Margaret Lee (born Margaret Gwendolyn Box; 4 August 1943) is a British actress who was a popular leading lady in Italian films in the 1960s and 1970s. She is the mother of production manager/producer Roberto Malerba (from her marriage to Gino Malerba) and production coordinator Damian Anderson.

Early career

Lee was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, England, but raised in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, she was educated at the Italia Conti Theatre School in London; graduating in 1960. She moved to Rome shortly afterwards to pursue a career in films. Her film debut came in the

sword and sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budge ...

adventure '' Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules'' (1962), where she played the female lead alongside Reg Lewis, but it was a string of popular comedies that initially made Lee a star in Italy. With a blonde, fluffy look modelled after

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, Lee spent the first half of the 1960s appearing in numerous Italian comedies and parodies – several of which starred the popular comedic duo

Franco and Ciccio Franco () and Ciccio () were a comic comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theater field, and end ...

. Few of these films received much, if any, distribution in English-speaking territories but they were highly successful in Italy, and made Lee a well-known film actress.

Eurospy films

Around the mid 1960s, Lee moved away from comedies and started appearing in a long line of

Eurospy films Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James Bo ...

, where she was frequently cast as sexy femme fatales. Her appearance also changed as she dropped the blonde

-inspired look and became a brunette instead. Some of the most famous Eurospy films Lee starred in were '' Our Agent Tiger'' (1965) by Claude Chabrol, '' Agent 077: From the Orient with Fury'' (1965) by

Sergio Grieco Sergio Grieco (13 January 1917 – 30 March 1982) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Biography Sergio's father was the Italian Communist Ruggero Grieco. Grieco first started in film in the Soviet Union in 1931, working as an ass ...

and ''

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die ''Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die'' (Italian: ''Se tutte le donne del mondo... (Operazione Paradiso)'') is a James Bond spoof film released in 1966 as an Italian-American co-production between Dino De Laurentiis' Cinematografica and Columbia Pic ...

'' (1966) by Henry Levin.

International career

Lee's beauty and talent also caught the eye of international film producer

Harry Alan Towers Harry Alan Towers (19 October 1920 – 31 July 2009) was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 f ...

, who gave Lee wider international recognition by casting her in prominent roles in several of his all-star cast productions; starting with the British thriller '' Circus of Fear'' (1966), directed by

John Llewellyn Moxey John Llewellyn Moxey (26 February 1925 – 29 April 2019) was an Argentinian-born British film and television director. He was known for directing the horror film '' The City of the Dead'' (also known as ''Horror Hotel'', 1960) and directing epi ...

. Towers also cast Lee in the spy-comedy ''

Our Man in Marrakesh ''Our Man in Marrakesh'' (released in North America as ''Bang! Bang! You're Dead!'') is a 1966 British comedy spy film shot in Morocco produced and co-written by Harry Alan Towers, directed by Don Sharp and starring Tony Randall, Herbert Lom an ...

'' (1966), directed by

Don Sharp Donald Herman Sharp (19 April 192114 December 2011) was an Australian film director. His best known films were made for Hammer in the 1960s, and included ''The Kiss of the Vampire'' (1963) and ''Rasputin, the Mad Monk'' (1966). In 1965 he dire ...

; the action film ''

Five Golden Dragons ''Five Golden Dragons'' is a 1967 international co-production comedy action film set in Hong Kong and photographed in Techniscope on location in September 1966 at the Tiger Balm Pagoda and Shaw Brothers studios. It was directed by Jeremy Summe ...

'' (1967), directed by

Jeremy Summers Jeremy Summers (18 August 1931 – 14 December 2016) was a British television director and film director, known for his directorship of ITC such as '' The Saint''. Background Born in St Albans in 1931, Summers was born into a family of theatric ...

; the thrillers ''

Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...

'' (1969) and ''

The Bloody Judge George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, PC (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving as ...

'' (1970), both directed by

Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directed, produced, act ...

; and finally in ''

Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

'' (1970), directed by

Massimo Dallamano Massimo Dallamano (17 April 1917 – 4 November 1976), sometimes credited as Max Dillman, Max Dillmann or Jack Dalmas, was an Italian director and director of photography. Life and career Born in Milan, Dallamano began in the 1940s as camera ...

. Lee's co-star in '' Circus of Fear'', ''

'', ''

Coplan Saves His Skin ''Coplan Saves His Skin'' (french: Coplan sauve sa peau, it, L'assassino ha le ore contate) is a 1968 French-Italian Francis Coplan Eurospy film directed by Yves Boisset (at his directorial debut) and starring Claudio Brook.Marco Giusti. ''0 ...

'' and ''

'' was the renowned German actor Klaus Kinski (who was also a regular in Harry Alan Towers productions). The pairing of Lee and Kinski would prove to be very popular among cinema-goers – especially in Italy – so they would continue to act together until the early 1970s; appearing in a total of 12 films together. Outside of her work for Towers, Lee didn't appear in any further international films but in 1972 she guest starred in the British TV series ''

The Protectors ''The Protectors'' is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series to exclusively use live actors as opposed to marionettes (following ''UFO''), and his second to be firmly set in ...

'', in the episode "The Numbers Game".

Television

Raffaele Pisu, Provolino and Margaret Lee

Margaret Lee was also popular on Italian television in the 1960s; appearing as a

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

alongside the famous singer

Johnny Dorelli Johnny Dorelli (real name Giorgio Guidi; born 20 February 1937) is an Italian actor, singer and television host. Early life Dorelli was born in Meda, Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York City with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio ...

. Lee also starred with Dorelli in his film debut ''Arriva Dorellik'', also known as '' How to Kill 400 Duponts'' (1967). Lee also starred as

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

in the Italian TV special ''Il Cenerentola'' in 1969.

Later career

By the early 1970s, Lee's movie career had descended further and further into

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

; culminating in Fernando Di Leo's extremely sleazy and violent thriller '' Slaughter Hotel'' (1971). She would eventually disappear from the Italian movie scene in 1974, and return to England. Lee returned to Italy in 1981, however, and made a minor movie comeback in

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...

's comedy '' Sesso e volentieri'' (1982), which reunited her with her old co-star Johnny Dorelli. But Lee's comeback was to be a short one as she only appeared in one further film, the very obscure crime-comedy ''Neapolitan Sting'' (1983), before retiring from movies altogether and moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Filmography

* '' Maciste contro i mostri'' ( ''Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules'', 1962) * ''I tre nemici'' (1962) * ''Due samurai per cento geishe'' (1962) * ''Totò di notte n. 1'' (1962) * '' Cleopatra'' (1963) – uncredited bit part role * ''Avventura al motel'' (1963) * ''La ballata dei mariti'' (1963) * '' Gli imbroglioni'' ( ''The Swindlers'', 1963) dir. by

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he ga ...

* '' Sansone contro i pirati'' ( ''Samson Against the Pirates'', 1963) * ''Siamo tutti pomicioni'' (1963) * ''I quattro tassisti'' (1963) * ''Vino whisky e acqua salata'' ( ''Wine, Whiskey and Salt Water'', 1963) * ''Via Veneto'' (1963) * ''Adolescenti al sole'' (1964) * ''Due mattacchioni al Moulin Rouge'' (1964) * ''

I due pericoli pubblici ''I due pericoli pubblici'' (lit. ''The two public enemies'') is a 1964 black-and-white Italian comedy film directed by Lucio Fulci starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. Plot Franco and Ciccio Introlia are two scammers. One day they disguise ...

'' ( ''Two Public Enemies'', 1964) * ''In ginocchio da te'' (1964) * ''I maniaci'' ( ''The Maniacs'', 1964) dir. by

* ''I marziani hanno dodici mani'' ( ''The Twelve-Handed Men of Mars'', 1964) * ''Un mostro e mezzo'' (1964) * ''La vedovella'' (1964) * '' Agente 077 dall'oriente con furore'' ( ''Agent 077: From the Orient with Fury'', 1965) * ''

Casanova 70 ''Casanova 70'' is a 1965 Italian comedy film produced by Carlo Ponti, directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Marcello Mastroianni, Virna Lisi, Enrico Maria Salerno and Michèle Mercier. Plot NATO officer Andrea Rossi-Colombotti is a ladies ...

'' (1965) * '' I due sergenti del generale Custer'' ( ''Two Sergeants of General Custer'', 1965) * '' Io uccido, tu uccidi'' ( ''I Kill, You Kill'', 1965) * '' Letti sbagliati'' (1965) * ''Le lit à deux places'' ( ''The Double Bed'', 1965) * ''Il morbidone'' ( ''The Dreamer'', 1965) * ''On a volé la Joconde'' (1965) * '' Questa volta parliamo di uomini'' ( ''Let's Talk About Men'', 1965) * '' Questo pazzo, pazzo mondo della canzone'' (1965) * ''

Lo scippo ''Lo scippo (the snatching)'' is a 1965 Italian film. It marked the directorial debut of Nando Cicero. Plot Speranza, a female company cashier, organizes with two young men with a motorcycle a snatching for stage a steal with money of customer ...

'' (1965) * ''La ragazzola'' (1965) * '' Le tigre se parfume à la dynamite'' ( ''Our Agent Tiger'', 1965) * '' Le carnaval des barbouzes'' ( ''Killer's Carnival'', 1966) * '' Circus of Fear'' (1966) starring Christopher Lee * ''Djurado'' ( ''Johnny Golden Poker'', 1966) * '' Il ladro della Gioconda'' ( ''The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen'', 1966) * '' New York chiama Superdrago'' ( ''Secret Agent Super Dragon'', 1966) * ''

'' (1966) * '' Se tutte le donne del mondo'' ( ''Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die'', 1966) * ''Tre notti violente'' ( ''Web of Violence'', 1966) * '' Arrriva Dorellik'' ( ''How to Kill 400 Duponts'', 1967) * '' Colpo maestro al servizio di Sua Maestà britannica'' ( ''Master Stroke'', 1967) * ''Le Tigre sort sans sa mère'' ( ''Da Berlino l'apocalisse'' and ''Spy Fit'', 1967) * ''Dick Smart 2007'' (1967) * ''

'' (1967) * ''Franco, Ciccio e le vedove allegre'' ( ''Franco, Ciccio and the Cheerful Widows'', 1967) * '' Action Man'' (1967) * '' Le soleil des voyous'' (1967) * '' Banditi a Milano'' ( ''Bandits in Milan'', 1968) * ''

The Cats ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' ( ''I bastardi'', 1968) * '' Coplan sauve sa peau'' ( ''Coplan Saves His Skin'', 1968) * '' Pas de roses pour OSS 117'' ( ''OSS 117 – Double Agent'', 1968) * '' Questi fantasmi'' ( ''Ghosts – Italian Style'', 1968) * '' Cry Chicago'' ( ''¡Viva América!'' or ''Mafia Mob'', 1969) * '' 5 per l'inferno'' ( ''Five for Hell'', 1969) * '' A doppia faccia'' ( ''Double Face'', 1969) starring Klaus Kinski * ''Il Cenerentola'' (1969) – TV special * '' House of Pleasure'' (1969) * ''Sai cosa faceva Stalin alle donne?'' ( ''What Did Stalin Do to Women?'', 1969) * ''Un sudario a la medida'' ( ''A Candidate for a Killing'', 1969) * ''

'' (1969) * '' Appuntamento col disonore'' ( ''Rendezvous with Dishonour'', 1970) * ''

'' (1970) * ''

'' (1970) * ''Bano de sangre'' ( ''Blood Bath'') – unreleased * ''Le belve'' (1971) * '' La bestia uccide a sangue freddo'' ( ''Slaughter Hotel'', 1971) * ''Nokaut'' ( ''The Rogue'', 1971) * ''Papesatan, papesatan aleppe'' (1973) * '' Gli assassini sono nostri ospiti'' ( ''The Killers Are Our Guests'', 1974) * ''La sensualità è un attimo di vita'' (1974) * '' Sesso e volentieri'' (1982) * ''Stangata napoletana'' ( ''Neapolitan Sting'', 1983)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Margaret 1943 births Living people Actors from Wolverhampton English film actresses Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts