The lovely and talented British actress Veronica Carlson has left us at age 77. She made other films (according to the IMDb, 25 in all); however, it is on the strength of her performances of two stand-out pictures—DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1967) and FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969)—that she is fondly remembered by many as the purest yet most alluring female icon of Hammer Films. (She was also featured in the company's 1970 spoof THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, which at least didn't work against her.)
Many regard her as second only to Barbara Shelley as Hammer's finest actress, but I've always found it hard to compare them. Barbara Shelley, an undeniably great actress, was born to play character roles, while Veronica was born to play heroines. She also had an almost unique ability to project open access to the soul, spiritual strength, and innocence—the cherishability—of her characters despite a creamy, outward buxom package that would have fought against a deeper look at a lesser actress. She was that rare actress who could be wholesome without ever becoming boring.
I never met her, as many of my friends did, but she was a Guest of Honor at the first Fanex convention I ever attended back in 1991. I have an indelible memory from that weekend of seeing her walk past me in the downstairs corridor. She must have been going to dinner. That dress, along with her Florida tan, an easygoing smile, and a natural radiance... she was like seeing the sun itself pass by.
(c) 2022 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.
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