Marie Devereux (27 November 194030 December 2019) was a British model and film actress. She was born Patricia Sutcliffe on 27 November 1940 in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmont ...

. Marie Devereux became a regular and very popular nude model in magazines during the 1950s. She was photographed by

George Harrison Marks George Harrison Marks (6 August 1926 – 27 June 1997) was an English glamour photographer and director of nudist, and later, pornographic films. Personal life Born in Tottenham, Middlesex in 1926, Marks was 17 when he married his first wife ...

. She had a brief career in cinema, starting in late 1950s usually as a sexy girl in comedies, dramas and horror films, but under the direction of distinguished filmmakers. After appearing in

Terence Young Terence or Terry Young may refer to: *Terence Young (director) (1915–1994), British film director * Terence Young (politician) (born 1952), Canadian Conservative Party politician * Terence Young (writer), Canadian writer * Terry Young (American p ...

’s "

Serious Charge ''Serious Charge'' (also known in US release as ''A Touch of Hell'') is a 1959 British film, directed by Terence Young, produced and co-written by Mickey Delamar (with Guy Elmes). It was adapted from a stage play written by Philip King. The fi ...

" and

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

's " Surprise Package", Devereux was seen to good advantage in three

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

: first, for genre master

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, ...

, she played a follower of goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

in “

The Stranglers of Bombay ''The Stranglers of Bombay'' is a 1959 British adventure horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films dealing with the British East India Company's investigation of the cult of Thuggee stranglers in the 1830s. The film stars Guy Rolf ...

” (1959), and was one of "

The Brides of Dracula ''The Brides of Dracula'' is a 1960 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, David Peel, Freda Jackson, Yvonne Monlaur, Andrée Melly, and Martita Hunt. ...

" (1960); followed in 1962 by

John Gilling John Gilling (29 May 1912 – 22 November 1984) was an English film director and screenwriter, born in London. He was known for his horror movies, especially those he made for Hammer Films, for whom he directed ''The Shadow of the Cat'' (1961) ...

's "

The Pirates of Blood River ''The Pirates of Blood River'' is a 1962 British adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed. Plot While in a penal colony, Huguenot Jonathan Standing (Kerwin Mathews) is ...

", in which she played a married woman who is having an affair with a sailor, played by

Kerwin Mathews Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' (1958), ''The Three Worlds of Gulliver'' (1960) and ''Jack the Giant Killer'' (1962). Early life ...

. She was also in Guy Green's praised drama " The Mark" (1961), and then travelled to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to work as Elizabeth Taylor's stand-in in '' Cleopatra'' (1963), directed by

Joseph L. Mankiewicz Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best A ...

. Devereux went to Hollywood after the production closed in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and appeared in Samuel Fuller's cult melodramas " Shock Corridor" (1963) and most notably in "

The Naked Kiss ''The Naked Kiss'' is a 1964 American neo-noir melodrama film, written and directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante, and Virginia Grey. The film follows a former prostitute who attempts to assimil ...

" (1964), in which she had a sizeable supporting role. After ''

'' in 1964, she retired from acting, to get married and raise a family. Devereux died in

Meridian, Idaho Meridian is a city located in Ada County in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population of Meridian was 117,635, making it the second largest city in Idaho after Boise. Meridian is considered the state's fastest-growing city ...

, United States on 30 December 2019.

Selected filmography

*''

The Woman Eater ''The Woman Eater'' (also known as ''Womaneater'' on its original UK release) is a low budget 1958 British horror film directed by Charles Saunders and starring George Coulouris and Vera Day.John Hamilton, ''The British Independent Horror Film ...

'' (1958) *'' Grip of the Strangler'' (1958) *''

I Only Arsked! ''I Only Arsked!'' is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Bernard Bresslaw, Michael Medwin and Alfie Bass. It was based on the television series '' The Army Game'' and was made by Hammer Films. Plot Slapstick e ...

'' (1958) *''

'' (1959) *''

'' (1959) *'' The Treasure of San Teresa'' (1959) *'' Surprise Package'' (1960) *''

'' (1960) *'' His and Hers'' (1961) *''

Dentist on the Job ''Dentist on the Job'' is a 1961 British comedy film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards, the sequel to ''Dentist in the Chair'' (1960). It was released in the US with the title ''Get On with It!''. The film was co-written by Hugh Woodhouse ...

'' (1961) *''

The Singer Not the Song ''The Singer Not the Song'' is a 1961 British drama film based on the 1953 novel of the same title by Audrey Erskine Lindop that was directed by Roy Ward Baker and filmed in Spain. It stars Dirk Bogarde, John Mills, and Mylène Demongeot. Pl ...

'' (1961) *'' The Mark'' (1961) *''

Only Two Can Play ''Only Two Can Play'' is a 1962 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers, based on the 1955 novel '' That Uncertain Feeling'' by Kingsley Amis. Sidney Gilliat directed the film from a screenplay by Bryan Forbes. The film is set in the fiction ...

'' (1962) *''

'' (1962) *'' Cleopatra'' (1963) *'' Shock Corridor'' (1963) *''

'' (1964)

References

External links

* 1940 births British female models British actresses 2019 deaths {{UK-actor-stub