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Elsa Martinelli
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From All Movie Guide: The official story was that Italian actress Elsa Martinelli was discovered for movies when Kirk Douglas spotted her on a 1954 magazine cover. Actually, Martinelli had been playing bits in Italian films since 1950, and had been a professional model since her early teens. Her first and only screen appearance while under contract to Douglas' Bryna Productions was The Indian Fighter (1955). The film should have made her a star, but (at least according to Douglas) Martinelli exercised nothing but bad judgment thereafter, taking parts that exploited her physical attributes but allowed her acting skills to atrophy. Finally, Douglas threw in the towel, telling Martinelli that she'd have to pay him to work for Bryna again. With such notable exceptions as Orson Welles' The Trial, Martinelli never had a part as good as her Native American heroine in Indian Fighter.
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Synopsis: Donatela (Elsa Martinelli) is a poor girl who works as personal secretary to wealthy Guido (Walter Chiari). When Donatela's boss is visited by lawyer Maurizio (Gabriele Ferzetti), he mistakenly believes that she, too, is rich--and automatically falls in love with her. Maurizio's attentions promptRead More
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Elsa Martinelli plays a resident of a seaside village who falls in love with rootless stranger Antonio Ciffariello. The stranger soon learns that he'll have to fight over Elsa's affections with hotheaded villager Luis Pena. Meanwhile, a fisherman who illegally uses dynamite nearly causes tragedy to the entire community. How these two plot strands are woven together is the dramatic crux of the film's final reel.
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Elsa Martinelli arbeitete zunächst als Verkäuferin und Bardame. Sie wurde 1953 von dem italienischen Designer Roberto Capucci entdeckt und wirkte dann als Fotomodell und Mannequin. Kirk Douglas brachte sie schließlich zum Film. 1954 spielte sie in Zwischen zwei Feuern (The Indian Fighter). Bei den Internationalen Filmfestspielen Berlin 1956 erhielt sie den Darstellerpreis für Donatella in Junge Liebe in Rom.
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Belle Starr (Elsa Martinelli) became a Wild West legend as a result of an abusive childhood. Swearing not to let a man domineer over her again, Starr becomes known for her fast draw, hard drinking, smoking, gambling and pants wearing. Starr seemed to be what she always wanted to be until she runs into Larry Blackie (George Eastman), a man who seems to be her equal in everything and whom she falls in love with.
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The name Elsa appears in the Atrhurian legend. According to the legend, Elsa is the daughter of the duke of Brabant. When her father dies leaving no male heir, Elsa fears the kingdom will be lost. Loherangrin (a knight of the Holy Grail and a son of Percival) arrives in a boat pulled by a swan and offers to defend her, though he warns her she must never ask his name. He weds the duchess and serves Brabant for years, but one day Elsa asks the forbidden question. Loherangrin explains his origin and steps back onto his swan boat, never to return.
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Elsa Martinelli