#katia vajda

[thedepartmentofdiscoveries]

[everythingunderthesky]

Which Witch? 

This moment in "Donnie vs. Witch Town" has repeatedly caught my notice, and I’ve now recovered enough to break it down! 

First off, here’s the list verbatim:

Visitors  Suzy Bannion Heather Donahue Nancy Downs Minnie Castevet Katia Vajda Miss Anjelica Ernst Samantha Stephens April O’Neil

Unfamiliar names plus cursive plus a lack of high-quality stills meant decoding this took a little longer than expected.

I have attempted to minimize spoilers for the mentioned horror movies when possible, but in pursuing two contradictory goals, I have accomplished both imperfectly. C'est la vie!

Please note: I am by no means a film buff, so feel free to add any relevant context! 

Oh, the Horror . . . [films]!

"Suzy Bannion" would be a reference to the 1977 film Suspiria in which Suzy, a ballet student, finds herself investigating a supernatural coven of witches.

"Heather Donahue" is a homage to the 1999 "found footage" movie The Blair Witch Project*, wherein three student filmmakers investigate a legend of a witch in the woods.

"Nancy Downs", from the 1996 R-rated film The Craft, is one of a trio of students rumored to be dabbling in witchcraft.

"Minnie Castevet", on the other hand, hails from the dark 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby (based on the book by Ira Levin), wherein Minnie’s character is suspected of being a member of a coven. 

"Katia Vajda", originates from the 1960 film Black Sunday, (loosely based on Nikolai Gogol’s short story "Viy"). Katia was accused of being a vampiric witch and executed by her brother—but that isn’t the end of her story.

"Miss Anjelica Ernst" simultaneously references Roald Dahl’s 1973 novel The Witches and its 1990 film adaptation of the same name. One member of the notorious child-hating coven is the Grand High Witch, Eva Ernst, who was portrayed by Anjelica Huston on the big screen.

"Samantha Stephens" lives the life of a "good witch" in the 1964 television series Bewitched.

Special Bonus!

"Abigail the Good", founder of Witch Town, may be an allusion to the character "Abigail Pershing" from the 2015 television show Good Witch. 

I’ll go ahead and credit my dad as my research assistant; he described these references as "deep cuts".

And really, what higher praise is there? 

*For more about Heather Donahue, the producer and writer of the sitcom The High Country, check out this article by GQ's Scott Meslow, The Blair Witch Project's Heather Donahue Is Alive and Well!

[fibula-rasa]

Cosplay the Classics: Barbara Steele as Asa/Katia Vajda in Black Sunday (1960)

Sometimes October flies by and you’re left with very little time to put together an appropriately ghoulish look for the big night: Halloween! But, with a little construction paper, colored pencils, safety pins, and a black sheet… you too can closet cosplay Barbara Steele in her dual role of Asa and Katia Vajda in the Italian horror classic Black Sunday / La maschera del demonio (1960).

I personally adore this movie, and its source material, so hopefully, when I have some more time to spare, I’d love to give it a full write up. Maybe a Gogol on film series???

Anyways, Happy Halloween!

[brody75]

Black Sunday (1960)

[sesiondemadrugada]

La maschera del demonio (Mario Bava, 1960).

[reelwitches]

“ Barbara Steele at Monsterpalooza with a great rendering of her role in Black Sunday. “ Pasadena, April 8, 2017. Photo credit:  David Del Valle

[triste-guillotine]

Mario Bava’s masterpiece “La maschera del Demonio” (1960) aka “Black Sunday”, based on a tale by Nikolaï Gogol, featuring Barbara Steele as Katia/Asa Vajda.

[vintage1981]

Happy Birthday Barbara Steele

Barbara Steele (born 29 December 1937) is a British film actress and producer. Famous for her starring in Italian Gothic horror films of the 1960s, her breakthrough performance was in Black Sunday (1960), where she played the dual role of Asa and Princess Katia Vajda.

Additionally, Steele had supporting parts in Federico Fellini‘s 8½ (1963), and appeared on television in the 1991 miniseries Dark Shadows. Steele has appeared in several films in the 2010s, including a lead role in The Butterfly Room (2012) and supporting role in Ryan Gosling’s Lost River (2014).

Steele was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. She studied art at the Chelsea Art School and in Paris at the Sorbonne.

Steele guest starred on various British television shows including the spy drama, Danger Man (aka Secret Agent) starring Patrick McGoohan. She made her American television debut in 1960 as Dolores in the “Daughter of Illusion” episode of the ABC series, Adventures in Paradise, starring Gardner McKay. In that same year she was replaced by Barbara Eden in the Elvis Presley film Flaming Star after a disagreement with director Don Siegel. In 1961, she appeared as Phyllis in the “Beta Delta Gamma” episode of CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She also had an important role in Federico Fellini’s celebrated 8½ in 1963, and in 1966 appeared in the second-season episode of NBC's I Spy, “Bridge of Spies”.

During the 1960s, Steele starred in a string of Italian horror films, including Black Sunday (1960), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Ghost (1963), The Long Hair of Death (1964), Castle of Blood (1964), Terror-Creatures from the Grave and Nightmare Castle (both 1965). She also starred in Roger Corman's 1961 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Pit and the Pendulum and the British film Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968).

Steele returned to the horror genre in the later 1970s, appearing in three horror films: David Cronenberg's Shivers (a.k.a. They Came From Within) (1975), Piranha (1978), and Silent Scream (1979).

Steele served as associate producer of the 1983 TV miniseries, The Winds of War, and was a producer for its 1988 sequel, War and Remembrance, for which she shared the 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special with executive producer Dan Curtis.

Steele was cast as Julia Hoffman in the 1991 remake of the 1960s ABC television series Dark Shadows. In 2010, she was a guest star in the Dark Shadows audio drama, The Night Whispers.

In 2010, actor-writer Mark Gatiss interviewed Steele about her role in Black Sunday for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror. In 2012, Gatiss again interviewed Steele about her role in Shivers for his follow-up documentary, Horror Europa. In 2014, she appeared in Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut, the drama-fantasy thriller film Lost River, in which she portrayed the character Belladonna in a supporting role.

[giallofever2]

Happy Birthday/ Buon Compleanno

to the Dark Queen Barbara Steele

Barbara Steele (born 29 December 1937) is an English film actress and producer. She is best known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. Her breakthrough performance was the dual role of Princess Asa Vajda and Katia Vajda in Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960)

Additionally, Steele had supporting parts in Federico Fellini's 8½ (1963), and appeared on television in the 1991 miniseries Dark Shadows. Steele has appeared in several films in the 2010s, including a lead role in The Butterfly Room (2012) and supporting role in Ryan Gosling's Lost River (2014)

.... Steele starred in a string of horror films, including Black Sunday (1960), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Ghost (1963) directed by Riccardo Freda, The Long Hair of Death (1964) and Roger Corman's 1961 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Pit and the Pendulum, among others.

She also starred in Castle of Blood (1964), Terror-Creatures from the Grave and Nightmare Castle (both 1965), and Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968).

Steele returned to the horror genre in the later 1970s, appearing in three horror films, Silent Scream, Piranha, and David Cronenberg's Shivers.

[filmstruck]

10 Fun Facts About Barbara Steele by Kimberly Lindbergs

Barbara Steele became a cult film icon thanks to her memorable roles in a number of low-budget horror movies, but her filmography also includes critically acclaimed art films and interesting British dramas. FilmStruck and Criterion Channel subscribers can currently stream four of Steele’s best movies and when viewed together they become a wonderful, rowdy and wild introduction to one of my favorite actresses and her small but impressive body of work.

I suggest kick-starting your viewing party with Basil Dearden’s neo-noir crime drama SAPPHIRE (’56), which includes Barbara Steele in one of earliest and briefest screen appearances playing a young college student whose friend has been brutally murdered. Follow that with Mario Bava’s Gothic horror classic BLACK SUNDAY (‘60) starring Steele in the dual role of Asa Vadja, a 200-year-old Moldavian Princess accused of practicing witchcraft and vampirism, and Katia, her much younger and gentle-hearted ancestor. The third film I recommend is Fellini’s autobiographical 8 ½ (’63) where you can see Steele dancing her way into cinema history and last but not least, finish with Volker Schlöndorff’s anti-fascist creed YOUNG TORLESS (’66). In the final film, Steele portrays a seductive prostitute who propositions students at a boy’s boarding school.

Her transgressive filmography isn’t for the timid or easily shocked, but adventurous audiences will find it especially rewarding. Unfortunately, Steele’s roles were often brief, ephemeral moments that haunt her fans, and you’re left wondering why she wasn’t given more screen time or additional opportunities to showcase her talents. 

To accompany Steele’s films, I thought I’d compile a list of fun facts about the actress to spark your interest and spur your imagination. 

Barbara Steele was born on December 29, 1938 and raised in the British seaport town of Birkenhead near Liverpool. Her parents encouraged her artistic pursuits and she studied dance, piano and acting at a young age but she was especially fond of the visual arts and longed to become a professional painter. A few other well-known Birkenhead residents include the Academy Award-winning actress Glenda Jackson (WOMEN IN LOVE [’69], THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN [’73], HOPSCOTCH [’80]) and Targon Egerton, the 28-year-old star of KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (’15) and KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (’18). 

Her interest in the visual arts and antiques drove Steele to study painting at the Chelsea College of Arts in London and in Paris at the Sorbonne. During this period, she was reportedly befriended and seduced by future film director Donald Cammell (PERFORMANCE [’70], DEMON SEED [’77], WHITE OF THE EYE [’87]). Steele has told interviewers that she “wanted to be Picasso” but fate had other plans for the aspiring artist. 

To make money while she was an art student, Steele sold copper jewelry and antique prints from a pushcart. During weekends, she could be found peddling her wares to passersby on London’s Portobello Road where she supposedly earned a reputation as a “shrewd dealer.” 

Steele was persuaded to become an actress after she was spotted by a director while painting sets for a stage production of Bell, Book and Candle in Glasgow, Scotland. The director was so taken by Steele’s otherworldly beauty that he encouraged her to audition for the role of Gillian the witch after the star of the play fell ill. The character of Gillian was made famous by Kim Novak who appeared in the film adaptation, but Steele would eventually become a star in her own right after playing another witch; the black-hearted Asa Vajda in Mario Bava’s Gothic horror classic BLACK SUNDAY.

After a brief career on stage and some modeling jobs, Barbara Steele was discovered by talent agents from Rank Organisation. They signed her on the spot but the British studio didn’t seem to know what to do with the budding actress so they sold her contract to 20th Century Fox. In Hollywood, Steele was put through a torturous star-making routine that involved dying her dark locks blond and pinning her ears. When it was over she was cast alongside Elvis Presley in FLAMING STAR (’60) but after some heated disagreements with costumers and director Don Siegel, Steele reportedly stormed off the set. Soon afterward the historic 1960 Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes shut Hollywood down and during the interim Steele decided to return to Europe.

According to Steele, Mario Bava first spotted the actress in a photoshoot she did for a 1958 issue of Life and was struck by her saturnine beauty. Later, while pursuing a stack of acting resumes from the William Morris Agency, he decided to cast the saucer-eyed ingénue in BLACK SUNDAY, a role that made her a horror icon and earned her the nickname “Queen of all Screams.” .

Two of Barbara Steele’s most famous paramours were actors Anthony Quinn and Peter O’Toole. Steele’s affair with Quinn is rumored to have lasted for years and occurred while he was married to Katherine DeMille, the daughter of Cecil B. DeMille. Steele’s romantic fling with O’Toole was short-lived but passionate and roused the attention of the paparazzi who relentlessly pursued the couple in Italy. The situation reached a fever pitch in 1964 leading to a violent altercation between O’Toole and a photographer who had momentarily blinded Steele with his camera's flash. Steele and O’Toole were both subsequently arrested and questioned for hours by the Italian police but they were eventually let go. Afterward, the authorities attempted to press assault charges against O’Toole but he managed to avoid arrest with the assistance of his stunt double. 

During the span of her career Steele collaborated with many talented directors besides Mario Bava such as Basil Dearden, Roger Corman, Riccardo Freda, Antonio Margheriti, Michael Reeves, Volker Schlöndorff, Louis Malle, Jonathan Demme and David Cronenberg. Despite the impressive scope of her filmography, Steele regularly singles out her work with Federico Fellini in 8 ½ and talks about the Italian filmmaker in glowing terms. In a forward she wrote for the book Fellini: The Sixties, Steele described what it was like to work with the acclaimed director explaining that: “Everyone who worked with him felt they shared a private secret with him — that he and he alone could mirror their souls like a great, slightly ironic Buddha.” 

Steele’s only marriage has been to the screenwriter James Poe. The couple were together for nearly ten years between 1969-1978 and they had one child. Poe died in 1980 and today he’s best remembered as the man who wrote or co-wrote a number of Academy Award-nominated screenplays including AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (’56), CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (’58), LILIES OF THE FIELD (’63) and THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY? (’70). 

The actress has often been a reluctant interviewee and is known to frequently tell tall tales, forget facts and spin entertaining yarns. She most likely does so in order to keep herself occupied while having to answer the same questions over and over again from dull-headed reporters or worshipful fans like yours truly. With that mind, any or all of these “fun facts” could be white lies so enjoy them but don’t assume they’re written in stone. Barbara Steele is an enchanter who weaves her own unique kind of magic and she has certainly cast a spell on this writer.

[scrollboss]

DangerTerrorHorrorThon 2017 pt. 3 is now up on the ScrollBoss site!

New sprites: Nancy Downs (the Craft), Elvira, Witch/Salome (CastleVania), Asa/Katia Vajda (Black Sunday), I-No (Guilty Gear series), Bajo (Kyros/Desolator), Morgan (Dragon’s Crown)

[goddessesofthesilverscreen]

Women in Horror month

The queen of 60s Italian horror, Barbara Steele, in the breakthrough double role for which she is still best remembered: the evil witch Princess Asa Vajda and her innocent descendant Katia in Black Sunday (1960, Mario Bava; also known as The Mask of Satan)

[movies-derekwinnert]

The Mask of Satan [La maschera del demonio] [Black Sunday] **** (1960, Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi) - Classic Movie Review 3875

The Mask of Satan [La maschera del demonio] [Black Sunday] **** (1960, Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi) – Classic Movie Review 3875

‘Once every 100 years the undead of hell terrorise the world in an orgy of stark horror.’ Director Mario Bava’s powerful 1960 movie exercise in Gothic horror is haunting and stylishly atmospheric. It stars British-born queen of the shivers Barbara Steele in a dual role as an innocent princess, Asa Vajda, and an evil, beautiful witch, Katia Vajda, who is put to death but rises up from the dead…

[gmshow]

Katia Vajda. Portrait. 

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[villainsandvictims]

Black Sunday (1960)

You will never escape my vengeance, or of Satan's! My revenge will seek you out, and with the blood of your sons, and of their sons, and their sons, I will continue to live forever! They will restore me to life you now rob from me!