Caroline Munro: The Reality Beyond the Fantasy
An autobiography of the Queen of Fantasy, Caroline Munro.
HORROR/SCIENCE FICTION
written by Christopher Gullo
9/7/20263 min read
Caroline Munro: Reality Behind the Fantasy
Review by Christopher Gullo
Caroline Munro has been hailed as the First Lady of Fantasy and for good reason. She was Victoria Phibes in the two Phibes films, Laura in Dracula A.D. 1972, Margiana in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Carla in Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, Dia in At the Earth's Core, Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me, and Stella Star in Starcrash, to name some of her most well-known performances. With her memorable roles and gorgeous looks, I was an instant fan as a young kid.
I first met Caroline Munro back in 1997 at the Chiller Theatre convention held in New Jersey. She was one of the featured guests, and as a big Hammer fan, I was quite excited to finally get the chance to meet Caroline in person. Apparently, I was not the only fan of Caroline, as I waited for two hours in a seemingly never-ending line of fans eager to meet her as well. The wait was worth it, however, as Caroline could not be any sweeter in person. She took her time when I met her, answered my few questions, and thanked me for coming before signing my photo of her from her Lamb’s Navy Rum campaign.
Fast forward to 2003, and I was writing my first book, a biography of Peter Cushing, and interviewing coworkers of my subject for publication in it. I reached out to Caroline through her website and was very pleased that she immediately replied back to answer my questions about her memories of working with Peter Cushing on the Amicus film At The Earth's Core.
The following year, my book was published, and I was a guest at the second Monster-Mania convention. As luck would have it, Caroline was also a guest at the convention along with fellow Hammer scream queens Ingrid Pitt and Hazel Court. I won the fanboy lottery at that convention as I was set up in the same room with all three actresses and also acted as moderator on stage with all three for a Q&A with the audience.
When the news surfaced recently that Caroline was publishing her autobiography, I was naturally both happy for her and excited to learn all about her personal life and career. The book, Caroline Munro: Reality behind the Fantasy, is co-authored by Caroline and A.M. Keen, clocks in at 258 pages, and is available in both hardcover and softcover editions.
As for the book itself, it definitely does not disappoint, and fans of Caroline Munro will be fascinated to learn about interesting “what if” film roles that Caroline passed on. As Caroline herself states in her book, "In the end, life is about choices." Readers will also thrill to read about Caroline's early history, love of art and nature, her journey from modeling into film, including her two-year contract with Hammer Films in which she starred in Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter and Dracula A.D. 1972, behind-the-scenes stories of working with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Vincent Price, plus her personal struggles with dyslexia and health. The resulting autobiography is truly a must-read for fans of Caroline Munro and genre films in general. Caroline Munro: Reality Behind the Fantasy can be ordered directly (and signed!) from Caroline’s official website, https://www.carolinemunro.org/
REVIEWER CHRIS GULLO AND CAROLINE MUNRO
AT A CONVENTION PANEL DISCUSSION WE HAVE ANN ROBINSON, CAROLINE MUNROE, AND INGRIT PITT.
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