PIPPA STEEL and RALPH BATES are captured in this striking black-and-white behind-the-scenes photograph from Lust for a Vampire (1971), showing Bates struggling with Steel’s apparently lifeless body beside a stone well. Bates, dressed in dark period costume, braces himself as he drags Steel across the grass, while her pale dress and outstretched posture create a sharp visual contrast against the darker landscape. The old well, rough ground and surrounding trees give the image a strong Gothic setting, while the candid off-camera quality makes it clear that this is a production photograph rather than a finished frame from the film. The FOCUS remains on the grim physical action at the center of the scene, giving the photograph unusual dramatic force even in its behind-the-scenes form.

What makes the image especially effective is the contrast between subject matter and presentation. The scene suggests the aftermath of violence, yet the photograph also preserves the practical reality of filmmaking, with Bates visibly exerting himself to maneuver Steel’s body into position for the sequence. The well provides a memorable visual anchor and immediately distinguishes the image from more conventional publicity stills. For collectors seeking Pippa Steel Ralph Bates Lust for a Vampire 1971 material, this is an especially appealing production image because it combines a strong narrative moment with the documentary interest of a true behind-the-scenes still. Like the other photographs in this newly surfaced group, it is now being made available to collectors for the first time.

Directed by Jimmy Sangster from a screenplay by Tudor Gates, Lust for a Vampire stars Yutte Stensgaard as Mircalla / Carmilla Karnstein, alongside Ralph Bates, Michael Johnson, Suzanna Leigh, Barbara Jefford and Pippa Steel. The film is the second entry in Hammer’s Karnstein Trilogy, following The Vampire Lovers (1970) and preceding Twins of Evil (1971), drawing upon characters and themes from Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. The story follows the resurrected Mircalla as death and seduction spread through the world of a girls’ finishing school, making images of victims and concealment especially evocative within the film’s Gothic structure.

Hammer production records place filming between 6 July and 18 August 1970, with studio work at Elstree Studios and exterior work at Hunton Park, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire. Those real production circumstances add extra value to an image like this one, which preserves not only the actors and costumes but also the hands-on staging of a dark sequence from one of Hammer’s best-known early-1970s vampire films.

Carefully restored from historic photographic source material and professionally lab-developed, this museum-quality photograph is presented uncropped, preserving the complete image area contained in the source. Restoration recovers facial detail, costume texture, grass, stonework and tonal separation while maintaining the natural tonal gradation and character of the historic black-and-white photograph. The finished photograph contains no AI-generated image content.

A vivid and unusually dramatic Hammer production image, this photograph offers collectors a memorable behind-the-scenes view of Pippa Steel and Ralph Bates during the making of Lust for a Vampire.