Eva Bartok

Hungarian actress Eva Bartok had a somewhat traumatic life leading up to adulthood. A striking beauty even as a teen, at the age of 15 Bartok was forced to marry a Nazi officer in order to avoid deportation to a concentration camp. The marriage was a brief and unhappy one. By her early 20s, however, Bartok found renewed hope in acting. Her breakout role was the 1951 British drama, "A Tale of Five Women," a film that was shelved for a few years, but ultimately released in movie houses all across England. The film soon came to the attention of actor Burt Lancaster who had seen the film and was so impressed with Bartok's performance that the following year he cast her alongside himself in the 1952 adventure comedy, "The Crimson Pirate." It was during the 1950s that Bartok's acting career really began to become prolific, although she was mostly relegated to roles in campy B-movies like 1954's "Circus of Love," and the 1956 sci-fi horror movie, "The Gamma People." Bartok turned down a Hollywood contract in 1956, yet continued acting in movies well into the 1960s. She retired from acting in 1967, with her last credited role being in the 1966 Israeli drama, "Sabina V'Hagvarim."