1959 – Edith Scob – Les yeux sans visage

We’re jumping now a few years ahead to greet our third guest on this list. It was an unlikely project to come out of France at the time, with a most unusual shock scene. Probably one of the most poetic horror film of all time, Les yeux sans visage (AKA Eyes Without a Face or the more exploitative title Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus) was directed by an unique talent, namely Georges Franju. Of course, Franju is also mainly known for his 1949 B&W short film, Le sang des bêtes, which proposes an incursion in a day in the life inside a Parisian slaughterhouse, and his 1963 feature Judex, which pays homage to silent serials, among many of its inspiration.

In her early twenties at time of filming, Edith Scob plays the disfigured daughter of a brilliant surgeon, who dedicates his life in trying to give her a normal appearance (even if this means kidnapping teenage girls to experiment on and transplant some skin bits, all in the name of science). Wearing an expressionless white mask and gliding around her deranged dad’s mansion in a large bathrobe, frail Christiane already looks like a ghost, sharing with us some choice moments of despair.

I don’t want to reveal too much, but the final scene of the film is a chill-inducing visual, once again involving the young woman’s fragile presence. She’s not in every scene of the film, but without Edith’s involvement, there will be no movie.

One of the earlier gore scene in the history of world cinema is actually in Les yeux sans visage, as we can witness one of the good doctor’s transplantation procedure. Yes, a French movie depicting a teenager having her face removed in graphic detail. Oddly, that kind of script would be remade many times over the following years, mainly by Jess Franco, who proposes similar projects with his Dr. Orloff series and others.

Soon to be seventy, Edith Scob is still working in movies today.

Next: dual roles in the first official directing effort of a soon-to-be horror master… is it so hard to figure it out?

1935 – Elsa Lanchester – Bride of Frankenstein

As I claimed several times, this is the ultimate monster role for an actress in the history of world cinema. Yes, there are many vengeful female Japanese ghosts floating around, alongside a couple of Mexican crying women (La Llorona) and many other vampire fiancées or possessed teenagers. But this unique part in Universal’s legendary horror series was destined to be perceived as the definitive monster representing the weaker sex.

Masterfully portrayed by eccentric performer Elsa Lanchester, the Bride’s unique appearance as not aged one bit after more than 70 years. Pop culture still pays her homage to this day and rightfully so. That campy bird-like Egyptian look would still turn heads at any chic drag queen nightclub. Only a performer as eccentric and unique as Elsa Lanchester could pull it off, blending pathos with her distinctive sense of British humor (she was actually inspired by London swans!). She remains one of the best supporting players to ever grace the big screen, at ease either in an historical drama or an Elvis Presley musical.

On your next (or first) viewing of James Whale’s classic, think about all the homosexual subtext running around in this brilliant 75 minutes piece of black & white cinema. Here’s a genial essay on the production. The enjoyably grotesque finale of Bride of Frankenstein is still considered the ultimate blind date nightmare (as is a similar scene in David Lynch’s Eraserhead). Talk about feelings of rejection… Elsa was billed in the credits as “The Monster’s Mate…?” Finally, what would have happened if previous prestigious actresses under consideration for the role (like Louise Brooks or Brigitte Helm) had actually got the part?

Next time: She walks around in a bathrobe, wears a mask, doesn’t say much, owns a lot of dogs and is the star of… a French horror movie?

For decades, male horror film stars have been much admired and revered. Cults around Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are still going on strong. Since one of the main purposes of Cult Sirens is to share the accomplishments of overlooked actresses in sometimes ignored films, let’s make available this first list of excellence. Since I have a tendency to prefer more eccentric cinema offerings, I now propose my 13 Favorite All-Time Female Performances in Horror Films. I’ll post a couple of entries a week on this subject to stretch the suspense to its unbearable limit. Will this become ultimate proof that female roles in Horror are not always decorative? You be the judge.

Much consideration was given into this, and I’ve decided to mix regular roles that contained a normal amount of speaking lines with a couple of effective mute ones, resulting in an appealing match of seasoned performers with young unexperienced players. So, let’s start in chronological order, keeping in mind that the silent era is not included:

1932 – Kathleen Burke – Island of Lost Souls

This was Kathleen Burke’s first role, as she had won a nation-wide contest to find the perfect Panther-Woman for this screen adaptation of H.G. Wells’s 1896 classic novel. Surrounded by ugly animal-men on Doctor Moreau’s island, she can stir up trouble by her mere innocent presence. Innocence is the key word here, as Ms. Burke’s lack of acting skills is her greatest advantage playing somebody who’s completely clueless as how to behave around people in her limited vicinity. Contrary to her male counterparts, she displays perfect human physical attributes (i.e. no apparent fangs, body hair, etc.), but watch out for those claws! Moreau (probably in constant semi-erection mode) enjoys bossing her around, displaying her like some mere living trophy. So, we have a complete newcomer giving an absolutely erotic performance (for its time), without being aware of it! Pure movie magic.

Barely 20 years old at the time of shooting, Kathleen Burke is astonishingly beautiful as Lota, with crazy eye makeup and clinging jungle girl costumes. The actress would be a player in about twenty movies soon after and ended her career in 1938.

Along with Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi and the entire cast, Kathleen Burke’s haunting presence is a key point of one of the greatest horror films of all time, not having lost its power to shock. A motion picture which is, for unknown reasons, still not available on domestic DVD.

Dig that gorgeous Spanish language poster, with Kathleen billed simply as “La mujer pantera”:

Next time: our second lucky actress had the title role in the best horror film ever! No joke!