Barbara Steele was for many years just a set of images in horror film hardcovers I’d take home from the public library with glossy pictures of European movies that I would wonder if I’d ever actually get a chance to see. Luckily as I grew up the VHS age hit and companies like Anchor Bay licensed many oversees titles allowing most of us to see them for the first time. The previous generation may have seen some of the titles she appeared in at the all night drive-ins but in most cases they were the dubbed AIP releases that had been tampered with. The VHS tape and subsequent DVD releases gave us the original versions, subtitles and all without the necessary trims for the North American ratings systems.
English born Steele made for an exciting addition in the evolution of horror films.
The Mario Bava classic.
Working with Vincent and Corman in the Poe Cycle.
This one I haven’t seen in quite some time and need to remedy that.
Go out of your way to find this one if you already haven’t.
Double check that warning on the poster before committing to buying a ticket!
Never experiencing the days of the double bills I sure do love the lure of the artwork.
My first recollection of Barbara has to be on a late night airing of The Crimson Cult allowing her to share billing with Christopher Lee and Dear Boris.
Mike's Take On the Movies 
Lovely. About 20 years back I recall seeing a woman who looked exactly like Barbara on the subway sitting across from me and while I usually say nothing to women I don’t know, I did mention this to her. The funny thing was, she finished my sentence for me and noted that she’d been hearing this for a few years but had never seen any of Steele’s movies because she hated scary movies!
That’s a good story. Had one as well where a Henry Fonda On Golden Pond Era lookalike walked in my office and he and his wife both knew what I was going to say. If only she had looked like Hepburn!