Barbara Steele

The most beautiful star of the greatest horror masterpiece of Italian film, Le masque du démon (1960): Barbara Steele was born on December 29, 1937 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Barbara is loved by her fans for her talent, intelligence, and a dark mysterious beauty that is unique; her face epitomizes either sweet innocence, or malign evil (she is wonderful to watch either way). At first, Barbara studied to become a painter. In 1957, she joined an acting repertory company. Her feature acting debut was in the British comedy Bachelor of Hearts (1958). At age 21, this strikingly lovely lady, with the hauntingly beautiful face, large eyes, sensuous lips and long dark hair got her breakout role by starring in Le masque du démon (1960), the quintessential Italian film about witchcraft (it was the directorial debut for cinematographer Mario Bava; with his background, it was exquisitely photographed and atmospheric).

We got to see Barbara, but did not hear her; her voice was dubbed by another actress for international audiences. After its American success, AIP brought Barbara to America, to star in Roger Corman's La chambre des tortures (1961); (though the film was shot entirely in English, again Barbara's own voice was not used). By now, Barbara was typecast by American audiences as a horror star. In 1962, she answered an open-casting call and won a role in Federico Fellini's 8½ (1963); she only had a small role, but it was memorable. Reportedly, Fellini wanted to use her more in the film, but she was contracted to leave Rome to start work on her next horror movie, L'effroyable secret du Dr. Hichcock (1962). Being a slow and meticulous director, Fellini's 8½ (1963) was not released until 1963. (Later, when Barbara was cast in lesser roles in lesser movies, she would tell the directors: "I've worked with some of the best directors in the world. I've worked with Fellini!")

More horror movies followed, such as Le Spectre du professeur Hichcock (1963), Danse Macabre (1964), Un ange pour Satan (1966) and others; this success lead to her being typecast in the horror genre, where she more often than not appeared in Italian movies with a dubbed voice. The nadir was appearing in La Maison ensorcelée (1968), which was mainly eye candy, with scantily-clad women in a cult. Unfortunately, Barbara got sick of being typecast in horror movies. One of the screen's greatest horror stars, she said in an interview: "I never want to climb out of another freakin' coffin again!" This was sad news for her legion of horror fans; it was also a false-step for Barbara as far as a career move. Back in America, she met screenwriter James Poe; they got married, and remained together for many years.

James Poe wrote an excellent role for Barbara in On achève bien les chevaux (1969). The role ended up going to Susannah York, and Barbara wouldn't act in movies again for five years. Barbara returned to movies in 5 femmes à abattre (1974); she was miscast: a few years before, Barbara would have been one of the beautiful inmates, not the wheelchair-bound warden, but her performance won positive reviews. In 1977, she appeared in a film by Roger Corman, based on the true story of a mentally ill woman, Jamais je ne t'ai promis un jardin de roses (1977). Unfortunately, her scenes wound up on the cutting room floor. Barbara appeared in La petite (1978), but she was in the background the whole time, and her talents were mostly wasted. Barbara would appear in two more unmemorable movies. She and James Poe got divorced in 1978, he died two years later.

Barbara appeared in the independent film Le silence qui tue (1979). Maybe because her ex-husband was now dead, or because her acting career was going nowhere, Barbara retired from acting for a decade. However, she had a great deal of success as a producer. She was an associate producer for the miniseries Le souffle de la guerre (1983), and produced Les orages de la guerre (1988), for which she got an Emmy Award. Her horror fans were delighted when Barbara showed up again, this time on television in La malédiction de Collinwood (1991), a revival of the beloved 1960s supernatural soap opera. And she has developed a relative fondness along with a sense of ironic humor about her horror queen status, which was evident in her appearance in Clive Barker's documentary A-Z of Horror (1997).