some lovely pictures that I recently came across of my favorite Scream Queen, the beautiful and terrifying Barbara Steele from a 1958 issue of Life magazine.

Barbara Steele (1958)


Barbara Steele (1958)

Barbara Steele (1958)

I wish I could have bought some “copper jewelery” or “old prints” from Barbara back in 1958. I imagine her as a sort of darker and more believable version of Eliza Doolittle. Some smart director should have made a horror version of Pygmalion that starred Barbara Steele back in the ’60s. What a wasted opportunity that was!

12 Comments »

  1. Pierre Fournier says; October 11, 2009 @ 12:40 pm

    Good lord. That first picture of Barbara is like an arrow through my heart.

  2. Kimberly Lindbergs says; October 11, 2009 @ 2:18 pm

    Isn’t it amazing?! I hadn’t seen it before and when I came across it recently it took my breath away.

  3. Will E. says; October 12, 2009 @ 5:16 pm

    I hope you include THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK in your in-desperate-need-of-DVD-release list!

  4. Kimberly Lindbergs says; October 12, 2009 @ 9:00 pm

    Will - I’m not planning on covering The Horrible Dr. Hichcock here anytime soon, but I’d like to see it released on DVD too. You should write-up something about it yourself this month!

  5. Rick says; October 13, 2009 @ 7:48 am

    I gotta agree with Pierre … what a photo. Although I’m not up on horror enough to recognize her from her more iconic roles, I certainly remember her from that role in 8 1/2.

  6. Greg F says; October 13, 2009 @ 9:59 am

    Yes, the first pic is something but like you Kimberly I’m more amazed at the selling jewelry on a cart on the weekends. Damn! I wonder how many people ever found out they had bought jewelry from her. Is it stamped with a logo of some sort? What’s it look like? Does she still make it/sell it? What a discovery.

    And thank you sincerely for the gracious link Kimberly. Much appreciated.

  7. sergio olivari says; October 14, 2009 @ 12:22 pm

    There is an absolutely gorgeous looking italian dvd from Medusa of the magnificent Orribile Dr. Hichcock

  8. Kimberly Lindbergs says; October 17, 2009 @ 10:07 am

    Rick - Glad you liked it!

    Greg - Isn’t it fascinating?! She really would have made an amazing Eliza Doolittle. Peter Cushing could have played Professor Henry Higgins in the horror version of Pygmalion shaping Steele into a mad killer who seduces men with her charms and then takes their life.

    Sergio - I suspect Will may have meant a “US DVD releases” but thanks for the tip on the Italian DVD release! Generally speaking it’s a shame that more of Riccardo Freda’s films are not easily available in the US.

  9. Greg F says; October 17, 2009 @ 10:39 pm

    the horror version of Pygmalion shaping Steele into a mad killer who seduces men with her charms and then takes their life.

    That’s brilliant. You should write out a screenplay for that, where it’s the same characters only Eliza is honed to be a killer.

  10. Curt says; October 20, 2009 @ 12:07 pm

    Thanks so much for the mention Kimberly, and I’m sorry I haven’t said it sooner. I meant to, way back when this first posted, and for no good reason just haven’t gotten around to it till now. Again, belated yet heartfelt thanks!

    P.S.–that pic of Steele really is amazing!!!

  11. Kimberly Lindbergs says; October 23, 2009 @ 7:59 am

    Glad you liked the pic of Steele, Curt. And no need to thank me. Groovy Age of Horror is a great place to visit anytime of the years!

  12. Al says; October 27, 2009 @ 7:07 am

    I totally agree about the need for The Horrible Dr. Hichcock to be released on DVD. It’s one of her best films.


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