Melissa Stribling (7 November 1926 – 22 March 1992) was a Scottish film and television actress. She began her professional career in a repertory company, presenting a different play each week at the Grand Theatre, Croydon in 1948. She remains best known for playing the role of Mina Holmwood in the horror film Dracula (1958).
Career Born in Gourock, Scotland as Melissa Stribling Smith, she started out in 1945 as a member of the Ealing Studios Amateur Dramatic Society,'Ealing Studios Dramatic Society in Four New Plays', Middlesex County Times, 14 July 1945, p.1 turning professional in 1948 and appearing that year with repertory companies at Croydon, Worthing and Windsor.Croydon Times, 3 April 1948, p.2; Worthing Gazette, 21 July 1948, p.2; Wokingham Times, 15 October 1948, p.4 Her screen career began with a small role in the film The First Gentleman, also in 1948.
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, Crown Court (TV series) ('Safe as Houses'), and The New Avengers. Her last appearance was in the film Paris by Night (1988) with Charlotte Rampling.
Stribling is best known for playing the role of Mina Holmwood in the Hammer Films production Dracula (1958), starring Peter Cushing and, in the title role, Christopher Lee. In the film, her character is the victim of a vampire in what has been seen as an erotically charged performance. Dracula and Mina showing sexual pleasure in this way has often been described as a first in British cinema. The film's director, Terence Fisher, remembered her asking him how to play the scene. He replied by saying that she should imagine that she'd had "one whale of a sexual night" and that it should show on her face. Fisher said that she produced a satisfied little facial expression that spoke volumes.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.
Family She was married to the film director Basil Dearden; their sons are James Dearden, also a director, and Torquil Dearden, a London-based editor at a company specialising in commercials and corporate videos. After Basil Dearden's death in 1971, she was briefly married to film producer Richard du Vivier.'A crossroads of love for Melissa', Sunday Mirror, 3 August 1975, p.21
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1948 The First Gentleman Lady Conyngham 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 1956Destination Death (Scotland Yard)Helen ChallonerEpisode: Destination Death1957 Murder Reported Amanda North 1958 The Safecracker Angela 1958 Dracula Mina Holmwood 1959 The Four Just Men Mrs Bannion Episode: The Deserter1959 The Adventures of William Tell Countess Von Markhein Episode: The Young Widow1960 The League of Gentlemen Peggy 1961 The Secret Partner Helen Standish 1963 24-Hour Call Jackie Harwood Episode: Man Alone 1968 Only When I Larf Diana 1968 Journey into Darkness Helen Ames Episode: The New People1970 The Persuaders! Lisa Koestler Episode: Powerswitch1971 Crucible of Terror Joanna Brent 1971The PassengerEvelyn WalkerAll three episodes1974 Confessions of a Window Cleaner Mrs. Villiers 1976 Feelings Charlotte Randall 1979 Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson Dora Langley Episode: The Case of the Speckled Band1988 Paris by Night Lady Boeing (final film role)
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