Charlotte Rampling in The Long Duel

In 1967, Charlotte Rampling was featured in the supporting cast of Ken Annakin's The Long Duel, a classic adventure film set in India in the 1920s. Yul Brynner plays sultan, the charismatic leader of a tribe that has decided to revolt against British control. Trevor Howard plays the man who must catch Sultan, despite his sympathy to the Indian people and the animosity of his British co-workers. Charlotte Rampling portrays Jane, the daughter of the police superintendent, who falls in love with Trevor Howard's character.

Promotional pic of Charlotte Rampling for The Long Duel 

Before Charlotte Rampling began doing art films, she was in The Long Duel. Her acting career had only begun two years prior, in 1965, with her first substantial role in the movie Rotten to the Core. She followed this up with a very visible part in the popular Georgy Girl. After Georgy Girl, Charlotte Rampling spent some time doing guest appearances on UK television, perhaps most notably on a wonderfully campy episode of The Avengers.

In the summer of 1967, The Long Duel premiered in London. Her role in the film is not huge, but nonetheless memorable. Knowing the type of presence she would bring to the screen in later years, it is fun to watch Charlotte Rampling in the early role, playing it completely straight. She brings a credible, youthful energy to her part and succeeds in livening up the proceedings. Almost all of her screen-time is shared with Trevor Howard and the two work well together.


The following are some images of Charlotte Rampling in The Long Duel:

Charlotte Rampling and Trevor Howard

Charlotte Rampling and Harry Andrews

Samantha Eggar on The Saint

In 1963, Samantha Eggar made her final television guest appearance, before focusing exclusively on feature films for 10 years, in an episode of The Saint. She would not make another TV guest appearance until an episode of Love Story in 1973 (she would also co-star with Yul Brynner in 1972's Anna and the King television series). From the late 1970s to the 2000s, the bulk of Samantha Eggar's screen work would be on the small screen.

In a second season episode of The Saint called 'Marcia', Samantha Eggar plays Claire Avery, an up-and-coming actress. After a more famous actress dies, Samantha Eggar's character is asked to replace the dead actress in an upcoming project. She accepts the role but then begins to receive threatening letters, prompting her to call upon Simon Templar (played by Roger Moore) to get to the bottom of things.

It's a fun episode and Samantha Eggar handles herself well throughout. As you can tell from the forthcoming images, somebody working on The Saint was apparently very fond of close-up shots. Samantha Eggar is shown frequently in tight face shots, emoting and looking lovely.

Art imitates life a bit here. In this Saint episode, Samantha Eggar portrays an up-and-coming actress with ambitions of stardom and that's pretty much what she was at the time. The next year she would begin playing larger roles in films, eventually becoming a big movie star.


Here are some images of Samantha Eggar appearing on The Saint:

Samantha Eggar and Roger Moore

Samantha Eggar and Roger Moore

Barbara De Rossi in Quo Vadis?

In 1985, Barbara De Rossi co-starred alongside an international cast in Quo Vadis?, a television miniseries about ancient Rome during the reign of Nero. Barbara De Rossi portrays Eunice, the faithful companion/slave of Petronius (played by Frederic Forrest) and appears as one of three female lead characters (the others being Cristina Raines as Poppaea and Marie Therese Relin as Lygia). The character of Eunice does not have a huge role in the miniseries but she does get her fair share of screen-time. Barbara De Rossi's performance is very understated and, of course, she looks beautiful throughout and thus her character comes off as one of the most memorable (for me at least!).

Though apparently not liked by some viewers, Quo Vadis? is a very entertaining and well done miniseries. The project is well cast and features a mix of European and American actors and actresses. Additionally, the set design is wonderful, as is the art direction, lighting and photography. Some people have unfairly compared this 1985 version of Quo Vadis to the 1951 motion picture, but the two projects are very different and I tend to think it is usually best to let things stand on their own and be judged on their own merits.

Quo Vadis? is actually the first thing that I ever saw Barbara De Rossi in. Originally, I had sought out the miniseries because of Cristina Raines, one of my favorite actresses (you can see some images of Cristina Raines in Quo Vadis? here). However, I was delighted to discover Barbara De Rossi!


Here are some images of Barbara De Rossi in the first half of Quo Vadis?:

Samantha Eggar in 10 photos

Once upon a time, Samantha Eggar was one of the most beautiful actresses in the world. From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, she was a very promising movie star being offered big roles in big movies. After a series of films that didn't do well financially (but were nonetheless great artistically), the prominence of her career suffered a bit. She never did stop working and later turned her attention to television work and also to cult horror films. However, perhaps Samantha Eggar will best be remembered for her stunning appearance and charming demeanor that she displayed so well in the 1960s, onscreen and off.

Here are ten images of Samantha Eggar during her original heyday:

Samantha Eggar twirls her hair

Samantha Eggar twirls her hair again

Samantha Eggar arrives at the airport