Bloofer Lady: Caroline Munro

I may have been a terrible blogger this year, but October is upon us and that means it's time to announce this year's Bloofer Lady or Bloofer Gent, the creeptacular crumpet who's been making spines tingle for many a decade. And this year our spooky saucepot is a lady who's still setting backbones a-quiver as she currently hosts The Cellar Club on Talking Pictures TV. Yes, it's the one and only Caroline Munro!

Gorgeous dark-haired Miss Munro won a newspaper's Face Of The Year competition at the age of 17. She had a bit-part in Casino Royale and her photo was used for the image of Victoria Phibes in the Dr Phibes films starring Vincent Price, but she's not on her list becauser of those splendid films...

Stop! Hammer time!

While it's fair to say Hammer's 1970s films weren't its best, the studio made a very good move when they signed Caroline Munro and she made her Hammer debut in one of my favourite films, Dracula 1972 AD. As vampish Laura Bellows she rocked her ritual robes far better than the film's female lead, Stephanie Beacham (who was also outshone by the gorgeous Marsha Hunt as Gaynor Keating, it has to be said). Who could blame the newly-resurrected Drac for making her his first meal? After all that time dormant, he probably needed a tasty breakfast.

Don't try this at home.

Dracula may have got Laura, but Caroline wasn't done with the undead: her next role was Carla, a Romany girl, in Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter.

While Caroline was under contract, she was able to turn down roles, and rejected several that required nudity. Vampirella, which never got made in the end, was one of those – the comic fan in me would've loved to see that, and not for the nudity. Possibly her biggest roles were as Margiana in The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad and Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me. She also continued to make horror films throughout the 1980s. Maniac, The Last Horror Film, Slaughter High… they may not be horror greats, but they definitely had a great star.

And so to our Bloofer beauty's latest role, as hostess of The Cellar Club. She introduces three films each Friday, and this week her first is one of those early Hammer outings that made her famous, Captain Kronos. If you're in the UK, check it out for yourself!

Kronos rescued fruit-spattered Carla from the stocks. What a gent!

Haunting hottie Caroline Munro, we salute you!