So yesterday, about noon, I talked to Helga Line. I came home from some household chores to find Helga Line's voice on my answering machine. Previously in the week I had given her maid or housekeeper my phone number, but I never expected a call, as I thought communications were at a standstill, either due to a failure to communicate or simple disinterest on the other party's side. But it was Line's voice on the machine, and since she spoke English, I could fully understand her. So hoping that she would still be at the number she gave over to the answering machine (a different phone number than the one I had been calling), I dialed and found myself speaking to Helga Line a moment later.
I briefly explained who I was and about my interest in interviewing her, not forgetting to mention that I was writing liner notes for two films she had starred in, whose DVDs would be released later in the year in the United States. The first film I mentioned, in my best Spanish, was LAS GARRAS DE LORELEI, and Line's reaction was immediate and surprising. (What she said will be revealed in my liners for the DVD.) Later, after I made sure I had a bit more from her about the film and its director Amando de Ossorio, we talked briefly about the next film of hers that would be released on DVD in America--EL ESPANTO SURGE DE LA TUMBA, or in English, HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB, with the by-now legendary Paul Naschy. Her reaction to Naschy and the film was--well, it pleased me, but her responses will also have to wait to see the light of day in another set of liner notes.
I went over her career in a quick overview, starting with her work as a child in the circus, where she was a contortionist. There were not that many surprises along the way, and Line could not offer specifics, as she's done an incredible amount of films and most of these were about three decades ago. I made sure at various instances to inform her how beloved she is by cult-movie fans in the United States, and asked her if she was aware of her status among a segment of film fans.
"I don't understand this," she replied modestly, but undoubtedly with a smile on her face that I could not see but could feel over the phone and the distance between us.
I didn't want to overstay my welcome, as it were, and I wasn't that prepared to interview her fully at that point, so we said our farewells, with Line saying that since I was so very nice and complimentary, she would give me her address in Argentina (where, I assume, she lives a good deal of time) and also her phone number there.
Of course, I hope to contact her again, this time prepared to explore her life and career with the thoroughness it deserves. But what a day, I thought afterward. I just spoke to the Helga Line, one of the most renowned actresses in euro-cult, and one of the most elusive.
