Eva Bartok (1927-1998)

biography

Born Eva Szoeke in Hungary on June 18, 1927, actress Eva Bartok was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. During World War II, to escape imprisonment in a concentration camp, she was forced to marry a Nazi officer to save herself and her mother. The marriage was eventually annulled on the grounds of coercion of a minor. Taking up acting following her horrific childhood, she married producer Alex Paal, who took her to London in 1948 to study acting. Bartok met famed director Alexander Korda, who put the young actress under salary and changed her name to Bartok. It took her a few years to be cast in a credited role, which finally came in the mystery A Tale of Five Women (1951; with Gina Lollobrigida), lensed in Berlin. During the following year, she was cast in the big-budget Warner Bros. adventure The Crimson Pirate (1952; with Burt Lancaster, Dana Wynter, and Christopher Lee). Starring roles in several British films, including Spaceways (1953; with Howard Duff), the noir thriller Norman Conquest (1953; with Tom Conway), and Front Page Story (1954; with Jack Hawkins), got Bartok noticed by many producers. Her personal life was not as successful; she and Paal parted ways in 1950, and a brief marriage to public relations wizard William Wordsworth ended after four years. She met fourth husband, actor Curd Jurgens, while co-starring with him in the German film The Last Waltz (1953). The couple worked together often, also starring in Circus of Love (1954) and several other films, but again Bartok's marriage was short-lived.

Bartok earned another big break, this time in Hollywood, when she was cast in Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957; with Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dewey Martin), which was shot in Italy. Through her association with Dean Martin, Bartok met many Hollywood celebrities, including Frank Sinatra. An unexpected pregnancy following her divorce from Jurgens resulted in the 1957 birth of her daughter, Deana; in later years, Bartok claimed that Deana's father was Sinatra. While Bartok continued in her acting career with some success, she began to grow disenchanted with the profession and the roles offered her. Audiences today best know Bartok from her starring role in the Mario Bava horror flick Blood and Black Lace (1964; with Cameron Mitchell. Two years after the release of this film, she walked away from acting.

the films of eva bartok

The Assassin (1952)

The Crimson Pirate (1952)

Norman Conquest (1955)

Spaceways (1953)

Circus of Love (1954)

Break in the Circle (1955)

Special Delivery (1955)

The Gamma People (1956)

Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957)

Operation Amsterdam (1959)

Beyond the Curtain (1960)

Blood and Black Lace (1964)

later years

In 1966, Eva Bartok quit her acting career, instead spending years studying with the Pak Subuh sect near Jakarta, Indonesia. In later years, Bartok later taught Subuh philosophy in a school she opened in Hawaii. After a lifetime of globetrotting, during her final years she retreated to London. Eva Bartok passed away on August 1, 1998, at the age of 72. She was survived by her daughter, Deana, and two grandchildren.

eva bartok films available from movies unlimited

Norman Conquest [DVD](1953) DVD
A detective, after being drugged and framed for murder, soon discovers that the beautiful femme fatale behind the deed is involved in a gem smuggling ring with a former Nazi. Tom Conway, Eva Bartok, Anton Diffring and Ian Fleming star. AKA: "Park Plaza 605." 75 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
Ten Thousand Bedrooms [DVD](1957) DVD
In his first role after parting ways with Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin stars as an American hotel mogul who travels to Rome where he falls for the youngest of four beautiful Italian daughters. All Dino has to do to get her to marry him is find husbands for all three of her older sisters. Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eva Bartok, Dewey Martin, and Walter Slezak co-star in this charming musical comedy. 114 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
Naked In The Night [DVD](1958) DVD
Fifties sexploitation dramas weren't the exclusive property of American studios, as this German melodrama of loose women and the men to whom their wicked, wicked ways lead them amply demonstrates. Eva Bartok and Alexander Kerst star in the sordid tale of fallen frauleins. Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.
The Best Of British War Cinema [DVD] DVD
A foreign correspondent, an old salt, and his daughter unite to sabotage a U-boat base, in the British WWII thriller "The Day Will Dawn" (1942). With Deborah Kerr, Hugh Williams. Michael Wilding, Roland Culver, and James Mason carry out a "Secret Mission" (1942). With Williams, Carla Lehmann. A pilot risks discovery while in occupied France, in the fact-based "The Flemish Farm" (1943). With Clive Brook, Jane Baxter. The Battle of Arnhem is re-enacted in the docudrama "Theirs Is the Glory" (1946). Reporters Stanley Maxted, Allan Wood play themselves. A prize cow fuels the comic action of "Appointment with Venus" (1951). David Niven, Glynis Johns star. AKA: "Island Rescue." In "Seven Thunders" (1957), British POWs lay low in France. Stephen Boyd, Anna Gaylor star. AKA: "The Beasts Of Marseilles." Dirk Bogarde falls for a Japanese girl, in "The Wind Cannot Read" (1958). Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis co-star. A British officer and the Dutch team to lift a diamond stash, in "Operation Amsterdam" (1959). With Peter Finch, Eva Bartok. Five-disc set also includes "Unpublished Story" and "Two Thousand Women." 10 3/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
Blood And Black Lace [DVD](1964) DVD
Disturbing thriller from Italian horror maestro Mario Bava set in a fashion house where gorgeous models are being killed by a masked murderer with metallic claws. Stylish shocker stars Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok and Thomas Reiner. 90 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono, Italian Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; audio commentary; interviews; photo gallery; theatrical trailer. Two-disc set.
Italian Giallo Collection [DVD] DVD
Three-disc boxed set includes "Blood and Black Lace," "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage," and "Watch Me When I Kill."

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Please note: These titles have not been released to DVD as of this writing:

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filmography

FILM
Sabina V'Hagvarim (1966) with George Mikell
Blood and Black Lace (1964) with Cameron Mitchell, Thomas Reiner, and Massimo Righi
Holidays Like Never Before (1963) with Carlos Thompson, Corny Collins, and Peter Vogel
Avventura al motel (1963) with Margaret Lee
Marriage Bureau Aurora (1962) with Carlos Thompson
Operation Caviar (1961) with Senta Berger
Blind Justice (1961) with Peter van Eyck, Marianne Koch, and Leon Askin
I'll See You in Hell (1960) with John Drew Barrymore, Moira Orfei, and Massimo Serato
Beyond the Curtain (1960) with Richard Greene
Ein Student ging vorbei (1960) with Luise Ullrich and Paul Dahlke
SOS Pacific (1959) with Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, John Gregson, and Eddie Constantine
Twelve Hours by the Clock (1959) with Gert Frobe
Operation Amsterdam (1959) with Peter Finch
Naked in the Night (1958) with Alexander Kerst
The Doctor of Stalingrad (1958) with O.E. Hasse
Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) with Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dewey Martin, Walter Slezak, Paul Henreid, Lisa Gaye, John Archer, Dean Jones, and Monique van Vooren
The Gamma People (1956) with Paul Douglas and Jocelyn Lane
Durch die Walder durch die Auen (1956) with Peter Arens
Ohne dich wird es Nacht (1956) with Curd Jurgens
Dunja (1955) with Gert Frobe
Special Delivery (1955) with Joseph Cotten and Gert Frobe
Break in the Circle (1955) with Forrest Tucker
Orient Express (1954) with Henri Vidal and Curd Jurgens
Victoria and Her Hussar (1954)
Circus of Love (1954) with Curd Jurgens
Meines Vaters Pferde: Lena und Nicoline (1954) with Curd Jurgens
Front Page Story (1954) with Jack Hawkins and Michael Goodliffe
Norman Conquest (1953) with Tom Conway
The Last Waltz (1953) with Curd Jurgens
Spaceways (1953) with Howard Duff
The Assassin (1952) with Richard Todd
The Crimson Pirate (1952) with Burt Lancaster, Dana Wynter, and Christopher Lee
A Tale of Five Women (1951) with Gina Lollobrigida
Mezei profeta (1947)

TELEVISION SERIES
The Midnight Men, 1964 BBC TV series. Bartok portrayed Veronique Vranja

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
ITV Play of the Week, episode Winter in Ischia, originally aired July 12, 1965
ITV Television Playhouse, episode The Macropulos Secret, originally aired March 7, 1958
The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial, episode The Case of the Abandoned Horse, originally aired April 12, 1957
G.E. True Theater, episode Bargain Bride, originally aired April 7, 1957

eva bartok links

Eva Bartok: A Tribute
Visit this fansite for actress Eva Bartok, which includes a biography and many photos.

eva bartok now showing

Watch the trailer for Eva Bartok's 1964 horror flick Blood and Black Lace