Barbara Steele

Acting

Barbara Steele

Born

1937-12-29 (88)

Place of birth

Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

74 titles

Barbara Steele (born 29 December 1937) is an English actress and producer, known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. She has been referred to as the "Queen of All Scream Queens" and "Britain's first lady of horror". She played the dual role of Asa and Katia Vajda in Mario Bava's landmark film Black Sunday (1960), and starred in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Long Hair of Death (1964), and Castle of Blood (1964). Additionally, Steele had supporting roles in Federico Fellini's 8½ (1963), David Cronenberg's Shivers (1975), Joe Dante's Piranha and Louis Malle's Pretty Baby (both 1978), and appeared on television in the 1991 TV series…

Known for

Castlevania poster
8.3

A vampire hunter fights to save a besieged city from an army of otherworldly beasts controlled by Dracula himself.

Castlevania

2017

Night Gallery poster
7.8

Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a macabre museum. A chilling work of art serves as the connective link between the stories.

Night Gallery

1970

Alfred Hitchcock Presents poster
7.8

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

Celebrity Ghost Stories poster
7.3

Compelling, surprising and downright spooky — celebrities share their real-life personal encounters with the paranormal in each one-hour special. From encounters with ghosts and angry spirits to haunted homes, unexplainable spells and magic, these descriptive, first person narratives from our favorite stars delivers a brand new way of experiencing the thrills and chills of the addictive world of the paranormal.

Celebrity Ghost Stories

2009

Adventures in Paradise poster
6.1

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962, starring Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III, which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. USA Network aired reruns of this series between 1984 and 1988. The plots deal with the romantic and detective stories of Korean War veteran Troy. The supporting cast, varying from season to season, features George Tobias, Guy Stockwell, and Linda Lawson.

Adventures in Paradise

1959

I Spy poster
6.5

A pair of intelligence agents posing as a tennis pro and his coach go on secret missions around the world.

I Spy

1965

Film credits

2010s · 8 titles

Lost River poster
5.7

Billy, a single mother of two, is led into a macabre underworld while her teenage son, Bones, discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. Both Billy and Bones must dive deep into the mystery if their family is to survive.

Lost River

2015

The Butterfly Room poster
5.7

A reclusive and butterfly-obsessed elderly lady suffering from bipolar disorder develops a disturbing relationship with a mysterious but seemingly innocent youngster.

The Butterfly Room

2012

Minutes Past Midnight poster
4.8

As midnight falls, all manner of terror invades the Earth. Demons, cannibals, killers, ghosts and monsters swarm the world in these tales of the supernatural, the fantastic, and the just plain horrific. Featuring nine stories of horror.

Minutes Past Midnight

2016

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau poster
6.7

The story of the insane scandals related to the remake of “Island of Dr. Moreau” —originally a novel by H. G. Wells—, which was brought to the big screen in 1996. How director Richard Stanley spent four years developing the project just to find an abrupt end to his work while leading actor Marlon Brando pulled the strings in the shadows. Now for the first time, the living key players recount what really happened and why it all went so spectacularly wrong.

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau

2014

Master of Dark Shadows poster
9.0

Revealing the fascinating impact of the ground-breaking Gothic drama Dark Shadows with a compelling blend of rare footage and behind-the-scenes stories exploring the diverse talents of creator-producer-director Dan Curtis.

Master of Dark Shadows

2019

The Mill at Calder's End poster
6.5

In the remote village of Calder's End stands an old windmill, a repository of dark secrets. Nicholas Grimshaw has returned to this haunted place, his childhood home, intent on breaking a generations old family curse. Grimshaw's journey takes him deep below the decaying mill,into mysterious, forgotten catacombs, where upon he confronts the very source of the evil that has corrupted his family. The Mill at Calder's End is a gothic tale inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and M.R. James and is told with the use of 36 inch tall bunraku rod puppets operated by puppeteers dressed in black.

The Mill at Calder's End

2015

Boia, maschere e segreti: l’horror italiano degli anni sessanta poster
7.3

No synopsis available yet.

Boia, maschere e segreti: l’horror italiano degli anni sessanta

2019

The Shutterbug Man poster
6.3

The Shutterbug Man tells the tale of a very twisted man, whose only passion in life is taking pictures. This passion takes him to terrible and wicked places.

The Shutterbug Man

2014

2000s · 5 titles

1990s · 6 titles

Dracula in the Movies poster
10.0

A retrospective of Dracula's appearances in film. It includes trailers and scenes from many Dracula-related films. There is an emphasis on films which feature the actors Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, as they portrayed the most popular versions of Dracula. Also covered are films depicting sons and daughters of Dracula, and Dracula-like vampires. Many of the trailers focus on the beauty of Dracula's victims, or the beauty of female vampires.

Dracula in the Movies

1992

Hollywood Rated 'R' poster
5.3

A roller-coaster ride through the history of American exploitation films, ranging from Roger Corman's sci-fi and horror monster movies, 1960s beach movies, H.G. Lewis' gore-fests, William Castle's schlocky theatrical gimmicks, to 1970s blaxploitation, pre-"Deep Throat" sex tease films, Russ Meyer's bosom-heavy masterpieces, etc, etc. Over 25 interviews of the greatest purveyors of weird films of all kind from 1940 to 1975. Illustrated with dozens of films clips, trailers, extra footage, etc. This documentary as a shorter companion piece focusing on exploitation king David F. Friedman.

Hollywood Rated 'R'

1997

Fear in the Dark poster
9.0

A short documentary on the history of the horror film narrated by Christopher Lee.

Fear in the Dark

1991

The Capitol Conspiracy poster
4.5

Martial arts star Don "The Dragon" Wilson stars in this action/suspense story. A child is recruited to take part in a secret government experiment which results in him being able to see into the future. Years later, the child is an adult and is working for the government; his latest assignment is to find the other people who were part of the same project. Before long, he discovers the other test subjects usually pop up murdered shortly before he can talk to them, and he realizes he may well be the next target.

The Capitol Conspiracy

1998

Vampire Cult Queens from Hell poster
NR

The Ebersole Hughes Company produced a staged reading of “Vampire Cult Queens from Hell” a screenplay about three cult queens (Mary Woronov, Barbara Steele, Martine Beswick) on the autograph circuit who turn out to be vampires in real life too.

Vampire Cult Queens from Hell

1996

Deep Above poster
10.0

In the 16th century, young men put themselves in great danger to look for mysterious crystals in a tunnel in the Styrian Erzberg. Some of them never returned from searching for this symbol of perfect love. In the 20th century, the student Barbara tries to pursue this legend of her home town.

Deep Above

1994

1970s · 7 titles

Pretty Baby poster
7.0

In 1917 New Orleans, a 12-year-old girl is raised in a brothel by her prostitute mother.

Pretty Baby

1978

Piranha poster
6.0

When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.

Piranha

1978

Shivers poster
6.4

The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.

Shivers

1975

Caged Heat poster
5.1

A young woman is convicted on drug offenses and sent to a women's penitentiary run by a repressed and oppressive female warden. When the prison's sadistic doctor begins conducting illegal "therapeutic" experiments on the inmates, the ladies plot their revenge.

Caged Heat

1974

Silent Scream poster
5.7

Scotty moves into Mrs. Engels' seaside mansion where three other college students are boarding. Mrs. Engels prefers to stay in her room in the attic, but her son Mason helps the students get settled. Soon one of the students is killed. The policemen on the case begin uncovering the Engels family secret as the remaining students become endangered

Silent Scream

1979

The Key Is in the Door poster
4.7

Marie (Annie Girardot) teaches high school and has a 16-year-old daughter in her class. Divorced some years previously, she has some vague egalitarian notions about friendship with her students and leaves her door open to them. One of her protégés is found beaten up just outside her door, and an emergency physician comes by to treat her. When her daughter starts seeing someone she doesn't much like, and she begins having a brief affair (her first since the divorce) with the ER doctor, she begins to reconsider her policy.

The Key Is in the Door

1978

Stop the World... I Want to Get Off! poster
7.8

Young protesters live together in a commune in Milano. One has a ventriloquist ability and is signed by national TV becoming a superstar in commercials aimed for kids. One by one his commune friends leave the protest to enter the business world except for one.

Stop the World... I Want to Get Off!

1970

1960s · 24 titles

8½ poster
8.1

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

8½

1963

Black Sunday poster
7.4

A vengeful witch, Asa Vajda, and her fiendish servant, Igor Jauvitch, return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant: Katia. Only a handsome doctor with the help of family members stand in her way.

Black Sunday

1960

Curse of the Crimson Altar poster
5.2

When his brother disappears, a man visits the remote country house where he was last seen. While the host seems outwardly friendly and his niece more demonstrably so, there's a feeling of menace in the air with the overhanging legend of Lavinia Morley, the Black Witch of Greymarsh.

Curse of the Crimson Altar

1968

The Pit and the Pendulum poster
6.9

In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.

The Pit and the Pendulum

1961

For Love and Gold poster
7.7

A group of rogues steal a scroll granting its bearer the property of the land of Aurocastro in Apulia, a province in the south of Italy. They elect a shaggy knight, Brancaleone from Norcia, as their leader, and decide to get possession of this supposedly wealthy land. Many adventures will occurr during the journey.

For Love and Gold

1966

Nightmare Castle poster
5.3

A sadistic count tortures and murders his unfaithful wife and her lover, then removes their hearts from their bodies. Years later, the count remarries and the new wife experiences nightmares and hauntings.

Nightmare Castle

1965

The She Beast poster
5.0

A young woman is driving alongside a lake. She has an accident and the car plunges into the water. Her body is then possessed by the spirit of an 18th-century witch who was killed by local villagers, and is bent on avenging herself on them.

The She Beast

1966

The Maniacs poster
5.2

An anthology of brief comic sketches based on manias, mainly sexual, featuring several figures of Italian society.

The Maniacs

1964

Castle of Blood poster
7.1

When a cynical journalist accepts a wager that he won't survive the night in a haunted castle, it unlocks an odyssey of sexual torment, undead vengeance, and a dark seductress who surrenders the gravest of pleasures.

Castle of Blood

1964

Young Törless poster
6.6

At an Austrian boys' boarding school in the early 1900s, shy, intelligent Törless observes the sadistic behavior of his fellow students, doing nothing to help a victimized classmate—until the torture goes too far. Adapted from Robert Musil's acclaimed novel, Young Törless launched the New German Cinema movement and garnered the 1966 Cannes Film Festival International Critics' Prize for first-time director Volker Schlöndorff.

Young Törless

1966

Terror-Creatures from the Grave poster
5.9

An attorney arrives at a castle to settle the estate of its recently deceased owner. The owner's wife and daughter reveal that he was someone who was able to summon the souls of ancient plague victims and, in fact, his spirit was roaming the castle at that very moment. Soon occupants of the castle begin to die off in gruesome, violent ways.

Terror-Creatures from the Grave

1965

The Ghost poster
6.3

A woman and her lover murder her husband, a doctor. Soon, however, strange things start happening, and they wonder if they really killed him, or if he is coming back from the dead to haunt them.

The Ghost

1963

The Long Hair of Death poster
6.3

In a 15th century village, a woman is accused of witchcraft and put to death. Her beautiful older daughter knows the real reason for the execution lies in the lord's sexual desire for her mother.

The Long Hair of Death

1964

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock poster
5.9

In late 19th century London, a woman weds a necrophiliac doctor whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances - and who might be returning from the grave to torment her successor.

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock

1962

An Angel for Satan poster
6.4

At the end of the 19th century, in a little Italian village by a lake an old statue is recovered. Soon a series of crimes start and the superstitious people of the village believe that the statue carries an ancient malediction.

An Angel for Satan

1966

Once Upon a Tractor poster
6.0

Alan Bates and Diane Cilento play an odd couple fleeing across fictitious European countries with NYC and the UN as their destination. A short film directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson.

Once Upon a Tractor

1965

The Hours of Love poster
5.0

In "The Hours of Love," Gianni and Marietta's spark ignites as passionate lovers, yet dims in their marriage. Seeking rekindling, they dare to step outside their vows, exploring love's complexities and the heart's yearning against societal expectations.

The Hours of Love

1963

Honeymoon with a Stranger poster
7.0

While on honeymoon with her husband in Spain, a woman wakes up one morning to find he has disappeared. After reporting it to the police, a man shows up claiming to be her husband. But he's not the man she married and no one will believe her.

Honeymoon with a Stranger

1969

The Iron Captain poster
7.0

After his village is burned down, Captain Furio sets out for revenge.

The Iron Captain

1962

White Voices poster
4.8

In 18th-century Rome, a young man in a choir of castrati falls for the beautiful wife of a powerful aristocrat.

White Voices

1964

A Sentimental Attempt poster
6.8

Carla and Dino, both in a matrimonail crisis, fall in love. But life will not help this love story.

A Sentimental Attempt

1963

Three for a Robbery poster
10.0

Gerhard is a young technical in Düsseldorf who works in a factory of security devices for banks. In agreement with Nicola, Mario and Hans, they prepare and carry out a robbery which, however, will have consequences for all of them.

Three for a Robbery

1964

The Monocle's Sour Laugh poster
5.2

A French agent goes after a gang of Asian terrorists who plan to blow up an American nuclear aircraft carrier.

The Monocle's Sour Laugh

1964

Your Money or Your Wife poster
4.5

Newly wed couple Gay and Pel Butterworth are forced to take in some strange paying guests when their inheritance proves troublesome, but all is not as straight forward as it seems, when they discover they may have to divorce to get their hands on half the money...

Your Money or Your Wife

1960

1950s · 6 titles

Houseboat poster
6.4

An Italian socialite on the run signs on as housekeeper for a widower with three children.

Houseboat

1958

Sapphire poster
7.0

Two Scotland Yard detectives investigate the murder of a young woman of mixed race who had been passing for white. As they interview a spate of suspects -- including the girl's white boyfriend and his disapproving parents -- the detectives wade through a stubbornly entrenched sludge of racism and bigotry.

Sapphire

1959

The 39 Steps poster
6.3

In London, a diplomat accidentally becomes involved in the death of a British agent who's after a spy ring that covets British military secrets.

The 39 Steps

1959

Upstairs and Downstairs poster
5.8

On marrying the boss's daughter, Richard takes his father-in-law's advice to hire a live-in domestic. He soon finds good help is hard to come by. Run-ins follow with dipsomaniacs, bank robbers, a Welsh lass who takes one look at London and runs, and an Italian charmer who turns the place into a bawdy house. Then when Ingrid arrives from Sweden things actually start to get complicated.

Upstairs and Downstairs

1959

The Heart of a Man poster
7.0

Sailor Frankie Martin is offered a thousand pounds by a millionaire in disguise if he can earn a hundred pounds in a week by honest means. Frankie tries his hand as a boxer, a bouncer and a commissionaire, and finally finds success as a singer. He also falls for the charms of night club chanteuse Julie, and this leads to further success when he wins a recording contract.

The Heart of a Man

1959

Bachelor of Hearts poster
5.9

German scholar Wolf Hauser arrives for a year at Cambridge. Apart from his studies, he tries to muck in with the very English non-academic goings-on while romancing pretty Girton girl Ann Wainwright.

Bachelor of Hearts

1958

Series credits

Castlevania poster
8.3

A vampire hunter fights to save a besieged city from an army of otherworldly beasts controlled by Dracula himself.

Castlevania

2017

Night Gallery poster
7.8

Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a macabre museum. A chilling work of art serves as the connective link between the stories.

Night Gallery

1970

Alfred Hitchcock Presents poster
7.8

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

Celebrity Ghost Stories poster
7.3

Compelling, surprising and downright spooky — celebrities share their real-life personal encounters with the paranormal in each one-hour special. From encounters with ghosts and angry spirits to haunted homes, unexplainable spells and magic, these descriptive, first person narratives from our favorite stars delivers a brand new way of experiencing the thrills and chills of the addictive world of the paranormal.

Celebrity Ghost Stories

2009

Adventures in Paradise poster
6.1

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962, starring Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III, which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. USA Network aired reruns of this series between 1984 and 1988. The plots deal with the romantic and detective stories of Korean War veteran Troy. The supporting cast, varying from season to season, features George Tobias, Guy Stockwell, and Linda Lawson.

Adventures in Paradise

1959

I Spy poster
6.5

A pair of intelligence agents posing as a tennis pro and his coach go on secret missions around the world.

I Spy

1965

War and Remembrance poster
7.9

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the extended Henry and Jastrow families navigate the personal, social and political impacts of World War II, including the Holocaust, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Pacific theater.

War and Remembrance

1988

The Winds of War poster
7.3

Against the backdrop of world events that led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Victor 'Pug' Henry is a career naval officer who, along with his family, learns to navigate the waters of his dangerous times in the late 1930s.

The Winds of War

1983

Dim Dam Dom poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Dim Dam Dom

1965

Dark Shadows poster
7.9

Governess Victoria Winters' arrival at the great estate of Collinwood in Collinsport, Maine coincides with vampire Barnabas Collins being released from his coffin, Dr. Hoffman's attempt to cure Barnabas' vampirism medically, and, finally, Victoria's time travel back to 1790 to witness the events in which the still-human Barnabas is transformed into an undead creature.

Dark Shadows

1991

Dark Shadows poster
7.9

Governess Victoria Winters' arrival at the great estate of Collinwood in Collinsport, Maine coincides with vampire Barnabas Collins being released from his coffin, Dr. Hoffman's attempt to cure Barnabas' vampirism medically, and, finally, Victoria's time travel back to 1790 to witness the events in which the still-human Barnabas is transformed into an undead creature.

Dark Shadows

1991

Dark Shadows poster
7.9

Governess Victoria Winters' arrival at the great estate of Collinwood in Collinsport, Maine coincides with vampire Barnabas Collins being released from his coffin, Dr. Hoffman's attempt to cure Barnabas' vampirism medically, and, finally, Victoria's time travel back to 1790 to witness the events in which the still-human Barnabas is transformed into an undead creature.

Dark Shadows

1991

A History of Horror poster
7.1

Mark Gatiss examines the history of the horror film, from classic Hollywood monsters to Hammer's glory days and beyond.

A History of Horror

2010

Dial 999 poster
NR

Robert Beatty stars as Detective Inspector Mike Maguire, a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman posted to New Scotland Yard, in this 1950s series depicting London's fight against crime.

Dial 999

1958