The great Ingrid Pitt - more than just 'Hammer glamour' - her real life story was amazing!

Ingrid Pitt's life story is a fascinating read - 

If you submitted this as a film script they'd probably never believe it!

Fangs for the memories - Ingrid Pitt's life story will astound you

Many of you will know the late Ingrid Pitt who died in 2010 from the Hammer films of the early 1970's. So, how did this actress born in pre-war Poland arrive in the UK?

Stutthoff Concentration camp near Gdansk, Poland

Born in 1937 in Poland whilst her parents were trying to get to England, Ingrid Pitt was interned in 1942 in Stuthoff Concentration camp in Poland. Her German born father was to, but then taken to another establishment and did survive the war. He was a scientist and refused to be involved in producing weapons for the Third Reich. 

Her father had lived in England prior to WW1 and liked the country very much, in fact it was where they were trying to get to when Ingrid was born.

It is hard to believe that this amazing lady had such a difficult early life 

As political prisoners, Ingrid Pitt and her mother (who had Jewish heritage) were at as much risk of death in Stuthoff as any of the unfortunate inmates of the camp. They lived minute, to hour, to day to month to year in that grim place, dodging death constantly. Many ordinary citizens were interred in the concentration camp system, mostly for political crimes.

Filming Where Eagles dare in 1968 - with Clint Eastwood

Ingrid and her mother were able to make their escape in 1945 when they were on a forced march back towards Germany, an attack from the air happened and Ingrid's mother feigned death by the side of the road, the guards did not examine her too closely and Ingrid and her mother were left for dead as the column shambled on.

Once the guards had moved on out of sight, Ingrid and her mother escaped into the forest and lived with a ragtag group of partisans who were waiting for the Russian advance to drive the German forces out of their area.They managed to get to a Red Cross camp which saved them from further close calls, but there was still Ingrid's father to find. 

In the Austrian Alps filming Where Eagles dare

It took some time, but Ingrid's mother's perseverance paid off and the family were reunited in post war Berlin. All was not over though, Ingrid Pitt as did many with Jewish heritage, faced bigotry and poor treatment occasionally in post war Germany being called 'untermensch'. Post war, even the evidence of the Third Recih's death camps had not made all of the Germana citizens feel kindly disposed to the 'non-Aryans' in their country. 

She likely did not feel welcome there, her life had been one of being on the move and as a displaced person on the journey back to Berlin where there was a family home, it seemed to set a pattern as she did not stay in one place very long, until she did get to England and remained there for much of her later life.

An iconic signed photograph - one of Ingrid's best known photographs

Taking up acting in East Berlin, led Ingrid to make a daring escape to the West Berlin sector. Her outspoken views had made her a target of the East German security services and one night, she had to make a run for cover, away from her pursuers. 

Still in theatrical costume (she was in a theatre production at the time they called), she made a run for it and stumbled into the River Spree at night and swam to the Western side where she was picked up by American soldiers, one of whom, Lt Pitt, she later married. 

Life as an Army wife grated, when her husband volunteered to go to the Vietnam war, Ingrid took off on a road trip across America, ending up living with some American Indians before going to Spain on a one way ticket with only a few dollars to her name and her young daughter Steffi in tow. Her life had seemed to be one of being on the move in her early years.

Her talent for languages including Russian, French, Spanish and German allowed her to speak like a native in the films shot in many countries.

A series of acting jobs ensued, some were good some went less well for her and the precarious world of show business was just one more struggle for Ingrid Pitt. 

Whilst in Spain, her photograph had been seen in a newspaper which secured her the role of Heidi in Where Eagles dare, starring alongside Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure as the leads. 

Ingrid, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure and Richard Burton on set

The film helped set Ingrid's name firmly in the public eye as a major film actress. From this media exposure, she was able to secure other work including the famous Hammer films projects. 

From the outset of Where Eagles dare, this was a hard film for Ingrid to appear in, given her first hand experience of seeing Germany's war machine at its worst during the war for herself and the plethora of actors in German uniforms in front of her now no doubt was unpleasant for her. 

However, she was in control of her situation, and managed to deal with the demons of the past which is remarkable. Perhaps in some way this helped put the past to an extent to rest. You can never forget, but you can move on. 

This is not to trivialise her experiences, or those who were in the death camps. Of the 100,000 people who passed through Stutthoff's gates as prisoners of the Nazi regime, only around 315 survived.

Ingrid Pitt in one of the most famous Hammer films still photos

Hammer films had a good run of pictures in the 1960's and it was a successful studio, putting out diverse films over its lifespan such as 'X', Quatermass, The Damned (with Oliver Reed), to the other end of the scale the On the buses films! (Inspector 'Blakey' Blake would have made  a good Dracula!). 

(One can only speculate on the sort of mash-up that would have ensued had the film the Vampire Lovers collided with Mutiny on the buses!)

Hammer hit gold with the horror genre and mined it hard, Ingrid Pitt appeared in the films such as the Vampire lovers and Countess Dracula. These films combined shock horror with erotic themes and broke new ground. They also were X certificated by the British Board of Film Classification.

By today's standards in the horror genre they might look tame now, having an old world charm (usually a couple of centuries hence and set in Eastern Europe!), which I think comes over better than the more psychological 'fear for fear's sake' approach of modern horror films.

Hammer was not a big studio in the league of MGM and despite the success of the horror genre for it, it did not survive and thrive as a film maker in the way Shepperton studios did, a place where many of the great films were made. Most of the 'independent's folded or were amalgamated into bigger studios post WW2. Film making has always been expensive.

It is a narrow thing to decide whether Ingrid Pitt was known better for Where Eagles dare or any of the Hammer catalogue she acted in. Both subjects of her films have stood the test of time as cinema classics.

Ingrid Pitt trying to distract Scot Glenn in Wild Geese 2 filmed in Berlin

Settling in England, Ingrid loved the country which she had learned about from her late father and acknowledged she could never live in Germany again due to her bad experiences. England embraced her and her life here not without its precarious moments, which the acting world is no stranger to.

She starred in a number of films and in television programs whilst in England and also graced the stage, having formed her own theatre company with a friend and her husband Tony Rudlin.

In 1945 in Poland, Ingrid had encountered a crashed RAF Lancaster bomber and the partisans she and her mother lived after escape from the Stuthoff march helped the injured pilot to safety. It was fitting that she was offered a flight in the RAF Lancaster of the Battle of Britain Memorial flight when she revealed in an interview her love of WW2 aircraft. 

Ingrid was also able to fly an aircraft too, having clocked up many hours flying her husband's light aircraft. Just another of her talents to add to her writing and acting.

Ingrid Pitt with two of her many books she has authored

Even in England and with Hammer films under her belt, the acting profession was a roller coaster of hits and disappointments and acting work was not always a sure thing. 

Ingrid Pitt, had met Alastair McLean who wrote the script for Where Eagles dare on the film set, before he had written the book Where Eagles dare (he had penned the script first)! They remained great friends and Ingrid could see that writing for film and theatre was another quality to have and importantly, another potential source of revenue.

Hammer films didn't survive and although they made a TV series of Hammer episodes, they could not escape the inevitable nail in the coffin lid and poor old Drac was laid to rest when the studio closed the iris for the last time. 

However, like Dracula, Hammer came back from the dead and a group of investors have resurrected it and produced some films, the last of which was in 2019.

Ingrid Pitt in the Wicker Man, another classic film

Ingrid's Pitt's post Hammer films included the classic The Wicker Man, a film bulging with top name actors including Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward and Britt Eklund to name but a few. Ingrid also appeared in television, in Doctor Who episodes and in one of the Brian Clemens 'Thriller' episodes to add to her growing CV of acting work.

She appeared in BBC television's Smiley's people with Sir Alec Guinness. In the same year (1982) she appeared in Wild Geese 2 but filming in Berlin brought back old demons and she never felt safe on that job, with filming being done near the Berlin Wall. (Ingrid Pitt had been flown out of East Berlin on a Dakota during the Berlin airlift in 1948 and had to return, from where she made her escape in 1962.) 

Still picture of Ingrid as Helga from Who dares wins, with Lewis Collins

At the time of filming Smiley's people, Germany was still divided and the STASI were still active. People were abducted in the East, particularly Allied service personnel who often ended up in the Soviet Gulag system and were never in most cases repatriated. So, Ingrid should have been excused of her real fear of something happening to her, given her close run escape to the West in 1962, from the clutches of the Soviet system.

Lewis Collins leads the troops in Who dares wins

Notable later films for her were Who Dares Wins (from 1982) - the motto of the British SAS regiment, who were an elite band of soldiers who found fame in 1980 when they stormed the Iranian embassy and ended the siege there, I remember watching it on the television as the SAS went in. 

It was a unique thing to see, as the embassy had been under siege for some days. It raised the status of Britain and the regiment as the events were televised across the world.

Ingrid playing Helga in Who Dares Wins - 

that title sums up her life, she dared and won. 

In Who Dares Wins, Ingrid Pitt played the part of Helga (presumably an East German judging by her costume?), portraying a nasty piece of work who trains the ragtag band of left wing sympathisers in the film in the use of weapons. It was just the sort of role Ingrid liked, a challenge where she could really work the character and push the boundaries of the role. And also play outside of any known or established character in her previous work.

A holocaust memorial sign in Berlin, one appeared in a street scene in Wild Geese 2 -

somewhat ironically the sign mentions Stuthoff, where Ingrid Pitt was a prisoner.

It was to be a prescient role as the notorious German-staffed Bader-Meinhoff gang had been only recently still operational with their egregious activities. Ingrid Pitt played the part of the ruthless and fanatical Helga in Who dares wins to great effect. I would say it was something she felt that she could really get her teeth into, even though it wasn't a vampire film!

Ingrid's character meets her demise in the Wild Geese 2

Another notable film appearance was in the Wild Geese 2 the premise of which was to break out of Spandau Prison, Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess who was a prisoner there after flying to Britain in 1941 and being captured. The film was to have starred Richard Burton, who had been in the first Wild Geese film, but he died before filming could commence.

Ingrid in later life - 

this picture gives little away of the life story of this remarkable lady.

All in all, Ingrid Pitt's life story is nothing short of remarkable. From extremes of hardship, cheating death on a daily basis in a Nazi concentration camp, being a displaced person in post war Europe, living on fragile finances, professional and personal gains and losses to battling cancer twice and surviving, it was a true rollercoaster ride. 

That she and her family survived the Third Reich's death machine is remarkable in itself where over 90% in the camps died, looking at what she went onto battle and achieve, she surely was a great example of 'Who Dares Wins'. 

Ingrid Pitt surely did.

Her later life allowed her to have a happy family life only cut short by illness that sadly she could not overcome in the end. 

But what a life, what a lady. One of her book title sums it up, 'Life's a scream' and some of hers really was.

Ingrid Pitt was the 'Queen of Scream', the best of the female vampires, probably the best of the Hammer horror genre leads, she was more than just 'Hammer Glamour' in fact she was always....

Just our cup of tea... 

Fangs for the memories!