Born Today - Eva Bartok

Born Eva Ivanova Szöke in Budapest, Hungary on June 18, 1927. Her best know films are The Crimson Pirate and Blood & Black Lance.

Eva Bartok had a harrowing beginning, with a Jewish father who vanished during the rise of Nazism. At the age of 15, she herself was forced to marry a Nazi officer to avoid being placed in a concentration camp. A vibrant and unique beauty, Eva graced films all over the world.

In 1955, Eva appeared with Joseph Cotten in the American-West German comedy Special Delivery.

Eva Bartok first came to my attention in Mario Bava's early giallo, Blood and Black Lace. As Contessa Cristiana Cuomo, she managed the fashion house in which one model after the other dies an agonizing and violent death. It was her next to last film and probably the one she will be best remembered.