When you mention the phrase “Scream Queens” most people think of Neve Campbell, Jamie Leigh Curtis or Brinke Stevens. But before them, we had the Screen Sirens, who lit up the movie screen with their smiles, their faces and their screams.

In this book, Paul Parla and Charles Mitchell interview 20 of the greatest Screen Sirens of the “B” movie era. These ladies played endangered women in various horror, mystery and Sci Fi movies from the mid 30’s to the late 1960’s.
Sandy Descher worked for only 10 short years, but made an impact on horror that has seldom been repeated. As the little girl who watched her parents killed and devoured by giant ants in “THEM” in 1954, Sandy worked with stars of the caliber of Gregory Peck, Phil Silvers, Lee J. Cobb, Liz Taylor, Fess Parker, James Whitmore, Ed Gwenn and James Arness in her brief career.

Mary Murphy worked on “The Wild One” with Marlon Brando, while June Wilkinson is considered by many to be Playboy’s best model in its history.

Each chapter is filled with information on the actress, her career and dozens of photos of her, both in her screen roles and many of her now. The interviews are conducted with the respect these women deserve for the word they did and the doors they opened.

The actresses spoken with are Ramsay Ames, Claudia Barrett, Jean Byron, Linda Christian, Faith Domergue, Amanda Duff, Evangelina Elizondo, Margaret Field, Mimi Gibson, Marilyn Harris, Kitty de Hoyos, Donna Martel, Joyce Meadows, Noreen Nash, Cynthia Patrick, Paula Raymond, Joan Taylor, Ms. Descher, Ms. Murphy and Ms. Wilkinson.

Also examined are some of the genres most beloved and influential films, from The Mummy’s Ghost, and Tarzan and the Mermaids, to This Island Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Frankenstein, and Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers.

It is hard to not find the interviews themselves entertaining. But, given the chance to look ‘behind the camera’ at the way they felt during the filming or how they worked with the people around them is an extra addition that simply adds to the already interesting material.

While some of the interviews are gathered from various magazines, the rest are original with this collection. Screen Sirens Scream will be a welcome edition to the film buff and the trivia freak. In other words, folks like me.