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Marisa Mell
1939-1992
Updated 9/9/2008.
biography
Born Marlies Moitzi in Austria in February 1939, gorgeous Marisa Mell was raised by her schoolteacher mother in her hometown of Graz. By the time that Mell completed her schooling, she harbored a desire to act and left Graz to study acting in Vienna. Her beauty and natural talent gave her plenty of stage presence, and upon finishing acting school she left Austria for Germany, where she was cast in films, usually in small roles, beginning in the late 1950s. Around this time, Mell married her first husband, but the union didn't last long. As her career began to escalate, Mell suffered severe head and facial injuries in a 1963 auto accident in France and had to undergo a series of plastic surgery procedures before returning to films. Examining her close-ups in such film as Diabolik (1968) reveals a scar on her upper lip, seemingly the only visible evidence of the accident.
Following her recovery, Mell headed for Britain, where she starred in Ken Russell's French Dressing (1964; directed by Ken Russell) and Masquerade (1965; with Cliff Robertson and Charles Gray) before going to Italy to star in numerous films. Mell's beauty and flair for comedy helped bring her career into full swing by the latter half of the 1960s, when she starred in such international hits as Anyone Can Play (1968; with Ursula Andress and Brett Halsey) and Diabolik (1968; with John Phillip Law). The 1970s were also good to Mell, as she appeared in such films as Mahogany (1975; with Diana Ross and Anthony Perkins) and Some Like It Cool (1977; with Tony Curtis and Sylva Koscina). When Mell got older, femme fatale roles were no longer offered to her, and her film career stalled.
the films of marisa mell
Masquerade (1965)
From the United Artists comedy adventure Masquerade. LEFT: Mell as Sophie. RIGHT: With Cliff Robertson
Objective 500 Million (1966)
From the crime drama Objective 500 Million
Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966)
Mell as Charity Farrel in the Italian spy thriller Secret Agent Super Dragon. This film once aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000
Danger: Diabolik (1968)
From the Dino de Laurentiis production Danger: Diabolik, directed by Mario Bava. LEFT: Mell as Diabolik's beautiful lover and accomplice in crime, Eva Kant. CENTER and RIGHT: Mell with John Phillip Law as the comic book antihero Diabolik. This film also aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as the final episode of the series
Anyone Can Play (1968)
From the saucy Italian comedy Anyone Can Play. LEFT: With Claudine Auger, Virna Lisi, and Ursula Andress. CENTER: With Claudine Auger. RIGHT: Mell as Paola
One on Top of the Other (1969)
Mexican lobby card from the crime drama One on Top of the Other, a film in which Marisa Mell plays another femme fatale
Bella, ricca, lieve difetto fisico cerca anima gemella (1973)
As Paola in the Italian comedy Bella, ricca, lieve difetto fisico cerca anima gemella
later years
In the 1980s, Marisa Mell found fewer good roles in films. In the 1960s and 1970s, she had often played the femme fatale and was typecast as such. Her film output in the 1980s dwindled, as did the size of her roles. Sadly, Marisa Mell fell ill with throat cancer in the early 1990s; as her condition worsened, Mell returned home to Austria, where she died in May 1992 at the age of 53.
The Monster Of London City (1956)/The Secret Of The Red Orchid [DVD](1962) DVD
"The Monster of London City" is an Edgar Wallace story about an actor at the Poe Theater whose macabre stage role mirrors a string of Ripper-like call girl murders. Marianne Koch, Hansjorg Felmy star in this German thriller. And, in "The Secret of the Red Orchid," FBI special agent Christopher Lee (!) is sent to Scotland Yard to help stop an international crime syndicate and an expert blackmailer. Adrian Hovan also stars in this atmospheric German suspenser, also based on a Wallace tale. AKA: "The Puzzle of the Red Orchid." Soundtrack: English (dubbed) Dolby Digital mono. Dubbed in English.
The Secret Of The Red Orchid [VHS](1962) VHS
FBI special agent Christopher Lee (!) is sent to Scotland Yard to help stop an international crime syndicate and an expert blackmailer. Adrian Hovan also stars in this atmospheric German suspenser based on Edgar Wallace's story. AKA: "The Puzzle of the Red Orchid." Dubbed in English. Soundtrack: English.
Ordered To Love [DVD](1963) DVD
Astounding World War II drama focusing on a woman forced to participate in a diabolical Nazi program in which she is supposed to be impregnated by German officers in order to breed the master race. Maria Perschy, Joachim Hansen star in this demented tale. 82 min.
Ordered To Love [VHS](1963) VHS
Astounding World War II drama focusing on a woman forced to participate in a diabolical Nazi program in which she is supposed to be impregnated by German officers in order to breed the master race. Maria Perschy, Joachim Hansen star in this demented tale. 82 min.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 12 [DVD] DVD
Poke fun (along with the MST3K gang) at some of cinema's most cringeworthy classics, starting with "The Starfighters" (1964), the rip-roaring adventure of a young pilot determined to outmaneuver his father, a former Air Force legend. Former U.S. congressman Robert "B-1 Bob" Dornan stars. Next, a CIA agent uncovers a diabolical plot by a South American gangster to add lethal drugs to candy and gum and sell it to American college kids. "Secret Agent Super Dragon" (1966) stars Ray Danton and Marisa Mell. Four-disc set also includes "The Rebel Set," "Parts: The Clonus Horror." 6 2/3 hrs. total. Soundtrack: English; featurette; interviews; theatrical trailers.
Secret Agent, Super Dragon [VHS](1966) VHS
A CIA agent uncovers a diabolical plot by a South American gangster to add lethal drugs to candy and gum and sell it to American college kids. Ray Danton and Marisa Mell star. 95 min.
Perversion Story (Una Sull'altra) [DVD](1969) DVD
Slinking onto your screen, this thriller from the sinister imagination of Lucio Fulci ("Zombie") concerns a physician (Jean Sorel) who juggles unhealthy relationships with both a mistress and a stripper who resembles his suspiciously deceased wife.Will the salacious doctor's overconfidence prove to be his undoing? Packed with cruelty and depravity, the film also stars Marisa Mell, Elsa Martinelli. AKA: "The Conspiracy of Torture." 103 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: Italian and English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; bonus CD soundtrack. In English and Italian with English subtitles.
Seven Blood Stained Orchids [DVD](1971) DVD
Based on a novel by Edgar Wallace, "giallo" filmmaker Umberto Lenzi's nerve-numbing shocker chronicles a string of savage murders. The only clue to the killer's identity is a series of moon-shaped lockets...and can the mystery be solved before he strikes again? Uschi Glas, Antonio Sabato, Marisa Mell star. AKA: "Puzzle of the Silver Half Moons." 92 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English (dubbed) Dolby Digital stereo; interviews; theatrical trailer.
Diary Of An Erotic Murderess [DVD](1974) DVD
A wealthy man hires a beautiful governess to care for his demented son and soon becomes smitten with his new domestic help. But she's more interested in the father's money, and thinks she can get her hands on it with help from a diary kept by his late, homicidal wife. Atmospheric European sex thriller stars Richard Conte, Marisa Mell. AKA: "La Encadenada." 86 min. Soundtrack: English (dubbed).
Mahogany [DVD](1975) DVD
Diana Ross is radiant as a department store secretary who rises out of a Chicago ghetto to become a world-famous fashion model and designer. After getting involved with Machiavellian photographer Anthony Perkins, Ross begins to realize that success has forced her to sacrifice her personal happiness and a loving relationship with dedicated local politician Billy Dee Williams. Motown founder Berry Gordy directs; features the hit song "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" 108 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English.
The Amorous Mis-Adventures Of Casanova (Some Like It Cool) [DVD](1977) DVD
Wild sex romp stars Tony Curtis in dual roles: as fabled 18th-century lover Casanova and his double, a small-time con artist who fills in when the real Casanova cannot keep an "appointment." Lots of ribald moments and laughs, with the likes of Sylva Koscina, Marisa Berenson and Britt Ekland baring it all. AKA: "Casanova & Co.," "Sex on the Run." 89 min. Soundtrack: English; biographies.
The Beast With A Gun [DVD](1977) DVD
In this violence-strewn crime drama, Helmut Berger leads a group of prison escapees on a rampage targeting cop Richard Harrison, who testified against him in court. After Berger rapes beautiful Marisa Mell, then forces her to join the gang, Harrison hatches his own plan to stop the not-so-good Berger. Scenes from this savage story were featured in the film "Jackie Brown." AKA: "Ferocious," "Mad Dog," "Mad Dog Killer." 95 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby mono; trailer.
Mad Dog [DVD](1984) DVD
He's a thief, a rapist, a killer...he's a Mad Dog and he's on the loose. Helmut Berger stars as the criminal who's looking for the people who sent him up, and when he finds them, there'll be Hell to pay! Brutal, thrill-packed action. Also stars Richard Harrison, Marisa Mell. 93 min.
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filmography
I Love Vienna (1991)
Ator III: The Hobgoblin (1990) with Eric Allan Kramer
Sensazioni d'amore (1990)
Death Threat (1984) with Elke Sommer
Soap Bubbles (1984) with Eddie Constantine
Corpi nudi (1983)
La Dottoressa preferisce i marinai (1981) with Gordon Mitchell and Raf Baldassarre
La Compagna di viaggio (1980)
Under Siege (1980) with Stuart Whitman
Peccati a Venezia (1980)
La Liceale al mare con l'amica di papà (1980)
Ring of Darkness (1979) with John Phillip Law, Anne Heywood, and Irene Papas
Obscene Desire (1978)
Beast with a Gun (1977) with Helmut Berger and Richard Harrison
Some Like It Cool (1977) with Tony Curtis, Marisa Berenson, Sylva Koscina, and Britt Ekland
Happy Birthday, Harry (1976) with John Richardson, Terry-Thomas, and Gordon Mitchell
Taxista de señoras (1976)
Born Winner (1976) with Joe Dallesandro
Amori, letti e tradimenti (1975)
Mahogany (1975) with Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Perkins, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Nina Foch, and Bruce Vilanch
Parapsycho - Spektrum der Angst (1975) with Leon Askin
Diary of an Erotic Murderess (1975) with Richard Conte
Infamia (1974) with Farley Granger and Helga Liné
Bella, ricca, lieve difetto fisico cerca anima gemella (1973) with Erika Blanc
Night Fiend (1973) with Fernando Rey
Burning City (1973) with Antonio Sabato
Miss Dynamite (1972) with Antonio Sabato and Lionel Stander
Magic Graz (1972)
Alta tensión (1972) with Helga Liné
The Great Swindle (1972) with Stephen Boyd, Fernando Rey, and Sylva Koscina
Seven Blood Stained Orchids (1972) with Antonio Sabato
Humpty Dumpty Gang (1972) with Giuliano Gemma
Senza via d'uscita (1970)
Versatile Lovers (1969) with Alberto Dalbés
One on Top of the Other (1969) with Jean Sorel, Elsa Martinelli, John Ireland, and Faith Domergue
Stuntman (1968) with Gina Lollobrigida
Danger: Diabolik (1968) with John Phillip Law and Adolfo Celi
Anyone Can Play (1967) with Ursula Andress, Virna Lisi, Claudine Auger, and Brett Halsey
Objective 500 Million (1966)
Che notte, ragazzi! (1966)
Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966) with Ray Danton, Margaret Lee, and Jess Hahn
Train d'enfer (1965)
City of Fear (1965) with Terry Moore
The Diamond Walkers (1965)
Casanova '70 (1965) with Marcello Mastroianni, Virna Lisi, Michèle Mercier, and Margaret Lee
Masquerade (1965) with Cliff Robertson and Charles Gray
French Dressing (1964)
The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964) with Edmund Purdom, Marianne Koch, and Klaus Kinski
A Man at the Best Age (1964)
Venusberg (1963)
Doctor (1962)
The Secret of the Red Orchid (1962) with Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski
Ruf der Wildgänse (1961)
Ordered to Love (1961)
Twenty Brave Men (1960)
Wegen Verführung Minderjähriger (1960)
Sinners (1960)
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This page premiered December 10, 2004.
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