Ingrid Pitt RIP

[Danger Man]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11823418

Hammer horror actress Ingrid Pitt, best known for starring in cult classics such as Countess Dracula, has died at the age of 73.

The Polish-born star passed away at a hospital in south London after collapsing a few days ago.

She was regarded by many fans as the queen of Hammer Horror films.

For some of us, of a certain age, she was the gateway to a world of sex.



Here she is about to snog Madeline Smith.....


oooohhhhhh.......

[VegaLA]

Ack, what a shame. I got to meet her soemtime in the early 90s during some filmFest so i'll have to grab that photo from my parents house next time I visit.

Did I read right in the Mark Gatis Horror thread that Hammer have been revived? Would have like to have seen her make a few cameos at least.

[Jemble Fred]

Did I read right in the Mark Gatis Horror thread that Hammer have been revived?

Well they have released one of the most critically acclaimed horror movies of the year (albeit a remake). They seem determined not to make anything even vaguely akin to any of the Hammer classics, though.

http://www.hammerfilms.com

Rest In Peace Ingrid.

[Glebe]

Sadness. RIP Ms. Pitt.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Well they have released one of the most critically acclaimed horror movies of the year (albeit a remake). They seem determined not to make anything even vaguely akin to any of the Hammer classics, though.

http://www.hammerfilms.com

I never knew until now that Big Brother creator John De Mol was behind the 'takeover' of the studio. Strange.

[Ignatius_S]

Sad news - cheers for that link/image.

....Would have like to have seen her make a few cameos at least.

Pitt did have a cameo in Beyond The Rave (geddit!?!), the first production by the new Hammer company - it was first released as a serial (via MySpace, if I remembered correctly).

[VegaLA]

Cheers guys.
Think i'll watch 'Countess Dracula' and get hold of 'The Vampire Lovers' as i'm not sure i've actually seen that one.

Hmm, maybe some 'Warriors of the deep' Doc Who might be in order tomorrow.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Hmm, maybe some 'Warriors of the deep' Doc Who might be in order tomorrow.

Or 'The Time Monster'. Actually, don't bother with either as they're rubbish. The only fitting tribute is to watch the late Miss Pitt in her full-blooded vampire lesbian glory.

[VegaLA]

The only fitting tribute is to watch the late Miss Pitt in her full-blooded vampire lesbian glory.

Agreed. And that's long overdue a viewing! Would like to see 'The house that dripped blood' which I think also starred Doc 3.

[mycroft]

There's always Where Eagles Dare if you fancy some non-vampire non-Who Pitt action.

[Jake Thingray]

Or 'The Time Monster'. Actually, don't bother with either as they're rubbish. The only fitting tribute is to watch the late Miss Pitt in her full-blooded vampire lesbian glory.

Quite right. Even the fans referred to her second story as 'Warriors On The Cheap', the thing that killed her in it was a pantomime horse, operated by the same people who performed the same duty in RENTAGHOST; and the fans wonder why I think DOCTOR WHO is just silly?

She was very pleasant giving an intro prior to a screening of THE VAMPIRE LOVERS at the NFT in 1996, answered my question about George Cole looking rather uncomfortable in it. During her first topless scene, I'll never forget the breathy "Oh my God...." from one of a pair of lesbians sitting behind me and my mate Stitt.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Quite right. Even the fans referred to her second story as 'Warriors On The Cheap', the thing that killed her in it was a pantomime horse, operated by the same people who performed the same duty in RENTAGHOST; and the fans wonder why I think DOCTOR WHO is just silly?

To be fair, the Myrka is rightly regarded as a nadir in the realm of Doctor Who special effects. Its crapness hardly typifies the show, which is why it's so irritating when it's frequently wheeled out on clip shows illustrate how naff Doctor Who was in its classic era. Just lazy sniggering, really.

[Jake Thingray]

it's so irritating when it's frequently wheeled out on clip shows illustrate how naff Doctor Who was

What clip shows? And how frequently? And where is the belief that Doctor Who is naff freely allowed in today's media? Apart from Michael Grade's wonderful edition of ROOM 101 (Merton's line about the heckler "he can't be a Dr Who fan, he's shown an interest in women" was a 24-carat gold moment), which was years ago, the tacky nonsense always gets treated with respect now, and it's compulsory within the TV industry to be a fan. Especially in comedy, no doubt Lucas and Walliams' sneering at Dennis Waterman is because his shows are, unlike DW, unpopular among wimps and weeds -- when will there ever be a parody pointing out DW is, and always has been, rubbish? Never from Jon Culshaw.

If "lazy sniggering" at the rubbish really was a regular occurrence, I wouldn't be so grumpy.

[weekender]

Well, I for one forgot about the entire plot of The Time Monster once I'd seen Pitt's cleavage in about episode 4 or 5.  That's how good they were.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

What clip shows? And how frequently?

I've seen the Myrka clip wheeled out a few times to mock old Doctor Who, almost certainly since the series was revived too. While I agree that few people within the mainstream media are willing to criticise Nu-Who (although AA Gill and Andrew Billen from The Times both dislike it), there is still a tendency to regard the old series as a bit of a joke. The jibes may be more superficially affectionate now because of the success of the revived series, but the tired old "HA-HA! The special effects were shit and the sets wobbled!" mentality still exists.

no doubt Lucas and Walliams' sneering at Dennis Waterman is because his shows are, unlike DW, unpopular among wimps and weeds -- when will there ever be a parody pointing out DW is, and always has been, rubbish? Never from Jon Culshaw.

I thought we'd been through this? I don't detect a great deal of sneering in Little Britain's Waterman sketches, but rather the mild observation that Dennis Waterman often wrote and sang the theme tunes to shows he starred in. The fact that he is depicted as a tiny man with a high-pitched voice is simply a "surreal" touch on Lucas and Walliam's part: silliness for its own sake. I've also read that both were big fans of Minder as children.

Also, your assertion that Waterman's shows were disliked by wimps and weeds was demonstrably disproved by the several milquetoasts - myself included - who professed a liking for Minder in whatever thread you mentioned it in earlier. A shared fondness for Minder and Doctor Who is not as paradoxical as you appear to think (and that's surely a contender for the most insightful statement I've ever written on the internet).

Also, I don't see why someone won't one day write an excoriating parody of Doctor Who, both old and new. Whenever they do, I'll no doubt enjoy it if its clever and funny, and I say that as a fan.

EDIT: I'm sure Ingrid Pitt would be delighted to know that her obituary thread on CaB has descended into a discussion of the relative merits of Doctor Who and Minder. And her tits.

[Jake Thingray]

I tried saying how much I liked THE SWEENEY (which Waterman didn't sing the theme of, and neither did anyone else) on one forum and just got LITTLE BRITAIN-related sneering from geeks who explode if you refer to DOCTOR WHO as a children's programme. The main cunt there was one called Frankymole, who I also crossed swords with on the Mausoleum Club forum. Didn't Phil Collinson, or whatever his name is, talk of preferring DOCTOR WHO to THE SWEENEY as the latter was too heterosexual? And I'm sorry, but I still bear the scars relating to anyone over 14 still liking DW then being thought of as, to put it politely, a late developer.

The point is, a lot of Whovians and geeks in general sneer at or ignore anything that isn't sci-fi/fantasy gommo stuff. You haven't put forward any evidence that Who is sneered at frequently -- I only wish it was.

The epitome of philistine geekiness came when one creep, on aforementioned forum, bleated that there was not enough about DW and criticised me for starting a thread on TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, as though there was something wrong with that and a children's programme should take precedence. La Pitt was in SMILEY'S PEOPLE, incidentally.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I tried saying how much I liked THE SWEENEY (which Waterman didn't sing the theme of, and neither did anyone else) on one forum and just got LITTLE BRITAIN-related sneering from geeks who explode if you refer to DOCTOR WHO as a children's programme.

So? Their response clearly isn't representative of Doctor Who fans in general, is it?

The main cunt there was one called Frankymole, who I also crossed swords with on the Mausoleum Club forum. Didn't Phil Collinson, or whatever his name is, talk of preferring DOCTOR WHO to THE SWEENEY as the latter was too heterosexual?

Maybe he did. But again, his opinion shouldn't be regarded as a strict party-line followed by all Doctor Who fans.

And I'm sorry, but I still bear the scars relating to anyone over 14 still liking DW then being thought of as, to put it politely, a late developer.

Probably best to let those scars fade if you can, as there's no point torturing yourself with the opinions of twats from yesteryear which really don't matter anymore.

You haven't put forward any evidence that Who is sneered at frequently -- I only wish it was.

Yes I have. Didn't you read the bit in my last post stating that old Doctor Who is still regarded as a bit of a joke by many people? It's impossible to provide specific evidence, as it's such an endemic attitude. You must be aware of what I mean?

The epitome of philistine geekiness came when one creep, on aforementioned forum, bleated that there was not enough about DW and criticised me for starting a thread on TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, as though there was something wrong with that and a children's programme should take precedence. La Pitt was in SMILEY'S PEOPLE, incidentally.

Some Doctor Who fans may be rabid, intractible philistines, I'll grant you that, but you shouldn't tar them all with the same brush. Otherwise you run the risk of sounding just as wildly unreasonable as they are.

In short: bitter feuds with message board fools shouldn't cloud your outlook on people in general.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I note too that you didn't respond to my points about sci-fi/fantasy fans on CaB also expressing affection for Minder, or any "heterosexual" show of that nature.

Also, there was no need to point out that Waterman didn't sing the theme to The Sweeney[nb] although I wish he had: "The Sweeney! The Sweeney! Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, The Sweeney!" etc.[/nb], as I'd already made it clear that Lucas and Walliams' point was that he SOMETIMES sang the themes to his own shows, not always. God, you're making me sounds like a Little Britain apologist here.

[Alternative Carpark]

I tried saying how much I liked THE SWEENEY (which Waterman didn't sing the theme of, and neither did anyone else) on one forum and just got LITTLE BRITAIN-related sneering from geeks who explode if you refer to DOCTOR WHO as a children's programme. The main cunt there was one called Frankymole, who I also crossed swords with on the Mausoleum Club forum. Didn't Phil Collinson, or whatever his name is, talk of preferring DOCTOR WHO to THE SWEENEY as the latter was too heterosexual? And I'm sorry, but I still bear the scars relating to anyone over 14 still liking DW then being thought of as, to put it politely, a late developer.

Yeah, but that's still only a few people on one forum.  If someone's being arsey about someone else liking something just for the sake of it, without having any coherent or worthwhile criticism to offer, then they're just being arsey.  It's not really anything to do with DOCTOR WHO or THE SWEENEY or anything in particular, that's just intolerance, and you can find that in all sorts of places, on all sorts of subjects.  Doesn't say anything about the actual programmes or even about most of the people who might be  into them.

I mean, a statement like...

"I tried saying how much I liked BETTY BOOP on one forum and just got ROGER RABBIT-related sneering from geeks who explode if you refer to BUGS BUNNY as a children's programme. The main cunt there was one called (whatever), who I also crossed swords with on the Mausoleum Club forum. Didn't (whoever), or whatever his name is, talk of preferring BUGS BUNNY to BETTY BOOP as the latter was too heterosexual?"

wouldn't say much about those cartoons either, as an example.

The point is, a lot of Whovians and geeks in general sneer at or ignore anything that isn't sci-fi/fantasy gommo stuff. You haven't put forward any evidence that Who is sneered at frequently -- I only wish it was.

But you've not put forward that much evidence that a significant amount of them do that kind of sneering either - the fact that some people have behaved like twats on the internet is hardly anything shocking or new, whether it be about DW or anything else.

The epitome of philistine geekiness came when one creep, on aforementioned forum, bleated that there was not enough about DW and criticised me for starting a thread on TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, as though there was something wrong with that and a children's programme should take precedence. La Pitt was in SMILEY'S PEOPLE, incidentally.

You can find that kind of narrowminded mentality in fans of all sorts of things though.  Or narrow range of interests and low tolerance for others, as might be a better way of putting it.