Take My Breath Away!

"Time to say goodbye, Darling!"

Before the "it"-boys and girls on the internet, movie star Marisa Mell and her long time lover and professional playboy Pier Luigi Torri, were for years the center of high society and paparazzi Rome, mingling with everybody living in the Holy City, like other movie stars, artists, politicians, clergy, and ... criminals. And when you own, one of the most famous night venues in Rome, like Torri did with his bar and night club "Number One", it does not take long to draw the attention from the authorities into your wheeling and dealings. For an in depth account of these tumultuous years for both of them I refer to a previous entry on this blog "The Number One Couple".  To escape conviction and long prison time Pier Luigi Torri fled Italy in 1971 in a much publicized endeavor. On August 17th 1972, the playboy was finally arrested in Munich, Germany, by the police and handed over to the Italian authorities. The above picture of the famous couple is regarded as their last picture together, both looking very stressed, knowing that time is running out. Several days later Torri fled Italy leaving Marisa Mell behind. Their relationship was over! They would never form a couple again.

Perversione!

At the beginning of the 1970's, Marisa Mell was at the peak of her movie career in Italy and around the world, especially in Latino countries and the French speaking region of Europe and Canada. In a span of only several years during that period, she made around twenty movies, as a leading actress, or more than often in a supporting role, which the Italian movie industry called "con la participatione di Marisa Mell". Most of those movies are now long forgotten but some of them have reached cult status, especially the movies she made for the Spanish movie production company "Emaus". Those movies were "Pena de Muerte", "Infamia" and "La Encadenada".  La Encadenada, also known in English as "Diary of an Erotic Murderess", sigh, is regarded by a lot of Marisa Mell fans as part of her top three best movies, next to "Danger: Diabolik!" by Mario Bava and "Una Sull'Altra" by Lucio Fulci. The Italian coproducer "Metheus Films" gave the movie the Italian title "Perversione" for a first time screening during the month of May 1975. To promote this movie the Italians created some of the best lobby cards or "fotobusti" ever made for a Marisa Mell movie. Almost all of these lobby cards have Marisa Mell  in a very prominent position from a movie scene, together with a little frame with another scene of the movie. Sadly the movie was not a box office success but, as said, luckily during the passing years became a cult favorite!