By Matthew Field
(Photos all copyright Mark Mawston)
On Wednesday 7th December Riverside Studios - a unique arts and media
centre on the banks of the Thames in Hammersmith, London played host to
special screening of the Hammer classic The Vampire Lovers.
Screened
to celebrate the launch of Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer’s new coffee
table tome Cinema Sex Sirens – actress Madeline Smith was on hand to
introduce the screening. Based on La Fanu's short story Carmilla, The
Vampire Lovers was the first Hammer horror film of the 1970s and broke new
ground with its erotic lesbian themes. Addressing the audience Smith
amusingly recalled “I got a very worried phone call from the producer
who said he was concerned about my lack of bosom. He said 'We like you a
lot, but we don't think you are voluptuous enough'. I reassured him,
and then I scuttled off to Hornby and Clarke dairy round the corner and I
bought every yoghurt I could find and stuffed myself like you might
fatten cattle, and it worked!â€
Following the screening
Dave Worrall was joined by Madeline to autograph copies of the book, which has been listed as one of the best film books of the year by the Evening Standard of London.
Lavishly illustrated throughout the book is dedicated to Vampire Lovers
star Ingrid Pitt. In attendance was Ingrid Pitt’s widower Tony Rudlin.
(Please note: Cinema Retro's limited, signed and numbered editions of Cinema Sex Sirens are now sold out in the UK. Click here to order from Amazon UK and get an extensive look at the inside of the book.) A small number of copies are still available through our U.S. office for shipment with America. Click banner ad at top of page for details)
(For Madeline Smith's memories of making The Vampire Lovers, see her article in Cinema Retro issue #3,available in our back issues section)