By: debbie lynn elias
Many that know me or know of me, know of my passion for tv broadcasting, undoubtedly due to growing up with a legendary father in Philadelphia broadcasting during television’s hey day in the 50’s and 60’s when local programming was a cornerstone of a tv station’s compliment. I saw first hand not only how local programming can explode on a national or iconic level (ahem, American Bandstand), but the resulting sorrow of the lack of preserving this part of our history, not only from an historical technical standpoint, but for the individuals whose lives comprise these pieces of history. One of those individuals, Maila Nurmi, achieved cult status thanks to Los Angeles’ own piece of tv history – Vampira. And now thanks to R.H. Greene, with VAMPIRA AND ME we get not only an intimate personal portrait of Maila Nurmi but a look at some never before seen moments in television history.
Long before Elvira and Dr. Shock, in the mid 1950’s, Maila Nurmi aka Vampira ruled the airwaves on KABC in Los Angeles with her late night horror movie show. Goth, ghoulish, fun and sexy, Vampira was an instant hit with viewers and skyrocketed to fame. With a segmented format of alluring campy chit chat to the home viewers broken into five segments during the course of a film, the format was engaging, entertaining and inexpensive. But when the network wanted to “own” the rights to Vampira, the woman behind the chalk white face and glossy blood red lips said “no.” And with that Mail Nurmi began to fade into obscurity.
Before Greene embarked on this documentary, only two minutes of footage of Nurmi as Vampira existed, yet over the decades Vampira’s cult status ebbed and flowed, particularly with the advent of the internet, collectors, resurgence in all things vampire and goth. But no one really knew Maila Nurmi but for a very few people. Basing the documentary on a 1997 interview Greene did with Nurmi, with whom he became close friends, and his own personal recollections and those of some other of her friends, we go back in time getting insight into the early days of tv broadcasting, the movie studio contract system, Ed Wood, James Dean. We take a trip through time that is engaging and engrossing and historically fascinating as we meet Maila Nurmi up close and personal. We know Vampira, but now we get to know Maila.
Animated with bright, sparkling eyes that belie her age even at the time of the interview, Maila Nurmi is a treasure. With an infectious laugh, she regales triumph and tragedy, reeling us into her world. From studio femme fatale to Emmy nominee to victim of an attempted murder to homelessness, this is an experience sure to impact you. And for those that knew Nurmi, undeniably poignant.
Greene proves to be a careful and detailed historian as his factual research buttresses and coincides with Nurmi’s own recollections, filling in gaps and providing societal touchstones. From an historical perspective this documentary is invaluable as it was during its making that previously undiscovered footage of Vampira on The George Gobel Show surfaced, giving us a more defining look at the character we already knew. Thanks to restoration efforts, the footage is now of sufficient quality to be included in this documentary.
A documentary made with truth and love, and one of my top three Must See Festival Films, VAMPIRA AND ME is a loving epitaph that will once again have Maila Nurmi and Vampira rising from the beyond.
Written and Directed by R.H. Greene.
