- Liselotte Pulver, Le Joueur, France-Italy, 1958. “Madness,” yelled Paris scenarist Jean Aurenche, “a Russian film without Russians!” Worse. Veteran director Claude Autant-Lara wantedLualdi (Bolognini, Borderie, Chabrol won her) and his producer made do with the Swiss miss. Cheaper, of course. She had not yet begun herHollywood moment.Worse – ”we had a remarkable technical team,” reported her co-star Bernard Blier. “Helas, all the actors were making a different film!”
- Elsa Martinelli, Hatari! 1960. Like the rest of us, Hollywood icon Howard Hawks was dithering over such Italian stunners as Luadli and Claudia Cardinale – when Paramount (or his agent) arranged a preview of Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses. And he fell for Martinelli. “I’m going to invent your role. Now that I’ve met you, you’ll come out much nicer than I planned.” It just so hapened that like TheSilver Fox, she was part of Charles Feldman’s clientele.
- Giovanna Ralli, A Professional Gun, Italy-Spain, 1968. There she was in the line- up when producer Alberto Grimaldi first announced Il mercenary for Peter O’Toole, Burt Lancaster and director Gillo Pontecorvo in 1967. And there she wasn’t when Sergio Corbucci helmed Franco Nero, Jack Palance and La Ralli the following year.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 3