The Marisa Mell Photo Memoir

It was Nightmare Castle, one of the first Italian B-movies I saw, that introduced me to Italian horror and the lovely and talented actresses that starred in them such as Helga Line.  Researching Helga Line, only expanded my horizons into Italian films and the discovery of a slew of actresses that I would soon come be thoroughly impressed with, actresses that aside from being in low budget international films making only a pittance, could run circles around half the "starlets" in Hollywood today.  Marisa Mell was one of those actresses.

It was September 2011, that my interest into the life and filmography of Marisa Mell really began to bloom and another off shoot into Italian film began.  It was the discovery of the Italian movie poster for City of Fear (La Diabolica Spia), that sparked a fire for vintage Italian movie posters, with a certain interest in those that featured Marisa Mell.  Over a year later, I've managed to come across a wide variety of Marisa Mell film material, and recently I stumbled upon a collection of photographs that I doubt many people have seen.

The history of these photos is a mystery, one could only guess as to who the original owner was, for all I know these could have been personally owned by Marisa herself, as there does appear to be a few indications they may have been.  Or at the very least these could have been in the possession of someone who was close to her, as there are quite a few vacation and personal photos that don't appear to have been taken for publicity purposes.  Whatever their origin it's ironic, as Marisa Mell's life came to a somewhat sad and bitter end, this collection was discovered collecting dust in a antique shop in Italy, a testament really to the overall "value" of our worldly possessions when we ultimately die, and also somewhat sad confirmation of the fact that Marisa Mell died without very many friends or family who cared to carry on these memories.

Over the next year (starting January 1st) I'll be presenting these images.  It's an interesting glance into the life of Marisa Mell, an actress who is not overly documented due to her limited recognition outside of Italy and Germany.  Most of these photos are new to me, and in knowing there are many other more knowledgeable Mell fans out in the world it is my hope that some of you can help add some information to the photos, put some names to faces, or add any information that might enhance or solve the mystery of these photos.

For the sake of online storage space, and to prevent these photos from being copied and re-distributed, all the photos in this collection will be watermarked and uploaded at a manageable size.  At this time none of the photos in the collection are for sale, though I would consider trading some unmarked high quality digital scans with any fans who have digital copies of Marisa Mell films that I am still in search of.  Anyone interested can contact me via the contact button on the right hand sidebar.

Memoir Table of Contents
Updated (1/22/13)

The Early Years

  

Wedding Photos


Photo Shoots
 

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Happy Birthday Marisa Mell!

May 16th will mark the 20th anniversary of this cult actresses death, but today would have been her 73rd birthday had she not died at a young age of 53 due to cancer. Thankfully due to the innovations of film and photography the career and beauty of Marisa Mell will continue to live on, continue to bring enjoyment to fans and continue to build a fan-base.  A couple years ago I'd never heard of Marisa Mell, now she's not only among my top favorite international cult actresses but one of my favorite actresses in general.  Hopefully more of her films will receive some much deserved restoration into high definition and more of her elusive films will be made available for the world to enjoy once again.  While she may be gone, she will not be forgotten!  Happy birthday Marisa Mell!

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Danger: Diabolik (1968)

I can't think of a better way to kick off the new year than a review of one of the greatest cult films I have ever seen.  Danger: Diabolik a film that combines the brilliant feats of low budget director/cinematographer Mario Bava, the beauty and stage presence of Marisa Mell and the bizarre yet engrossing Italian comic book character protrayed by John Phillip Law of the anti-hero Diabolik!

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Perversion Story (1969)

Actresses of Italian cinema in the 1960's & 70's who weren't of the Hollywood elite, or international stars in some right usually found their fame in what is now often referred to as "cult cinema".  One of the largest genres of cult cinema during this period of time in the Italian movie industry was giallo, Italian thrillers that are probably the closest ancestor to what is now referred to as the slasher film.  So it should not be much of a surprise that Marisa Mell, one of the more well know cult actresses in Italian cinema during this era, saw her fair share of giallo adventures.  Perversion Story (aka Una sull'altra & One on Top of the Other) is highly regarded among giallo fans has one of the top giallos of this time, setting aside the typical stereotype of gory murders and bringing a more unique and stylistic feel of the modern day mystery/thriller.

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Casanova '70 (1965)

Comedy is one of the more difficult genres to grasp internationally as every country has their own brand of humor.  British comedy is usually pretty dry and heavily laced with sarcasm, Spanish comedy seems to find adults dressing up a children highly amusing, and Italians seem to be heavily involved in comedies centered around sexual escapades; at least such was the case in the 60's and 70's.  Casanova '70 is easily one of the tamer Italian comedies of this era and undoubtedly one of the better written ones as well.

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