Sharon Tate in Eye of the Devil, Sharon in The Fearless Vampire Killers is included on the Sexiest Vampires in Movies List, Polanski's Ten Best Films and More

I recently found a copy of the movie tie in book for "Eye of the Devil", which was previously published as Day of the Arrow by Philip Loraine.  I was curious as to how Sharon's character Odile is described as compared to her performance in the movie.  I thought I'd copy Odile's first occurence in the novel and put some screen captures with it. 

"Who's the fair girl who drives the Mercedes?"

Francoise looked slightly surprised.  "Cousin Odile.  You've met her?"

"I've seen her.  Whose cousin?"

"Philippe's.  What was she doing?"

"Now that," Lindsay said, "is a damned odd question."

Francoise nodded, her eyes very serious.  "Yes, isn't it?  For a damned odd girl."

"Does she spend a lot of time here?"

"More than one suspects, I sometimes think.  They don't live far away.  They're a very weird family, James--one of the oldest in France, one of the most inbred: no one else being quite good enough for them."

He was interested to observe that their passage-at-arms, whatever she might think of it privately, had brought about a change in her; the passivity that had so maddened him had vanished; her eyes were alive with intelligence and, he suspected, malice.  He felt a little surge of excitement.

"Well," he said, "it may interest you to hear that I haven't told you the full story of that bird Christian massacred."

"Don't tell me Odile was in on it too."

"Oh, yes."  He described how he had seen the girl take it out of her car--how he had seen her carry it into the tower.

Francoise merely nodded, pursing her lips.

"And while we're on the subject," Lindsay said, "what about the tower?  I take it to be Philippe's stronghold."

"Yes, it is; but there's nothing surprising in that; his grandfather had it converted: it's really a sort of self-contained residence inside a residence; the old man was mad about astronomy--he had his telescope there."

Lindsay snorted.  "You may not find it surprising, but I do; and I find the idea of that girl retiring behind locked doors, carrying a dead bird as if it were some kind of eucharist, a lot more than surprising: I find it bloody sinister."

Francoise stood very still for a moment, deep in thought.  Then she said, "If you asked anyone in this valley about the girl they would tell you at once that she was a witch."

"Ah!"

"Yes, very much 'Ah!' I assure you."

"Then what's Philippe up to with her?"

"I don't know, but I'll guess.  Philippe thinks he is going to die--don't ask me how or why or when or anything else about it.  It doesn't even matter whether it's true at the moment.  The fact is that he thinks it; he wouldn't be the first frightened man to . . . to fall back on old superstitions, would he?"

"You think she's his oracle."

"The oracle merely foretold; I wouldn't put it past Mademoiselle Odile to have a try at altering the general course of things."

That is where the conversation of Odile ends for at least 22 pages more.  I'll put more on tomorrow...

Sharon as one of the all time sexiest vampires? Yes, indeed! :

http://www.celebritywatchnow.com/2010/02/24/the-9-sexiest-screen-vampires/

Here is a great review of the film:

http://www.altfg.com/blog/film-reviews/the-fearless-vampire-killers-roman-polanski/

And here are Polanski's ten best films according to Kim Morgan:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-morgan/ten-of-polanskis-bestkitt_b_471948.html

More on Polanski... The film that almost wasn't:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/19/ghost.writer.polanski/?hpt=C2