Masquerade: rare behind the scene footage!

Although Marisa Mell was quite a star during the height of her career it is not so often that you can see footage of her with behind the scene material during the production of one of her movies! Luckily there is some material available at the moment and probably at lot more hidden in the vaults of production companies and television stations around the world certainly never to be seen ever again! In this clip you see Marisa Mell during the production of her latest movie "Masquerade" in Britain and Spain together with among others her costar Cliff Robertson. What is interesting is the end of the clip when Marisa Mell talks of her beauty and being a movie sex kitten defending herself that she is first and foremost a trained theater actress! Ironically her beauty and being a sex kitten for so long ruined her career in the end and drove her to poverty after a very expensive jet set lifestyle!
//
Thanks to André Schneider for discovering this little gem! 

Never forgotten!

The Roman Ivy

Rome, Italy, was once in the 50's and 60's together with Paris and London THE hotspot for the movers and shakers in this world. The advantage of Rome above the other cities was her sunny and warm climate almost all year round so people had a very busy day and night life. And Marisa Mell, being an admirer of the sun, enjoyed each and every minute of it while she lived in that town for more than 20 years. 

And just like her American counterpart the restaurant "The Ivy" in Los Angeles where nowadays you can see actors, agents, and all kinds of movie people eat during their luchtime, Rome had also her "ivy" to cater to people working in the movie business, most of all at Cinecitta! And what better way to be seen with your rich lover, in this case Pier Luigi Torri, than dining on a terrace in front of the restaurant.

If you would like to know more about the passionate love story between Marisa Mell and her playboy then you need to read the Marisa Mell book by André Schneider called "Die Feuerblume", available at Amazon in the US, UK and Germany.

Marisa Mell: Die Feuerblume

Virna Lisi: death of a golden haired beauty!

Almost at the end of the year 2014, on December 18th, the Italian, world  and genre cinema has to say goodbye to one of its most prominent members the talented and beautiful actress Virna Lisi, born as Virna Lisa Pieralisi, on November 8th 1936, hence 78 years old, which in my humble opinion is much to young to die. She was often regarded as the Italian Marilyn Monroe. She started her career in 1953 and worked untill her untimely death in cinema and television, winning several national and international movie awards like at the Cannes Film Festival. Virna Lisi worked with all the great directors and actors/actresses of her time during more than 114 movie and television credits.

Fans of Marisa Mell will always remember Virna Lisi in the movie "Casanova 70" with Marcello Mastroianni and "Le Dolce Signore" with Ursulla Andress and Claudine Auger.  

It was only last month that the golden haired actress heared from her doctors that she had an uncurable disease and would not have long to live. Virna Lisi died peacefully today surrounded by her family and friends in Rome, Italy.

Rien ne va plus!

On october 20th 1984, the Casino in Graz (Austria) opened for the first time its doors so who better to invite to do this honor than Graz's most famous daughter actress Marisa Mell to start the roulette with a golden ball and the traditional words: "Rien ne va plus".

// 

Thanks to Jochen Kulmer and André Schneider.