Sharon Tate is a person and actor who deserved so much better in life. Despite the fact that she made only six films, her legacy in Hollywood and pop culture is humongous. I recently watched all of her films and thought it would be fun to rank them all!
I really wish she had been able to make better films, as most of these were not very good. Despite that, Sharon is easily the highlight of each and every one of them.
6. 12 + 1
Sharon plays Pat, an antique store worker who gets caught up in trying to help the main character (Vittorio Gassman) find a set of thirteen chairs that she sold, not knowing that one of them contained thousands of dollars.
It’s fun to see Sharon in an Italian film since she grew up in Italy and was fluent in the language. Unfortunately, in the version I watched, she did not do her own dubbing. I really liked her character and she looked amazing, plus she really got to use her comedic chops. But the film itself is pretty boring and the male characters often take advantage of Pat which was uncomfortable to see.
12 + 1 looks nice and the score is lovely, but the story and acting are rather lacking. It was cool to see Orson Welles in a small part though.
5. The Wrecking Crew
Matt Helm (Dean Martin) is assigned to stop evil mastermind Count Contini (Nigel Green) from stealing $1 billion in gold. Freya (Sharon Tate) teams up with Matt to get the gold back.
Once again, I really like Sharon’s character, but the film itself is extremely sexist and kind of bland. It’s very James Bond-esque, but thankfully the women in The Wrecking Crew have a lot more agency. The three main actresses are great and look amazing in the ‘60s fashions, but paired against a rapidly aged Dean Martin, it just feels weird.
There’s some good stuff in here, like Tate and Nancy Kwan’s fight scene (which is featured in the movie Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood) and Sharon is able to display her physical comedy more. Even though Martin is kind of phoning it in, he and Sharon have good chemistry and seemed to be having a lot of fun filming this. I just wish it had been more campy or crazy instead of taking itself so seriously.
4. The Fearless Vampire Killers
A professor (Jack MacGowran) and his apprentice (Roman Polanski) must save a woman (Sharon Tate) from a group of blood-thirsty vampires.
I really don’t like Roman Polanski, so having to watch him act for almost two hours was not my idea of fun. Luckily, he was decent and the scenes he shared with Sharon were good. She doesn’t appear in the film as much as I would have liked, but she makes the most of her limited screen time.
The film looks amazing, kind of like a Tim Burton fairytale. The story is stretched pretty thin over a long run time, so it dragged quite a bit in the middle. It had a lot of promise and was relatively funny, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
3. Valley of the Dolls
The life stories of three women who become addicted to pills and navigate their love lives and careers in the entertainment industry.
I like the novel better, but Sharon was a perfect casting choice for Jennifer. She’s able to play more dramatic in this film and does really well. I wish her character had gotten more screen time compared to the other two characters, but she makes the most of it.
Originally, Elvis Presley was going to play her love interest Tony, which I would have really liked to see. Especially since she and the actor who played him (Tony Scotti) didn’t have the necessary chemistry.
Sharon is able to capture the struggles that Jennifer is facing as a wannabe actress who gets stereotyped as a bimbo blonde. I think it’s because Sharon herself dealt with that a lot in her career, which is really terrible because she was so talented.
2. Don’t Make Waves
Carlo Cofield (Tony Curtis) goes on vacation in southern California and becomes infatuated with Malibu (Sharon Tate) even though he’s in a relationship with Laura (Claudia Cardinale).
This movie is super dumb but I love how wacky it is. The ‘60s sexism is strong, but Sharon is still able to bring a lot of heart and comedy to her performance. The beach settings are beautiful and the cast all works together very well.
Sharon’s character is a skydiver, and she did a lot of her own stunts. I think that shows a lot of commitment to her craft, especially since she almost drowned in one of the scenes. The role doesn’t really offer a lot, but Sharon makes the most of it and is probably the most memorable character – who even inspired the creation of Malibu Barbie!
1. Eye of the Devil
When Catherine (Deborah Kerr) goes to visit her husband (David Niven) at his family’s home, strange things start happening to her and she is unable to leave.
This was Sharon’s first movie, and arguably her best performance. She plays Odil, a witch who befriends Catherine’s children. She’s very spooky and pulls off a very convincing British accent. Sharon holds her own against established actors Kerr and Niven, which is a very big deal, especially considering that it was just her first movie.
The film itself is quite odd but I liked the gothic atmosphere and the cinematography was gorgeous. It was slightly confusing at times, and the ending felt rushed, but the cast all did a great job and it felt ahead of its time with the cult storyline.
Written by: Audrey Cornell
