Samantha Eggar gets painted

Here are two publicity stills from the 1970 film The Walking Stick starring Samantha Eggar and David Hemmings. In the first picture he paints her and the second image shows her reaction.

Samantha Eggar in The Molly Maguires

Samantha Eggar was at the height of her powers in the mid to late 1960s, taking part in a number of very memorable motion pictures. One such movie was The Molly Maguires which was filmed in 1968 but not released until 1970. It was an expensive film that ended up being a notorious financial failure at the time of it's release (a similar situation occurred with another Samantha Eggar movie, 1967's Doctor Dolittle). However, The Molly Maguires is an excellent piece of cinema, completely undeserving of it's 'flop' status. Samantha Eggar doesn't have all that much to do in The Molly Maguires but she makes the most of her time on screen. She looks great throughout the movie and, thankfully, she does not go over the top with her Irish accent!

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Here are some promotional photos of Samantha Eggar and her Molly Maguires co-stars:

Samantha Eggar: love the hat!

Samantha Eggar and Richard Harris

Samantha Eggar with Richard Harris and Sean Connery

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Here are some images of Samantha Eggar in The Molly Maguires:

Clip of Samantha Eggar in Doctor in Distress

Here's a clip of a (very) young Samantha Eggar in her second feature film, the 1963 comedy Doctor in Distress. In this scene, young hospital patient Samantha Eggar is examined by doctor Dirk Bogarde.

Samantha Eggar: how it all began (in Hollywood)

The above article is one of the first press pieces about Samantha Eggar to be published in the United States. Samantha Eggar had only begun acting in 1961 and this short article appeared in American newspapers in January of 1962. It is interesting to note, however, that the actress would not appear in an American movie until several years later and that she would not appear in a Paramount Pictures production until 1970 (The Molly Maguires).

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The article below was featured in American newspapers in the summer of 1964 and is an early publicity piece for Samantha Eggar. The following year, she would receive a great deal more press coverage following her Oscar-nominated role in The Collector. This article is actually promoting The Collector, though the film would not be released for another year.

Samantha Eggar as The Strange Lady

In 1973, Samantha Eggar co-starred alongside Stacy Keach in The Man of Destiny. Based on the play by George Bernard Shaw, Stacy Keach portrays Napoleon Bonaparte and Samantha Eggar plays a mysterious woman who enters his life. Samantha Eggar and Stacy Keach would team up again the following year for the ABC TV movie All the Kind Strangers.


The following newspaper clippings should provide some general information about The Man of Destiny:

Clip of Samantha Eggar on The Saint

In 1963, Samantha Eggar made a wonderful guest appearance on The Saint. Here's a clip of her introductory scenes in the episode called 'Marcia' acting opposite the saintly Roger Moore!

Various photos of Samantha Eggar

Here's a collection of miscellaneous photographs of Samantha Eggar.

A young Samantha Eggar poses for the camera

Samantha Eggar's feet!

Samantha Eggar in Doctor Dolittle promotional photos

In 1967, Samantha Eggar starred alongside Rex Harrison and Anthony Newley in Doctor Dolittle. The film had a big budget and lots of hype but was hated by critics upon its release and the movie ended up not being the success that the studio had hoped for. To this day some people still don't like the film but over the years many people have discovered the joys of Doctor Dolittle. Some have also discovered that many savage reviews of the film have been quite exaggerated and that the backlash against the movie is unfounded. I've seen Doctor Dolittle several times and I genuinely can't understand why anyone would dislike the film so much.

In Doctor Dolittle, Samantha Eggar portrays Emma Fairfax, the niece of a man who dislikes Dr. Dolittle (Rex Harrison). She initially does not like the animal doctor but eventually gets to know him and falls in love with him (much to the chagrin of Anthony Newley's character Matthew Mugg, who also seemed to be quite found of Emma Fairfax...and was much closer to the same age as her - Rex Harrison was 30 years older than Samantha Eggar).

Samantha Eggar is delightful in Doctor Dolittle. She gets to wear a variety of period costumes and looks lovely throughout. Since Doctor Dolittle is a musical, Samantha Eggar is given the opportunity to perform three songs and she does quite well with the material.

Sadly, however, her role in Doctor Dolittle probably had something to do with the premature decline of Samantha Eggar's career. In the mid-1960s, she was a rising star, poised for greatness especially after her Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win for her work in the 1965 film The Collector. Doctor Dolittle was supposed to be a big movie and Samantha Eggar had won the role over other actresses. When the film flopped at the box office, however, it seems that her stature in Hollywood declined and never fully recovered. She worked steadily afterwards but with more and more focus on B movies and television work. If Doctor Dolittle had been better received, it would have been interesting to see how Samantha Eggar's career path would potentially have changed.

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Here are some publicity stills of Samantha Eggar for Doctor Dolittle:

Samantha Eggar and Rex Harrison

Samantha Eggar and Rex Harrison again

Samantha Eggar in promotional pics for Double Indemnity

1973 newspaper illustration for Double Indemnity

Between 1973 and 1976, the focus of Samantha Eggar's career was on American TV movies. She made six in all but the first one was Double Indemnity, a remake of the 1944 film of the same name. Although many people malign this project today, at the time it well was fairly well received (perhaps because people were less sensitive to remakes back then).

Samantha Eggar and Richard Crenna in Double Indemnity

Another pic of Samantha Eggar and Richard Crenna

Samantha Eggar in The Light at the Edge of the World

In 1971, Samantha Eggar co-starred alongside Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner in The Light at the Edge of the World. The movie was based on a Jules Verne story and was filmed in Spain. The following year Samantha Eggar and Yul Brynner would re-team for the ill-fated Anna and the King television series, but it was here that they would first show off their excellent chemistry.

The Light at the Edge of the World was not an overwhelming success at the box office at the time of it's release in 1971. However, the film has had a steady audience over the years, thanks to VHS and DVD releases, and some (like me) consider it to be a classic of the pirate movie genre. It's not a traditional high seas, swashbuckling pirate movie, as the movie takes places entirely on and around a small island that is home to a lighthouse. Yul Brynner perfectly portrays the evil pirate Jonathan Kongre leading a sadistic band of pirates. Samantha Eggar is also wonderful and beautiful as ever as Arabella, a woman who has survived the pirate's destruction of the ship she was sailing on.


The following is a collection of promotional materials for The Light at the Edge of the World, with a focus on the presence of Samantha Eggar: