biography

Martine Beswick Born to a British father and Portuguese mother in Jamaica on September 26, 1941, beautiful Martine Beswick harbored an early desire to be an actress. The adolescent Beswick began to study acting in Britain in the early 1950s, but she moved back to Jamaica in the late 1950s. Beswick won the title "Miss Jamaica" during this period. After modeling for a brief period of time, she was spotted by a talent scout in a travelogue. The budding actress was briefly considered for a sizeable role in the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962; with Sean Connery and Ursula Andress), but Ursula Andress eventually won the part. Nonetheless, Beswick appears in the picture as the dancing girl in the opening credits.

Martine BeswickMartine Beswick

LEFT: Bikini-clad Martine Beswick in a mid 1960s photo. RIGHT: From a 1967 cover of Australian Photoplay magazine

After a small role in the British film Saturday Night Out (1963; with Bernard Lee), Beswick was cast as a fighting gypsy girl in From Russia with Love (1963; with Sean Connery and Lotte Lenya) and was invited back by Bond producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to portray a secret agent in Thunderball (1965; with Sean Connery and Luciana Paluzzi). The following year she was cast in a larger role in One Million Years B.C. (1966; with Raquel Welch and John Richardson) where she met her husband, actor John Richardson. The two married in 1967. After making a few pictures in Italy and the UK, including John the Bastard (1967; with John Richardson and Gordon Mitchell) and the campfest Prehistoric Women (1967), Beswick and Richardson moved to the US and did quite a bit of television work. Beyond the Bond films, Beswick's best-known film is perhaps the Hammer horror flick Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971; with Ralph Bates). She and Richardson divorced in 1973.

the films of martine beswick

Thunderball (1965

Martine BeswickMartine BeswickLuciana Paluzzi, Martine Beswick, Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, and Molly Peters

From the thrilling Bond film Thunderball. LEFT and CENTER: Beswick as secret agent Paula Caplan. RIGHT: Promotional photo featuring Luciana Paluzzi, Martine Beswick, Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, and Molly Peters

A Bullet for the General (1966)

Martine Beswick

From the spaghetti western A Bullet for the General

The Penthouse (1967)

Martine Beswick, Tony Beckley, Norman Rodway, and Suzy Kendall

From the then-shocking drama The Penthouse with Tony Beckley, Norman Rodway, and Suzy Kendall

Prehistoric Women (1967)

Martine Beswick and Michael LatimerMartine Beswick and Michael Latimer

From Hammer's campy adventure flick Prehistoric Women. LEFT: Lobby card featuring Beswick and Michael Latimer. RIGHT: Beswick as Kari

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971)

Martine BeswickMartine Beswick

From the Hammer horror favorite Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. LEFT and RIGHT: As Sister Hyde, Martine Beswick handily dispenses with another victim

Longstreet (1971)

Martine Beswick and James Franciscus

From the made-for-TV movie Longstreet with James Franciscus. This film served as the pilot for the 1971-1972 ABC TV series of the same name

The Last Italian Tango (1973)

Franco Franchi and Martine Beswick

From the Italian comedy The Last Italian Tango with Franco Franchi. This film is an effective parody of Last Tango in Paris

Seizure (1974)

Martine Beswick

From Oliver Stone's directing debut, the Canadian horror film Seizure

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980)

Martine Beswick

Original release poster from the comedy The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood

Evil Spirits (1990)

Martine Beswick

As Vanya in the campy horror flick Evil Spirits

martine beswick today

Roles for Martine Beswick began to dry up in the late 1980s, yet she found work in television and several films. Some of the latter include the horror films The Offspring (1987; with Vincent Price and Clu Gulager) Evil Spirits (1990; with Anthony Eisley and Virginia Mayo), and Night of the Scarecrow (1995; with Bruce Glover, Gary Lockwood, and Dirk Blocker). Today, Martine Beswick appears in films on occasion including Sinbad and the Pirate Princess (2016; with Caroline Munro) and House of the Gorgon (2019; with Caroline Munro and Veronica Carlson).

filmography

FILM
House of the Gorgon (2019) with Caroline Munro and Veronica Carlson
Sinbad and the Pirate Princess (2016) with Caroline Munro
Night of the Scarecrow (1995) with Bruce Glover, Dirk Blocker, and Gary Lockwood
Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) with Rachel Ward and Michael York
Life on the Edge (1992) with Andrew Prine
Critters 4 (1991) with Angela Bassett, Brad Dourif, and Eric DaRe
Trancers II (1991) with Helen Hunt, Telma Hopkins, and Richard Lynch
Evil Spirits (1990) with Michael Berryman, Karen Black, Anthony Eisley, Arte Johnson, Virginia Mayo, and Yvette Vickers
Miami Blues (1990) with Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh
Cyclone (1987) with Heather Thomas, Robert Quarry, Martin Landau, Huntz Hall, and Troy Donahue
From a Whisper to a Scream (1987) with Vincent Price, Clu Gulager, Rosalind Cash, Cameron Mitchell, and Susan Tyrrell
Balboa (1986) with Tony Curtis, Sonny Bono, Chuck Connors, Steve Kanaly, Carol Lynley, and Cassandra Peterson
Melvin and Howard (1980) with Jason Robards, Paul Le Mat, Mary Steenburgen, and Michael J. Pollard
The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980) with Chris Lemmon, Adam West, Richard Deacon, Phil Silvers, and Susan Kiger
The Tenth Month (1979) with Carol Burnett and Dina Merrill
My Husband Is Missing (1978) with Sally Struthers and Tony Musante
Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978) with Richard Crenna, Yvette Mimieux, Victor Jory, and Ken Kercheval
Strange New World (1975) with John Saxon, Reb Brown, Ford Rainey, Bill McKinney, Gerrit Graham, and Catherine Bach
Crime Club (1975) wiht Robert Lansing, Barbara Rhoades, and M. Emmet Walsh
Seizure (1974) with Jonathan Frid, Christina Pickles, Herve Villechaize, Troy Donahue, and Mary Woronov
The Kiss (1974)
Last Tango in Zagarolo (1973) with Franco Franchi
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) with Ralph Bates
Longstreet (1971) with James Franciscus, Bradford Dillman, Jeanette Nolan, and Bruce Lee
John the Bastard (1967) with John Richardson and Gordon Mitchell
A Bullet for the General (1967) with Klaus Kinski
The Penthouse (1967) with Suzy Kendall and Terence Morgan
Prehistoric Women (1967) with Michael Latimer
One Million Years B.C. (1966) with Raquel Welch and John Richardson
Thunderball (1965) with Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, and Lois Maxwell
Saturday Night Out (1963) with Bernard Lee
From Russia with Love (1963) with Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendariz, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, Bernard Lee, and Lois Maxwell
Dr. No (1962) with Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, Anthony Dawson, and Lois Maxwell

TELEVISION SERIES
Days of Our Lives, 1965-present NBC Daytime TV series. Beswick portrayed Abigail Abernathy during the 1984 season
Aspen, 1977 NBC TV miniseries. Beswick portrayed Joan Carolinian

martine beswick trailers now showing

Watch the trailers for Martine Beswick's 1972 horror film Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde and the 1980 comedy The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood

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Watch Martine Beswick's 1974 horror film Seizure
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This page premiered January 31, 2005.
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