Mahogany

Everybody knows the movie “Mahogany” (1975) and its cult hit song starring Diana Ross in a story of an aspiring fashion designer who becomes a runway model and the toast of the industry. Although the film was a box office success the critics hated it! “Time” chastised fill in director Berry Gordy for "squandering one of America's most natural resources: Diana Ross". In hindsight the movie is alright and gives us a good view of the fashion industry and Rome in the mid 70’s.

What not many people know is that Marisa Mell also played a part in this movie as Carlotta Gavina owner of an important Italian fashion modeling agency with the same name situated in Rome where the model Mahogany (Diana Ross) hopes to start a new career. Although Marisa Mell had only a few scenes in the movie it was quite a boost for her filmography but unfortunately she was not able to profit from this part in the following years in getting more substantial film jobs! Another cult actor in this movie is Anthony Perkins, notorious as Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). He plays a fashion photographer in Rome falling in love with Mahogany. According to Marisa Mell, she had as a young women, like so many other girls during that time, a crush on Anthony Perkins. In 1963, before her move to Rome, Marisa Mell was invited to a Film Festival in Buenos Aires (Brasil) to promote her then movie “Venusberg” which was quite a success in that city running more than 46 weeks at the local theater. So the German embassy invited Marisa Mell to honor a party in her name by inviting several A-list actors like Janet Leigh, Kirk Douglas, Cathérine Deneuve… Among the guests was also Anthony Perkins. Although Marisa Mell did not know that he was there at the beginning of the evening she quickly noticed the very handsome actor in the room. So being the host of the party it was not difficult for her to make contact with him in the hope to get to know him better and maybe even a little bit more. But to her dismay, Anthony Perkins was not interested in the beautiful young actress. He only had eyes for another man in that room: the Spanish actor Julian Mateos. Every trick in the book known by her was used in trying to seduce Perkins but it was to no avail. Julian Mateos was the object of his desire, not Marisa Mell. Marisa Mell claims that she also had a short affaire with the Spanish actor at that moment and that her body language was enough to warn Perkins that Julian Mateos was off limits for him. After this encounter Marisa Mell always thought that Anthony Perkins was gay untill she met him again in Rome on the set of Mahogany. Great was her surprise again, more than ten years later, when the actor showed up with his young wife Berry Berenson, sister of actress Marisa Berenson, mother of his two children.

Marisa Mell as Charlotta Gavina in "Mahogany"

Desperate moments

This is the trailer for the Enzo G. Castellari movie "Desperate moments" with Julian Mateos as a gun man named Quill.

Alex und der Löwe (Teaser)

André Schneider is at the moment hard at work in writing the "Marisa Mell" moviebook but, as many of you loyal readers of the blog know, he is in the first place a talented actor, director, and (play)write! During the past summer he made his latest movie in Berlin (Germany) about love, friendship, seperation and everything in between. The production was not easy but with the endurance of the whole crew the project was on time in the can! The movie is at the moment being cut for its theatrical release this fall in Germany. To wet the appetite, here is another glimpse into the movie with a new teaser!
If you like to read more about the production of this movie one link only:
www.alexundderloewederfilm.wordpress.com

Danger: Diabolik! - Behind the scene

The movie "Danger: Diabolik!" is a fan favorite of many Euro-cult fans all over the world. The movie, directed by Mario Bava, with John Phillip Law as Diabolik and Marisa Mell as Lady Eva Kant is one of those movies with probably the most available press photo's and stills of each and every scene of the film on the memorabilia market. Most remarkable is it on the other hand that behind the scene photo's of the production of the movie are not readily available. They are quite hard to find on original photo stock paper. Therefore fans interested in behind the scene material of the movie have to fall back on other sources like movie and photo magazines of that era. One of such movie magazine was the French magazine "Stop". In issue 70, published in 1968, the magazine had a little article with original less seen behind the scene photo's. One of those photo's depicts the two stars of the movie together with director Mario Bava while giving instructions. Mario Bava hated being photographed when working on a movie. So it is nice to see this staged picture of Maria Mell while taking a sexy pose. Trivia: the handbag of Marisa Mell is her own private handbag!

"Un'Ombra Nell'Ombra" - Clip

As mentioned on September 29th 2009, Italian DVD company MYA will release the movie "Un Ombra Nell'Ombra" during the month of January 2010. Here is a clip of the movie with Marisa Mell! Notice the dramatic acting of both actresses while practising the soap opera gaze! BTW nothing is known about the quality of the transfer or master used for the disc!

A Glamorous Night with Marisa Mell !

At the beginning of her career around 1962-1963, Marisa Mell lived in Vienna (Austria), Biberstrasse 9, where you still had the old grand European style of living like in capitals London and Paris embodied by furs, diamonds, pearls, the chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, nights at the Opera or the Debutante Ball... on the other hand a new younger fashionable modern way of living was also emerging in those capitals embodied by jeans, rock and roll, pop music, mini skirts, the Mini Cooper, recreational drugs, sundrenched hollidays at the Côte d'Azur in France or hot Italian nights in Rome... This picture was a promotional photo financed by herself to send to movie producers and movie production companies showing her in the grand old style covered with a white fur, diamands and pearls. Two years later Marisa Mell would relocate to Rome. Once in that sunny country she would never dress this way again and choose the modern Italian way of living. Nevertheless this glamorous photo shows a very fine Marisa Mell all dressed up for a night at the Opera.