Barbara Steele, a British actress best known for her roles in a string of moody gothic horror films made in Italy in the early to mid 1960's, has fascinated viewers for generations. Her odd shaped head, big green eyes, jet black hair and expressive face can be perceived as both virginal and evil - a gimmick that screenwriters and directors used to great effect.

In the classics Black Sunday (Mask of Satan) and Nightmare Castle she played both the young innocent heroine and the evil murderess/witch with great skill. Her pale face and dark hair, when shot in the stylish black and white of these Italian masters, often took on a spooky skull like look.

Roger Corman cast Steele to great effect in his superior Poe adaptation, The Pit and the Pendulum. She is terrific opposite Vincent Price and suffers one of the more horrific ends in film history. Cronenberg put her through various disguisting predicaments in They Came From Within, Joe Dante cast her in his low budget hit Piranha and Demme gave her a juicy part in his sleazy woman in prison flick, Caged Heat. Caged Heat is one of her weirder roles playing a despicable wheelchaired prison warden.

If you have a good eye you can spot Steele in Malle's Pretty Baby and in Fellini's classic eight and a half. "The only girl in film whose eyebrows can snarl" can be seen in many brilliant low budget Italian films. Here is a list of some of our favorites:

Black Sunday (Bava, 1961)

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (Freda, 1962)

Castle of Blood (Dawson, 1963)

The Long Hair of Death (Dawson, 1964)

Nightmare Castle (Caiano, 1965)