VERONICA CARLSON |
Nostalgia is inconsistent, and one of the curiosities of nostalgia
about Hammer's horror movies is that there is far more interest in the young
actresses who came at the end of the cycle than in those who were in the early
films. Hazel Court, who was in 1957's "The Curse Of Frankenstein", is
uncelebrated today while Veronica Carlson still evokes strong enthusiasm.
Veronica came at the end of both the Hammer cycle and the golden era of movie pin-ups. By the time she appeared on the scene, Hammer had lost artistic control of its work to its American distributors, and within a few years of her arrival, newspapers began showing pictures of topless models instead of film actresses. Although her film career was brief, Veronica Carlson represents the end of an era.
Veronica was born in Yorkshire in 1944 and spent much of her childhood in Germany where her father was stationed with the British Armed Forces. From an early age Veronica showed a talent for drawing and painting. While studying art at the High Wycombe College of Technology and Design, she participated in college amateur productions.
Little is known about her first two or three years after leaving college, but in her mid-twenties, Veronica won a few minor parts in movies and television programmes. Photographs of her began appearing in newspapers, together with two or three lines of idle gossip. At this time British popular newspapers still regularly showed photographs of aspiring actresses, and Veronica's competitors for space included Cheryl Grunwald and Madeline Smith.
The majority of
Veronica's photographs were conventional
pin-up pictures, such as bikini shots, and very few were head and shoulder shots.
Although Veronica had a very likeable face, photographers were pre-occupied
with her legs. To display them to the full, Veronica was often photographed
in cars, in positions where her legs were prominent. Not since Belinda Lee had
any British actress had her legs so extensively photographed. Still today, most of the
pictures of Veronica on the Internet emphasise her legs, not her face.
A photographer took some pictures of Veronica on a beach, and one was seen in a newspaper by the boss of Hammer Films, James Carreras. Carreras decided Veronica had the looks required for the female lead in his next movie, "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave", and offered her the role opposite Christopher Lee. The film was directed by ace cinematographer Freddie Francis. Veronica has since spoken gratefully about the support and help given to her by her co-star and director.
The following year (1969) Hammer invited Veronica back to play opposite their other stalwart star, Peter Cushing, in "Frankenstein Must be Destroyed". Veronica played Anna who is smuggling drugs out of an insane asylum where her boyfriend is a doctor. Peter Cushing knows her secret and exploits it to enlist her help. At the insistence of the America distributor, who wanted more sex in the film, a rape scene was inserted to the irritation and dismay of both Veronica and director Terence Fisher. Veronica gained considerable publicity from this movie and stills from the film were distributed widely.
However, because this was a period when the British film industry was
in crisis, despite the publicity Veronica secured only small parts in other
movies. For example, she appeared in a minor role in "Crossplot" opposite
Roger Moore with whom she had worked in television on an episode of "The
Saint".
In 1970 Veronica played in another Hammer production, "The Horror Of Frankenstein" which some Hammer fans find too lighthearted. Veronica herself has since said that the film strayed too far towards comedy.
After this Veronica's career made no progress due to the lack of films being made. She was invited by her first director Freddie Francis to work again opposite Peter Cushing in "The Ghoul", but this was the last film of any substance that Veronica made. She seems to have gone into semi-retirement after marrying and moving to America, where she lives to this day.
Despite the brevity of her career, Veronica Carlson is still remembered with affection by fans of the Hammer films.