MOVIES:
“And Soon the Darkness” 1970
“The Sixth Sense” series 1972
“Necromancy” 1972 (aka Rosemary’s Disciples)
“The Legend of Hell House” 1973
“Satan’s School for Girls” 1973
“The Food of the Gods” 1976
TV episodes:
Thriller series in England 1974/75 “Won’t Write Home Mom, I’m Dead” and “Screamer”
“Project UFO” 1978
“Ghost Story” series 1972
Mannix
Barnaby Jones
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Series
Love Boat
Fantasy Island
Petrocelli
Cannon
Six Million Dollar Man
The Streets of San Francisco
Bonanza
Green Acres
This 59-year-old actress is charmed to have both a beautiful innocent face, large blue eyes, and a petite figure, making her the ideal heroine in any horror movie for her vulnerable and child-like appearance. When placed against something very evil, this delicate actress appeared to make things seem more evil in comparison to her. I call it the “child selling a hamburger” syndrome." Remember when fast food restaurants used a child to hold up a burger, thus making the burger seem too large to be consumed in one sitting?
With her cultured British dialect and her Snow White coloring, this actress was able to spew out horror movie after horror movie both in Britain and in the US. She became such a pop icon, she ended up making countless appearances on our TV shows here in The States. For a time through the 70s, it was hard to find something to watch of a suspense nature that didn’t have Ms Franklin in it.
She is my favorite horror movie actress of all time. I own quite a few of her movies. Although I admit her part as the mental medium in “The Legend of Hell House” was brilliant, my favorite role for her was a very unknown one, “And Soon the Darkness.” In this movie, her and a friend ride around the French countryside on bicycles during their holiday. When her friend goes missing, Pamela’s character is left to her own devices to find out what happened to her and can trust no one. In the movie “Food of the Gods” she got to enjoy a fun part in a movie I consider to be the ideal symbol for 70s horror; giant rats on an island. In the movie “Necromancy” (“Rosemary’s Disciples”) I enjoyed a fantastic performance from her. She could both act innocent and perplexed by her situation, trusting and vulnerable, yet with an inner strength that comes through when she needs it. I suspect in real life, this woman is a pretty good mix of those qualities which made her acting all that more believable.
If you haven’t seen a Pamela Franklin movie and like horror, you should consider yourself an inexperienced horror fan. Be sure to catch one of her 70s horror movies and sit back and enjoy the spine-tingling ride.
WOW. I never thought of myself as an inexperienced horror fan until now. I don't know if I've seen any of these films. I've definitely heard of them, and I'm sure I saw Ms. Franklin on some of the shows you mentioned (probably during their original airings too, so thanks for making me realize my age!), but the movies? I honestly can't recall, which means I probably haven't seen them.
ReplyDeleteBut what a timely post because I'm always in the mood for horror at this time of year and want to see some new-to-me stuff so...I Netflixed Legend of Hell House and And Soon the Darkness.
Oh, and thanks to you I'm now in the know that a remake of And Soon the Darkness is due out in 2010. Thanks for the education!!!!!
I have heard of some of these movies but haven't seen them. I also haven't heard of Pamela Franklin either so thanks for the post on her and her movies.
ReplyDeleteJulie
Courtney;
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled to turn you onto this horror queen. No doubt, when you see her movies, she'll probably dawn on you and you'll realize you saw her in a lot of stuff on TV during that 70s, especially the Love Boat/Fantasy Island time. You're going to love "The Legend of Hell House" which is probably one of my top 3 favorite horror movies of all time (the book it's based on is fantastic too by Richard Matheson). "And Soon the Darkness" will totally creep you out. All my girl friends have watched it with me and said the same thing "this is what every woman fears travelling to a foreign place." Both movies will take you nostalgically back to the 70s, as well. Next post will be the princesses of 70s horror, so enjoy the suggestions there too.
Pamela Franklin has always been my favorite.
ReplyDeletei loved pamela franklin, she and kim darby were my favorites.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there's something about her that was so childlike and delicate, she was an ideal counterpoint to evil.
ReplyDeleteGlad to find your article. I’m discovering more and more of her work and posting it on YouTube at “The Legend of Pamela Franklin” found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvvJEf5PbFNA80EtowS0wXA Pamela Franklin fans, I know you’re still out there. Come join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/LegendPFJ/
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