Kurt at 22:51, 25 February 2023

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	~~{{Short description\|Scottish film and television actress}}~~
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=December 2013}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=December 2013}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| ~~name~~ = Melissa Stribling		\| image = Melissa Stribling.jpg
	~~\| image = Melissa_Stribling~~.jpg
	~~\| imagesize =~~
	\| caption =		\| caption =
	\| birth_name = Melissa Stribling Smith<ref name="herald"/>		\| birth_name = Melissa Stribling Smith<ref name="herald"/>
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	==External links==		==External links==
	*{{IMDb name\|834320\|Melissa Stribling}}		*{{IMDb name\|834320\|Melissa Stribling}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Stribling, Melissa}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Stribling, Melissa}}

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47.224.225.135 at 01:43, 2 November 2022

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{{Short description|Scottish film and television actress}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Melissa Stribling
| image = Melissa_Stribling.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = Melissa Stribling Smith<ref name="herald"/>
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|11|07|df=y}}<ref name="herald">Pendreigh, Brian (10 May 2008). [http://www.heraldscotland.com/once-bitten-1.828727 "Once bitten..."], ''Herald Scotland''; retrieved 30 May 2015.</ref>
| birth_place = [[Gourock]], Scotland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1992|03|22|1926|11|07|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Watford, Hertfordshire]], England<ref name=bfi>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1bd9fed|title=Melissa Stribling|website=BFI}}</ref>
| occupation = Actress
| years active =
| spouse = [[Basil Dearden]]
| children = [[James Dearden]]
}}

'''Melissa Stribling''' (7 November 1926 – 22 March 1992) was a Scottish film and television actress, who began her acting career as part of a professional group who presented a different stage play each week at the Croydon 'Grand' theatre. She is best known for playing the role of Mina Holmwood in the horror film ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' (1958).

==Career==
Born in [[Gourock]], [[Scotland]] as '''Melissa Stribling Smith''', her career began with a small role in the film ''[[The First Gentleman]]'' (1948).<ref name=bfi/> Stribling is known for playing the role of Mina Holmwood in the horror film ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' (1958) starring [[Christopher Lee]] in the title role.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/462320/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Dracula (1958)|website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> In the 1960s and 1970s, she guest-starred in the TV series ''[[The Benny Hill Show|Benny Hill]]'' (1963), ''[[ITV Play of the Week]]'', ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'', ''[[The Persuaders!]]'', ''[[The Dick Emery Show]]'', and ''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=16652|title=Melissa Stribling|website=www.aveleyman.com}}</ref> Her last appearance was in the film ''[[Paris by Night (film)|Paris by Night]]'' (1988) with [[Charlotte Rampling]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kinsey|first1=Wayne|title=Hammer films: the Bray Studio years|publisher=Reynolds & Hearn|year=2002|isbn=978-1-903111-44-4}}</ref>

In the film ''Dracula'', her character was the victim of a vampire in what can be seen as an erotically charged performance.<ref>{{cite book|last1=J. Hogan|first1=David|title=Dark romance: sexuality in the horror film | publisher=McFarland|year=1997|page=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QzpoSGkslEgC&q=Melissa+Stribling&pg=PA146|access-date=16 June 2010|isbn=978-0-7864-0474-2}}</ref> Dracula and Mina showing sexual pleasure in this way was a first in British cinema.<ref name="British">{{cite book|last1=Harper|first1=Sue|last2=Porter|first2=Vincent|title=British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|page=149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRjcQIhlASwC&q=Melissa+Stribling&pg=PA149|access-date=16 June 2010|isbn=978-0-19-815935-3}}</ref>

[[Terence Fisher]] remembers her asking him how to play the scene. Terence replied, saying that she should imagine that she had one whale of a sexual night and that it should be shown on her face.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hutchings|first1=Peter|title=Terence Fisher|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2001|page=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGsWjydi7_oC&q=Melissa+Stribling&pg=PA120|access-date=16 June 2010|isbn=978-0-7190-5637-6}}</ref> The author Mark Clark detailed the first encounter between Dracula and Mina in his book ''Smirk, sneer, and scream: great acting in horror cinema'' which he described as an implied erotic scene.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clark|first1=Mark|title=Smirk, sneer, and scream: great acting in horror cinema|publisher=McFarland|year=2004|page=122|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8MtgnIj5VQC&q=Melissa+Stribling&pg=PA122|access-date=16 June 2010|isbn=978-0-7864-1932-6}}</ref> [[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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rigby|first1=Jonathan|title=English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema|publisher=Reynolds & Hearn|year=2004|page=67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DaUqAQAAIAAJ&q=Melissa+Stribling|access-date=16 June 2010|isbn=978-1-903111-79-6}}</ref> Terence Fisher said that he told her that she produced a satisfied little [[facial expression]] that speaks volumes.<ref name="British"/>

==Family==
She was married to [[Basil Dearden]]; their son is [[James Dearden]], also a film director. Their younger son is Torquil Dearden, a London-based editor at a company specialising in commercials and corporate videos.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Quinlan|first1=David|title=The illustrated guide to film directors|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=1983|page=70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ELC0sUmbpwUC&q=Melissa+Stribling&pg=PA70|access-date=16 June 2010|isbn=978-0-389-20408-4}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! J
! Notes
|-
|1948|| ''[[The First Gentleman]]'' || Lady Conyngham ||
|-
|1952|| ''[[Wide Boy (film)|Wide Boy]]'' || Caroline ||
|-
|1952|| ''[[Crow Hollow]]'' || Diana Wilson ||
|-
|1952|| ''[[Ghost Ship (1952 film)|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 (1956 film)|Behind the Headlines]]'' || Mary Carrick ||
|-
|1957|| ''[[Murder Reported]]'' || Amanda North ||
|-
|1958|| ''[[The Safecracker]]'' || Angela ||
|-
|1958|| ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' || Mina Holmwood ||
|-
|1959|| ''[[The Adventures of William Tell]]'' || Countess Von Markhein || Episode 'The Young Widow'
|-
|1960|| ''[[The League of Gentlemen (film)|The League of Gentlemen]]'' || Peggy ||
|-
|1961|| ''[[The Secret Partner]]'' || Helen Standish ||
|-
|1968|| ''[[Only When I Larf (film)|Only When I Larf]]'' || Diana ||
|-
|1968|| ''[[Journey into Darkness (film)|Journey into Darkness]]'' || Helen Ames || (episode 'The New People')
|-
|1970|| ''[[The Persuaders!]]'' || Lisa Koestler || Episode: "Powerswitch"
|-
|1971|| ''[[Crucible of Terror]]'' || Joanna Brent ||
|-
|1974|| ''[[Confessions of a Window Cleaner]]'' || Mrs. Villiers ||
|-
|1976|| ''[[Feelings (1974 film)|Feelings]]'' || Charlotte Randall ||
|-
|1988|| ''[[Paris by Night (film)|Paris by Night]]'' || Lady Boeing || (final film role)
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|834320|Melissa Stribling}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stribling, Melissa}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Scottish film actresses]]
[[Category:Scottish television actresses]]
[[Category:People from Gourock]]
[[Category:20th-century Scottish actresses]]

Melissa Stribling - Revision history

Kurt at 22:51, 25 February 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

47.224.225.135 at 01:43, 2 November 2022