Celebrating Hammer’s “Glamour” Girl!
Happy happy 73rd birthday to one of the most iconic “Hammer Glamour Queens” of all – Madeline Smith!
She graced the cover of this terrific book that celebrated Hammer’s Glamour Queens – but she did so much more!
Madeline was born on August 2, 1949 in Sussex, England, and has had an incredible career that continues today!
My “2022 Sex Kitten Countdown” has a look at her terrific career – from Hammer horror to sex comedies and 007 too!
Madeline Smith achieved fame in the late 60’s, being regularly featured in the work of Cartoonist J Edward Oliver, who once devoted an entire strip to her entitled ‘The Life and Habits of the Madeline Smith’.
It was her work with Hammer films, however, that cemented her status as a cult Horror sex kitten, beginning with this classic Hammer horror film starring Christopher Lee:
Smith’s first Hammer film was “Taste the Blood of Dracula” – she was billed as ‘Maddy Smith’ and played a Prostitute.
Check out the trailer:
Madeline Has A “Vampire Lover!”
Another of her great films was the cult gem “The Vampire Lovers”, and fans remember who she was playing opposite: the legendary Ingrid Pitt!
Smith was not shy about playing very “revealing” roles, and “Vampire Lovers” is one of her most revealing:
I love this film, as it has a vintage gothic setting, but more modern, erotic storytelling, which was happening to keep audiences satisfied as restrictions on more adult content were going away…
Of course, Ingrid Pitt was also a Hammer Horror Queen – you can see more of “The Vampire Lovers” by clicking here:
Smith was one of the most photographed Actresses of that era as well:
Throughout the 70’s, Smith showed up in all kinds of terrific films:
She starred in the James Bond film “Live and Let Die” with Roger Moore, and revealed a lot more of herself in the 1971 sex comedy “Up Pompeii”:
The plot was just an excuse to get to the sex: a Roman slave comes into possession of a scroll naming the proposed assassins of Emperor Nero – when all he wants to do is maintain the Emperor’s orgy schedule!
Smith also starred in another British sex comedy – a film released in the UK as “Percy’s Progress”:
However, in the United States it had a different title:
Yes, it had a much different title, and the US version included several additional scenes shot by the American distributor, like a new opening scene of a penis transplant operation, and a scene in which a dwarf is seen jumping out of a woman’s bed, leaving her to say the film’s American title, “It’s not the size that counts”!
These films were part of UK cinema in the 70’s – sex comedies with lots of nudity and sexual innuendo…
Actress Julie Age was also in the film, and I looked at her career as well – click here to see why she was called “the new Raquel Welch”:
Smith appeared in a wide range of films throughout the decade, but now you can hear her talk about it yourself!
I found a terrific clip in which Madeline has a lengthy conversation about her career! It’s called “PRODUCTION DIARY #08” – here she is discussing her roles in a terrific youtube interview!
Madeline Smith Was “Hammer Glamour!”
Twenty years later she was interviewed in, and was the cover star of, the coffee-table book “Hammer Glamour”, which celebrates the Actresses who appeared in Hammer films…
Smith is still active in entertainment, and has taken part in a number of recent reunion events with other classic Hammer Glamour Queen of that era…
Bravo to Madeline for a great career, and entertaining us in a wide variety of cult gems!
I have featured a number of the legendary “Hammer Glamour” Queens of the past – like Valerie Leon:
She had a great career and you can see her greatest hits here:
I also interviewed another of the great Hammer Glamour Queens of the 70’s:
Judy Matheson was in some of the great Hammer horrors of the early 70’s, and still works on a multitude of projects today!
See more of her great career here:
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Leave a comment about your favorite Madeline Smith roles, and again, happy birthday Madeline!
Categories: 70's Films, Artsploitation, Books / Media, Camp Cult Classics, Classic Horror, Cult Classics, Euro-Sleaze, Exploitation Films, Extreme Cinema, Grindhouse, Horror films, JRsploitation, Nudity, sex kittens, Sexploitation Films, Talent / Celebrites
JR-Sploitation! 
Something yummy about redheads….LOL be well chuq
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“Up Pompeii” was part of the 1970s trend in the British film industry to make film versions of TV sitcoms. Madeline Smith wasn’t in the TV series…
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John, Maddie was my ‘British hearthrob’ at the time, I thought she was gorgeous. I saw every film she was in, just because she was in it. (Even the bad ones!)
Best wishes, Pete.
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Anyone who stays in your memory while sharing the screen with Ingrid Pitt is an amazing beauty. Glad to hear she’s still working.
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Yes, I’m happy to see how much she participates in panels, conventions and other projects as well! Thanks for the comment!
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