Rosalba Neri (born 19 June 1938) is a retired Italian actress.
Early life
Born in Forlì,
Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Neri was regarded for her beauty even in youth, winning a
beauty pageant when she was still young. Eventually pursuing an acting career, she attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Centre for Experimental Cinematography) in Rome, graduating in 1959.
Enrico Lancia, Roberto Poppi888440214X, Gremese Editore, 2003. 888440214X
She also received an offer to attend the
Actors Studio in the United States, but did not accept.
[ Rosalba Neri - Biography]
Career
She made her film debut in 1958 in the film
Mogli pericolose. She is uncredited in this comedy, which was directed by
Luigi Comencini. Her second film role was in Roberto Rossellini's prize-winning drama
Era notte a Roma in 1960.
Historical roles
In 1960, she appeared in two sword and sandal films set in the Ancient world. The first was
Il Sepolcro dei Re (AKA
Cleopatra's Daughter or
The Tomb of the King). This film tells the story of Nemorat, an Egyptian pharaoh who was instrumental in the creation of the pyramids of
Giza due to the intrigues surrounding his death and entombment.
The second was
Raoul Walsh's
Esther and the King (1960), starring
Joan Collins as the Biblical Jewish Queen. Rosalba played Keresh and was assassinated by someone who mistook her for the Queen. Because of her dark, sultry beauty, Rosalba was often a natural fit to play certain legendary characters.
She was Ramses' intended bride in the Hercules Adventure, Il leone di Tebe (The Lion of Thebes) in 1964. She played Delilah, the Biblical beauty who was the downfall of the Old Testament hero, Samson, in I Grandi Condottieri ( The Great Guides) (1965). She returned to the genre in The Arena (1974).
Although starring roles were few and far between for Neri, she worked steadily throughout the 1960s/70s in supporting and sometimes, nondescript roles, such as her turn as a harem girl in El Cid (1961).
Spy films
Neri had quite a few roles in
Eurospy intrigue films, often playing a less-than-saintly character. She was Faddja in 1965's
Superseven Chiama Cairo (
Superseven Calls on Cairo), one of the dangerous women that the spy, a
James Bond-like character, comes into contact with. Also in 1965, she appeared in
Due Mafiosi contro Goldginger (
Two Mafiosi Against Goldfinger).
In 1967, she was Amalia in (). The same year, she played her first part for Spanish director Jess Franco in a spy film send-up done in comic book style, Lucky, the Inscrutable, starring Ray Danton. In the following year, she appeared in OSS 117 - Double Agent (1968).
Spaghetti Westerns
She followed the trends of European cinema by appearing in several Spaghetti Westerns such as
Johnny Yuma (1966),
Arizona Colt (1966),
Long Days of Hate (1968),
A Long Ride from Hell (1968),
The Reward's Yours... The Man's Mine (1969),
Arizona Colt Returns (1971),
Drummer of Vengeance (1971) and
Man Called Invincible (1973).
Erotic horror films
Neri, the bombshell, was also much in demand for erotic
giallo thrillers,
horror cinema, and sexploitation films. She was in
Jess Franco's box office hit
99 Women (1969), one of the first women in prison films,
and
Top Sensation (
The Seducers) (1969) opposite
Edwige Fenech.
In 1972 she played
Farley Granger's wife in
Amuck!. Granger plays a wealthy author who hires a beautiful secretary (
Barbara Bouchet) and engages in kinky sex games with her and his wife. Also in 1972, Neri played the lead role in the erotic horror flick
.
Bouchet and Neri would team up in 1972 in another movie combining sex with horror, Casa d’appuntamento ( French Sex Murders). A jewel thief is accused of murdering a prostitute but is decapitated in a motorcycle accident prior to the trial. When those involved in the trial start dying off, everyone wonders if the dead man has come back to exact his revenge.
Perhaps Neri's best-known films are from the horror genre. Credited as Sara Bay, she played Tania Frankenstein, the daughter of the monster's creator, in 1971's Lady Frankenstein. Tania was willing to take her father's work to new – and frightening – levels. It is considered a B movie classic.
In 1972, she starred in The Devil's Wedding Night as Lady Dracula, a vampire who uses Dracula's ring to lure young virgins to her home so she can murder them and bathe in their blood (à la the medieval Countess Elizabeth Báthory). In Italy, it was released as Il Plenilunio dell Vergini ( Full Moon of the Virgins).
Retirement
Neri would appear in a few more films, such as:
No Way Out (1973),
Loving Cousins (1974),
Blood River (1974) and
Il pomicione (1976), which is her last credited film. In 1985, she appeared in the Italian miniseries
Olga e I suoi figli (
Olga and her children).
Selected filmography
-
Escape by Night (1960)
-
Esther and the King (1960)
-
Those Two in the Legion (1962)
-
Cleopatra's Daughter (1962)
-
Hercules vs. Moloch (1963)
-
Hercules and the Black Pirates (1964)
-
The Lion of Thebes (1964)
-
Corpse for the Lady (1964)
-
Desert Raiders (1964)
-
3 Avengers (1964)
-
I Kill, You Kill (1965)
-
Marvelous Angelique (1965)
-
Super Seven Calling Cairo (1965)
-
Gideon and Samson (1965)
-
Two Mafiosi Against Goldfinger (1965)
-
The Spy with Ten Faces (1966)
-
(1966)
-
Johnny Yuma (1966)
-
Arizona Colt (1966)
-
Lucky, the Inscrutable (1967)
-
Long Days of Hate (1968)
-
A Long Ride from Hell (1968)
-
OSS 117 - Double Agent (1968)
-
99 Women (1969)
-
The Seducers (1969)
-
(1969)
-
The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969)
-
The Reward's Yours... The Man's Mine (1969)
-
Arizona Colt Returns (1970)
-
Slaughter Hotel (1971)
-
Drummer of Vengeance (1971)
-
Lady Frankenstein (1971)
-
(1972)
-
Amuck! (1972)
-
Smile Before Death (1972)
-
French Sex Murders (1972)
-
The Mighty Anselmo and His Squire (1972)
-
Watch Out Gringo! Sabata Will Return (1972) as kidnapped girl
-
The Devil's Wedding Night (1973)
-
No Way Out (1973)
-
Man Called Invincible (1973)
-
The Arena (1974)
-
High School Girl (1974)
-
Libera, My Love (1975)
External links
