Meet Dagmar Lassander!
I post these weekly Cult Movie Queen profiles to shine a spotlight on Actresses who appeared in some of the best cult films of their era – and Dagmar Lassander is certainly one of them!
She starred in some of the most creatively-titled films of the 70’s and still inspires filmmakers today – my “2020 Sex Kitten Countdown” looks at the career of German Actress Dagmar Lassander:
Her first big break was in the “The Laughing Woman” – a 1969 Italian film that was provocative for its time due to the sex games in the plot.
The plot is simple: A rich and sadistic man, who enjoys degrading women as part of elaborate S&M games, abducts a female journalist. She is subjected to his unpleasant games but soon begins subverting him.
In 1970 she appeared in the terrifically titled “A Hatchet For The Honeymoon” – directed by Mario Bava.
Here is the trailer:
This classic Italian Giallo film is about a cleaver-wielding bridal designer who murders young brides-to-be in an attempt to unlock a repressed childhood trauma concerning the death of his mother!
Lassander became a popular pinup model at the time as well:
She was then cast in several other giallo films such as “Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion”….
What a great title! She was also in another well-titled giallo called “The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire” in 1971.
Perhaps her most notorious role came in 1976, when she starred in “Black Emanuelle 2”:
The film tells the story of an international supermodel who is in a mental hospital, and her psychiatrist tries to draw out what traumatic experiences in her past helped put her there.
Here’s a short clip from he film, with Dagmar hosting a cocktail reception and looking terrific:
The Actress was in more than a dozen films during the 70’s – with a great career in Italian Giallo films:
Lassander starred in two of legendary Italian Director Lucio Fulci’s best horror films, “The Black Cat” in 1981 and “The House by the Cemetery” that same year.
Check out the wild trailer!
There is now a great blu-ray remastered edition of the film, with a ton of extras, including one called “Tales of Laura Gittleson” (8:56), where Lassander discusses her Fulci movie roles, and how she was stopped once by customs while traveling to England for “THE BLACK CAT” location shoot – because the production asked her to carry a mummified cat prop in her luggage!
Lassander continued to work in film and TV throughout the 80’s and beyond, and left cult movie fans with lots to enjoy:
She continues to inspire modern filmmakers today: the character of Lassander Dagmar in the Italian-influenced 2015 horror film “We Are Still Here” is named after her!
She wasn’t the only great Actress to star in Giallos:
The late Claudine Auger was one of 007’s most beautiful “Bond Girls”, and she starred in a number of classic Giallos as well – see them here:
Another great Giallo star was Edwige Fenech:
This was her classic Italian slasher…clikc her to see the trailer:
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Leave me a comment on your favorite Italian Giallos!
Categories: 70's Films, Artsploitation, Classic Action Films, Cult Classics, Euro-Sleaze, Exploitation Films, JRsploitation, Nudity, sex kittens, Talent / Celebrites
All the Colors of the Dark!
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I can’t keep up with all of the great Giallo films being re-released and remastered for fans!
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Dagmar is new to me, John. I obviously haven’t watched enough Gallo. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Some real obscurities Pete…that’s the idea of some of these – Actresses who never broke out big, but appeared in a lot of films! Thanks as always for commenting and sharing – much appreciated!
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