| Laura Winters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Laura Winters | |
| Notability: | Supporting character |
| Gender: | Female |
| Location: | New York |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Died: | 1964 |
| Introduction: | The Flesh Eaters |
| Actor: | Rita Morley |
Laura Winters was a supporting character featured in the 1964 horror film The Flesh Eaters. She was played by actress Rita Morley.
Biography[]
Laura Winters was an aging actress and an alcoholic. In the year 1964, she was scheduled to go to Provincetown, Massachusetts to film a movie, but an approaching tropical storm made travel plans difficult and she risked meeting her appointments. Her assistant Jan Letterman hired a charter pilot named Grant Murdoch to fly them to Provincetown ahead of the storm (at three times his usual rate). Grant took an instant disliking to the persistently inebriated Laura and couldn't wait to get her off his plane and away from him.
En route, the seaplane suffered engine trouble and was forced to land on a seemingly deserted island. When they arrived, they met a marine biologist named Professor Peter Bartell who told them that he had been conducting research in the area. They soon discovered that a group of strange, mutated spores were present in the waters surrounding the island and possessed the ability to eat through human flesh in the span of only a few seconds.
That evening, Laura drank heavily and passed out on the beach. Professor Bartell, seeking to keep the castaways on the island for the sake of his own macabre experiments, loosened the sea plane's moorings, letting it drift away in the ensuing storm. When Grant learned what had happened, he mistakenly believed that Laura was responsible for failing to keep an eye on the plane.
Laura's supply of booze was caught in the surf and began drifting out to sea. She ran out onto the getty in the hopes of recovering it, only to find herself stranded on the rocks. Grant chased after her, but slipped on a rock and exposed himself to the spore-infected waters. Fortunately, Professor Bartell was on hand to cut away the infected flesh and save him from further injury.
Soon after, Laura learned that Bartell was the one responsible for creating the flesh-eating spores to begin with. She confronted him, but the Professor stabbed her in the stomach and buried her in the sand. Laura did not die right away however. She returned and tried to stop Bartell from uses electrical shocks to stimulate the growth cycle of the flesh eaters. She attempted to stab him, but Bartell shot her first, then rolled her body down the shore where her remains were consumed by an over-sized flesh-eater.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The Flesh Eaters was actress Rita Morley's only appearance in a horror film.