Introduction
Melissa Stribling (7 November 1926 – 22 March 1992) was a Scottish film and television actress.
Career
Born in Gourock, Scotland, her career began with the film Wide Boy (1952), Stribling is known for playing the role of Mina Holmwood in the horror film Dracula (1958) starring Christopher Lee in the title role. In the 1960s and 1970s, she guest-starred in the TV series Benny Hill (1963), ITV Play of the Week, The Avengers, The Persuaders!, The Dick Emery Show, and The New Avengers. Her last appearance was in the film Paris by Night (1988) with Charlotte Rampling.
In the film Dracula, her character was the victim of a vampire in what can be seen as an erotically charged performance. Dracula and Mina showing sexual pleasure in this way was a first in British cinema. Terence Fisher remembers her asking him how to play the scene. Terence replied, saying that she should imagine that she had one whale of a sexual night and that it should be shown on her face. The author Mark Clark detailed the first encounter between Dracula and Mina in his book Smirk, sneer, and scream: great acting in horror cinema which he described as an implied erotic scene. Jonathan Rigby complimented her performance in his book English gothic: a century of horror cinema, saying that she is a terrific female lead throughout the film. Terence Fisher said that he told her that she produced a satisfied little facial expression that speaks volumes.
She was married to Basil Dearden and her son is James Dearden – like his father, a film director.
Filmography
- 1952 Wide Boy - Caroline
- 1952 Crow Hollow - Diana Wilson
- 1952 Ghost Ship - Party Girl (Vera)
- 1953 Decameron Nights - Girl in Villa
- 1953 Noose for a Lady - Vanessa Lane
- 1954 Thought to Kill - Mary
- 1955 Out of the Clouds - Jean Osmond
- 1956 Behind the Headlines - Mary Carrick
- 1957 Murder Reported - Amanda North
- 1958 The Safecracker - Angela
- 1958 Dracula - Mina Holmwood
- 1960 The League of Gentlemen - Peggy
- 1961 The Secret Partner - Helen Standish
- 1968 Only When I Larf - Diana
- 1968 Journey Into Darkness - Helen Ames (episode 'The New People')
- 1971 Crucible of Terror - Joanna Brent
- 1974 Confessions of a Window Cleaner - Mrs. Villiers
- 1976 Feelings - Charlotte Randall
- 1988 Paris by Night - Lady Boeing (Last appearance)