Kate O'Mara's Eyes, Her Legacy

On March 30, the actress Kate O'Mara passed away. She was most remembered for playing Caress Morrell in "Dynasty", a primetime soap opera that turned Joan Collins into a huge TV star. Carress was the younger sister of Alexis Colby, played by Collins, who hoped to make a fortune from a tell-all book about her big sis. What followed was a series of bribes to keep her mouth shut. This wasn't the only one she did, as she shone way back, during the 1970s, when British horror films were in demand.

The Hammer Film Productions released "The Vampire Lovers" in 1970, a big-screen adaptation of Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla". It was hard to imagine another British film production company behind the camera, even Amicus, which became identified with horror anthologies. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Hammer became synonymous to horror. After the success of "Dracula" (1958), an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Gothic novel, it was only a matter of time before they would adapt "Carmilla". It was one of the pioneer works in vampire literature, the book that might have inspired Hammer to do the "bloodshed and bosoms" flicks. It worked.

Set in Styria, "Carmilla" referred to the mysterious lady that Laura, a teenage girl, remembered the most (in her young life). She recalled her when she was a lass, who appeared to her in the form of a black cat. During her time, that part of the Austrian Empire seemed to be under a spell, as the forest seemed impregnable. This was where Laura lived, with her father, a wealthy English widower. There numerous reports of women of Laura's age dying under mysterious circumstances. Many were unable to conclude that one person was behind it all, unaware that this individual came from a noble family. (Hammer seemed to get a cue from this, as its monsters were once distinguished, shown in flashbacks.) But a lesbian vampire was another thing. ("The Gilda Stories" by Jewelle Gomez was on top of the list, along with "Carmilla".)

Hammer's big-screen version of "Carmilla" wasn't a loose adaptation of the novel, not the best flick on the genre either. But it gained a cult following. Was it the diaphanous gowns that the female members of the cast wore (during production)? Kirsten Lindholm became noticeable, which heightened her fair beauty. But it was Kate O'Mara, as Mme. Perrodot, the governess of one of the Carmilla's would-be victims, who stood out. In fact, she upstaged Ingrid Pitt, who played Carmilla. It was her eyes, teasing moviegoers.

Here is her filmography:

1968: Corruption

1968: Great Catherine

1969: The Desperados

1970: The Horror of Frankenstein

1970: Cannon for Cordoba

1974: Feelings

1974: The Tamarind Seed

1978: An Unknown Friend

Then her television credits:

1965: Danger Man

1966: Court Martial

1967: The Troubleshooters

1968: The Champions

1969: The Avengers

1970: The Adventures of Don Quick

1972: Jason King

1974: Protectors

1976: Morecambe & Wise

1978: Return of the Saint