Jump to content

Belinda Lee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For a Singaporean host and actress of the same name, seeBelinda Lee (host).

Belinda Lee
Belinda Lee inLong Night in 1943(1960)
Born(1935-06-15)15 June 1935
Budleigh Salterton,Devon,England
Died12 March 1961(1961-03-12)(aged 25)
San Bernardino, California,U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1954–1961
Spouse
​
​
(m.1954;div.1959)​

Belinda Lee(15 June 1935 – 12 March 1961) was an English actress.

A profile for theBritish Film Institute'sScreenonlinewebsite asserts: "of all theRank Organisation's starlets, Belinda Lee stands out as the most notorious, yet paradoxically anonymous, British actress of the 1950s. "[1]

Often cast in demure roles in her early career, she was able to demonstrate her dramatic abilities, but she found more constant employment when she began to play "sexpot" roles. Typecast as one of several "sexy blondes", she was often compared, unfavourably, to the popularDiana Dors.Typical of these roles was a supporting part in theBenny HillfilmWho Done It?(1956).

Early life and career

[edit]

Lee was born inBudleigh Salterton,Devon,England,to Robert Lee, a formerBritish Armycaptainand owner of the Rosemullion Hotel, and Stella Mary Graham, a florist. She studied at St. Margaret's, a boarding school inExeterin Devon, and then at the Tudor Arts Academy inSurrey.She was a self-described "spoiled only child" who wanted to be an actress from the age of nine.[2]

Lee joined the Nottingham Playhouse repertory company for a year, then won a scholarship to theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art(RADA) inBloomsburyin London. In 1953, Lee made her stage debut in a production ofPoint of Departure.[citation needed]

Early film roles

[edit]

While at RADA, she was seen in a production ofLady Windermere's Fanand recommended toVal Guest,who was looking for a girl to play in support of comedianFrankie HowerdinThe Runaway Bus(1954).[3](Eric and Blanche Glass were the ones who spotted her, according to one account.[4]) According toThe New York Times,she was the "seventy-seventh" girl to audition for the role and her casting was announced in September 1953.[5]Lee played a dumb blonde and later said "I really was dumb too – didn't know where the camera was half the time."[6]

For a time she shared a flat withAnna Kashfi.Guest arranged to have publicity photographs forThe Runaway Bustaken by Rank's still photographer Cornel Lucas, who Lee would marry in June 1954.[7]

She had another small part inMeet Mr. Callaghan(1954), a B-picture crime drama for directorCharles Saundersat Eros. Then Guest used her a second time in a small role inLife with the Lyons(1954), forHammer Films.Filminksaid the latter contained one of her broadest performances.[7]

Lee was cast as a lead in only her fourth film, Hammer Pictures'Murder by Proxy(1954), withDane Clark,shot in late 1953, and released in the US byLippert Pictures.[8][9][10]She had an eye-catching role inThe Belles of St. Trinian's(1954), a hugely popular comedy fromFrank Launder,at British Lion, where she seduced a jockey (Michael Ripper), in order to get information.[7]

In December 1954, Lee was cast as the second female lead in a thrillerFootsteps in the Fog(1955), supportingStewart GrangerandJean Simmons,directed byArthur Lubinfor Columbia.[11]

The Rank Organisation

[edit]

In 1955 Lee signed a contract withThe Rank Organisation– she was under 21 so her husband had to sign it.[2]Rank put her in a comedyMan of the Moment(1955), withNorman Wisdom,the biggest comedy star in British cinema at the time. She then madeNo Smoking(1955), for Tempean Films, withReg Dixon.[7]

Stardom

[edit]

Rank cast Lee as a nurse in a medical dramaThe Feminine Touch(1956), produced through Ealing under the direction of Pat Jackson, shot in mid 1955.[12]After a week at the Venice Film Festival she went straight in to a comedy,Who Done It?(1956), for Ealing, where she was the leading lady toBenny Hill.[6]During the filming of this she said she would prefer to be in romantic parts likeFootsteps in the Fog.[13]These two films were among the last made atEaling Studios.[citation needed]

Lee was a nurse again in a thriller with Donald Sinden,Eyewitness(1956), directed byMuriel Boxfor Rank. Lee replacedDiana DorsinThe Big MoneywithIan Carmichael,a film shot in April 1956 but which SirJohn Davisof Rank disliked so much they delayed showing it for two years.[14]

By June 1956 she had made nine films, six of which were for Rank. She said being a film star was "really 90 percent luck and only 10 percent ability" and accredited her success to "being at the right place at the right time."[2]

In June 1956 she played Rosalind in a production ofAs You Like Itin an open-air theatre at Regent's Park.[15]The same month she said "I want people to think of me as a serious actress and not just a glamour girl... It's rather hard to go from the films to Shakespeare on stage – it is easier the other way around. I left myself wide open for criticism." Reviews for her performance were mixed, but she received some positive notices.[16]TheSpectatorsaid "she combines eloquence of voice and gesture with a pleasantly un-leading-lady-like approach."[17]TheTelegraphsaid "I don't suppose there has ever been a more high speed Rosalind in the history of the play... her gaety and vitality are spontaneous and charming. But all the time she was in her boy's disguise I kept thinking what a good Peter Pan she would make."[18]TheFinancial Timescalled her "brown as a nut, fresh as a daisy and pretty as a buttercup" saying she "made a spirited alfresco Rosalind even if a little too much on the cute side."[19]

During the play's run she said "my ambition is to make a great film. I am trying to break away from glamour parts. I love comedy but I don't want any more films with custard pies. And I don't want to stooge for comedians again."[20]In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced her as one of the actors under contract that Davis thought would become an international star.[21]

Lee was top billed in a crime dramaThe Secret Place(1957), directed byClive Donner;she also had the female lead inMiracle in Soho(1957) withJohn Gregson,filmed in early 1957, and in the period dramaDangerous Exile(1957), oppositeLouis Jourdan;during the filming of the latter she was injured when her hair caught fire.[22]Miracle in Sohowas a flop but British exhibitors voted her the 10th-most popular British film star at the box office in 1957 (ranked in front of her wereDirk Bogarde,Kenneth More,Peter Finch,John Gregson,Norman Wisdom,John Mills,Stanley Baker,Ian CarmichaelandJack Hawkins– Lee was the only woman on the list).[23]

Italy

[edit]

Towards the end of 1957 Lee went toItalyto play a model in the Ancient World inThe Goddess of Love(1957). During the course of the shoot she had a highly publicised romance with a marriednoble,PrinceFilippo Orsini, head of theOrsini family.This resulted in Lee leaving her husband Lucas in September.[24]In October 1957, Lee told the press "I had a strict and very ladylike upbringing. When I went to Rome it was the first time I had been abroad on my own. It was marvelous. I even learned to swear."[25]

Lee returned to Rank to makeNor the Moon by Night(1957), which was shot in London and on location in theUnion of South Africa.During the shoot she told a reporter she liked to play "passionate exotic parts. I don't want to be the girl next door or somebody's sister. I don't really like being a simple outdoor girl either- good at heart, even when she's swept off her feet."[26]

Suicide attempt

[edit]

During filming, Lee went to Italy to visit Prince Orsini, her married lover. Italian newspapers reported that Lee had taken an overdose of sleeping pills. Three days later, Orsini, aPapal prince,was reported to have been hospitalised after slashing his wrists. Police refused to comment on the newspaper reports linking the two romantically. Prince Orsini, whose injuries were minor, refused to tell the police why he had done it. Lee said that she had been suffering frominsomniaand had taken an overdose by mistake. Both were married to others at the time. TheVaticansaid that Orsini would lose his title if it were proven that he had attempted suicide, and the elderlyPope Pius XIIremoved Orsini and theOrsini familyfrom their hereditary position ofPrince Assistant to the Papal Throne.[27][28]The Pope also made a speech condemning suicide, which was thought to be a reference to the Orsini–Lee scandal, although neither were named.[29]

Lee was smuggled out of Rome to return toSouth Africain February to completeNor the Moon by Night.[30](Questions were asked in theParliament of South Africaabout whether Lee was given special treatment to enter the country, as a customs and immigration officer met her on the plane atJohannesburgairport so she could avoid the press. She transferred to a plane toDurban,stayed in the crew cabin and was allowed to disembark later.[31]) "I regret any harm I have done to anyone in Italy", she said.[32]

According toFilminkin 2020, "Rank seemed unsure what to do with Lee. A well-publicised adulterous affair can increase an actor's popularity – as Elizabeth Taylor would soon prove when she" stole "Eddie Fisher off Debbie Reynolds. However, in the British film industry of the 1950s, which liked its women sensible and/or straight bananas, it seemed to scare producers."[7]

In July 1958, she was announced forLove is My Businesswith Raymond Pelligin, directed by Ralph Habib.[33]It was never made but while still under contract to Rank, Lee went to France to play the female lead inThis Desired Body(1959), a romantic melodrama. TheMonthly Film Bulletinlater said "Lee gives an uninhibited but sympathetic performance in a part she was to make her own, the prostitute reformed."[34]Also in France she didLes Dragueurs(1959) starringCharles Aznavour,later released in the US asThe Chasers.[citation needed]

In October 1958, Rank announced they would not pick up its option on Lee's contract at the end of the year, the same day they announced they would not pick up the contracts forPatrick McGoohan.(Afortnightearlier, they made a similar announcement forRonald Lewis.) "We cannot be certain of parts in the immediate future for these two artists", said a Rank spokesperson. "But that does not mean that they would not be very welcome if any suitable parts did arise. Miss Lee has often said she would rather not work in this country."[35]The spokesman added "the dropping of Miss Lee's contract has no connection with events earlier in the year." Lee, then in France making a movie, said "I had an idea that something of the sort was likely...Naturally, I am not pleased but neither am I too disturbed." Rank had cut its contract list to 23, when it had been 100 a few years previously.[36]"This will give me more time to make pictures in Italy and France", she added.[37]She relocated to theContinentand Rank subsequently put its efforts into promotingAnne Heywood.[38]The month before, John Davis of Rank had said "Young artists today won't work. They are given a big build-up by the press and it goes to their heads. We get others who say 'We don't want to leave Britain for a year'. They lose all sense of proportion."[39]

In December 1958 it was reported that Lee and Prince Orsini had moved in together in Paris.[40]

European star

[edit]

Lee's first film post-Rank wasThe Nights of Lucretia Borgia(1959), shot in Italy, playing the title role. In early 1959 she madeThe Magliari(1959), an Italian film shot in Germany directed byFrancesco Rosi.[41]She stayed in Germany to make a local movie,Love Now, Pay Later(1959), playingRosemarie Nitribitt,a prostitute who was murdered.[citation needed]

In June 1959 she said "Now all the time I make films One after the other. It won't last but now I am in demand. I might as well cash in on it. For the first time I make money. Always am I asked now to play wicked women... On the Continent I'm thought of always in connection with parts like that. Bit of a change from the old Rank Orgy. But I'm not ambitions anymore. I don't care any more to be a big star. I used to be so ambitious – now it means nothing to me. Now I just wanted to make some money. So I can live the way I want to."[42]

In August 1959 Lee was inMarie of the Isles(1959), a French-Italian adventure tale where she played the real lifeMarie Bonnard du Parquet.This was followed byVacations in Majorca(1959), an Italian comedy andMessalina(1960), an Italian Ancient history epic where Lee played thetitle role,shot in late 1959. In December she was in Munich to filmSatan Tempts with Love(1960) when she announced her relationship with Orsini was over.[43]Orsini later wrote that when Lee went to Germany to make a movie "she felt would be important to her career" he refused to go, which ended their relationship.[44]

Lee went back to Italy to makeLong Night in 1943(1960), a critically acclaimed war drama, and had a cameo inLove, the Italian Way(1960), a comedy with Walter Chiari, shot in mid 1960.[45]In May 1960, she said "all they wanted when I was filming in England were dewey-eyed little innocents and sexy big-bosomed blondes and I didn't think I fitted either bill."[46]

She appeared oppositeCornel WildeinConstantine and the Cross(1961), playingFausta,and had leading roles inBlood Feud(1961) andGhosts of Rome(1961), the latter withMarcello Mastroianni.

Lee's last film was the Biblical epicThe Story of Joseph and His Brethren(1961). An article after her death said Lee made £150,000 from her European films.[4]

In December 1960, Lee announced her engagement to filmmakerGualtiero Jacopetti.Shortly afterwards, he was charged with molesting three girls under eleven years of age inHong Kong.He had also once been married to a thirteen-year-old who had accused him of rape, and was waiting for his divorce from her.[47]She took several months off to accompany Jacopetti around the world to shoot footage for a documentary. "When she loved a man she loved him completely", said one friend.[4]

Death

[edit]

On 12 March 1961, Belinda Lee died in a car crash nearSan Bernardino, California,on her way to Los Angeles fromLas Vegas,onHighway 91,nine miles east ofBaker, California.She was a passenger in a car going 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) when a tyre blew, causing the car to skid. Lee was thrown from the car and found lying 63 feet (19 m) away and was pronounced dead at Barstow Community Hospital.[48]Three Italian men with her in the car were injured.[49][50]

Her ashes are interred in the Non-Catholic Cemetery (Cimitero acattolico) in Rome, Italy.[51]

After her death at age 25, theMonthly Film Bulletincalled her "an actress who will now always be remembered with affection as a star in theCrawfordandMercouriclass. "[52]

She left the bulk of her estate – thought to be £20,000 – to the Rome Centre of Experimental Cinematography to be used for establishing scholarships for promising students of the Motion Film Academy of Rome.[53]

Legacy

[edit]

The 1963 semi-documentary Italian filmThe Women of the Worldwas dedicated to Lee with a written announcement at the start of the film (which interrupts the title music): "To Belinda Lee, who throughout this long journey accompanied and helped us with love."[54]

The Daily Telegraphwrote an obituary which said "She was considered at one time to be a potential star of international status. Although she continued to play leading roles she did not fulfil her earlier promise. Her career was hampered by a stormy private life which led to unfavourable publicity."[55]

The Daily Mail,reviewingJosephin 1964, said "we come away sadly reflecting that properly handled, which she so rarely was, Belinda Lee might have been groomed into some kind of English Loren."[56]

Selected filmography

[edit]
Grave of Belinda Lee at theCimitero acattolicoin Rome

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Lee, Belinda (1935–1961)".BFI Screenonline.2003–14.Retrieved30 May2020.
  2. ^abcHack, Sylvia (2 June 1956)."Belinda Lee, Not 21, But Has Completed 9th Film".Star Phoenix.p. 4.
  3. ^"The Life Story of BELINDA LEE".Picture Show.Vol. 66, no. 1728. London. 12 May 1956. p. 12.
  4. ^abcNorman, Barry (15 March 1961). "The Girl a Camera Made".Daily Mail (London, England).p. 3.
  5. ^Watts, Stephen (21 June 1953)."Motion Picture Activities Along the Thames – Peter Brook Clicks As a Movie Director With 'Beggar's Opera' – Other Matters".The New York Times.p. X5.Retrieved12 June2020.
  6. ^abWilson, Cecil (6 September 1955). "Meet the Belle with Biceps".Daily Mail (London, England).p. 6.
  7. ^abcdeVagg, Stephen (7 September 2020)."A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee".Filmink.
  8. ^Nepean, Edith (2 January 1954). "Round the British Studios".Picture Show.Vol. 62, no. 1605. London. p. 11.
  9. ^"Hospital Story Has Them in Stitches".The Mail.Vol. 43, no. 2, 185. Adelaide. 24 April 1954. p. 6 (Sunday Magazine).Retrieved20 July2017.
  10. ^"To star in new film".The Daily Telegraph.Vol. XVIII, no. 163. New South Wales, Australia. 29 September 1953. p. 5.Retrieved8 August2020– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^Schallert, Edwin (27 November 1954). "Japan Setting for 'Fire in East'; Australia Due to Double for Old 'West'".Los Angeles Times.p. 13.
  12. ^"Film Fan— Fare".The Australian Women's Weekly.Vol. 24, no. 24. 14 November 1956. p. 35.Retrieved20 July2017.
  13. ^Nepean, Edith (4 February 1956). "Round the British Studios".Picture Show.Vol. 66, no. 1715. London. p. 11.
  14. ^"Star Dust".The Mirror.Vol. 37, no. 1836. Western Australia. 4 August 1956. p. 12.Retrieved20 July2017.
  15. ^"Mirror World Pictures".The Mirror.Vol. 37, no. 1829. Western Australia. 16 June 1956. p. 11.Retrieved8 August2020– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^Lewis, Peter (5 June 1956)."Wants Acting, Not Curves Reviewed".Boston Globe.
  17. ^A. V. C. (8 June 1956). "AS YOU LIKE IT. By William Shakespeare (Book Review)".The Spectator.Vol. 196, no. 6676. London. p. 796.
  18. ^W. A. Darlington (29 May 1956). "Belinda Lee a Peter Pan-Ish Rosalind".The Daily Telegraph.No. 31453. London, England. p. 8.
  19. ^Derek Granger (30 May 1956). "As You like It".Financial Times.p. 2.
  20. ^Edward Coring; Belinda Lee (15 May 1956). "No More Slapstick for Me".Daily Mail.No. 18684. London, England. p. 3.
  21. ^Wiseman, Thomas (22 November 1956)."Mr Davis Takes on Hollywood".Nottingham Evening Post.p. 9.
  22. ^"Star's Hair Ablaze From Candle".The Canberra Times.Vol. 31, no. 9, 154. 27 April 1957. p. 3.Retrieved20 July2017.
  23. ^"British Actors Head Film Poll: Box-Office Survey" (27 Dec 1957)The Manchester Guardianp.3, Manchester (UK)
  24. ^"Belinda Lee victim of sleeping tablets".The Irish Times.Dublin, Ireland. 28 January 1958. p. 3.
  25. ^"Belinda Busts a Bra, Breaks in as Aphrodite".New York Daily News.6 October 1957. p. 102.
  26. ^Packer, Joy (1963).Home from Sea.Eyre & Spotswoode.
  27. ^"Papal Prince's Title in Jeopardy".The Independent.Long Beach, California. 29 January 1958 – via Access Newspaper Archive.
  28. ^"Papal Prince Faces Title Loss in Scandal".The Washington Post and Times-Herald.29 January 1958. p. A8.
  29. ^"The Pope attacks suicide scandals".Daily Mail.No. 19232. London, England. 19 February 1958. p. 2.
  30. ^"Belinda Lee leaves Rome".The Irish Times.Dublin, Ireland. 3 February 1958. p. 7.
  31. ^Edward Goring (5 February 1958). "VIP Belinda runs into political rumpus".Daily Mail.No. 19220. London, England.
  32. ^"I Know what they think, says Belinda".Daily Mail.London, England. 6 February 1958. p. 7.
  33. ^"Paris".Variety.16 July 1958. p. 62.
  34. ^"WAY OF THE WICKED" (Ce Corps tant désiré) "".Monthly Film Bulletin.Vol. 28, no. 324. London. 1 January 1961. p. 169.
  35. ^"Belinda Lee".The Daily Telegraph.No. 32189. London, England. 11 October 1958. p. 1.
  36. ^"Now Belinda Lee gets the axe Author: Edward Goring Date: Saturday, Oct. 11, 1958".Daily Mail.No. 19432. London, England. p. 1.
  37. ^Graham, Sheilah (30 October 1958)."MM Has Shakes".Birmingham News.p. 49.
  38. ^richards, Dick (15 April 1959)."Depressingly Few Shine at BO".Variety.p. 60.
  39. ^"Disastrous, says Rank but we'll beat it".Daily Mail.18 September 1958. p. 5.
  40. ^"Has Success Spoiled Rock Hudson?".The Washington Post and Times-Herald.11 December 1958. p. C26.
  41. ^ROBERT F. HAWKINSROME (3 May 1959). "MOVIE ACTIVITIES ALONG THE TIBER: Fellini Works as Rome Watches -- Dossier on Various Directors".New York Times.p. X9.
  42. ^Wiseman, Thomas (28 June 1959)."Belinda and the prince".Sydney Morning Herald.p. 81.
  43. ^"Our romance is over, says Belinda".Daily Mail.London, England. 11 December 1959. p. 1.
  44. ^PRINCE FILIPPO ORSINI (21 August 1960). "The Prince and the Actress".The Washington Post and Times-Herald.p. AW7.
  45. ^"Maria Callas Gets Offer of Film Role".Chicago Daily Tribune.8 June 1960. p. b2.
  46. ^Now, my Dark Lady Date: Friday, May 27, 1960 Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) p 10
  47. ^"Belinda Weeps over her Jailed Fiance".Daily Mail.No. 20099. London, England. 5 December 1960. p. 5.
  48. ^"Actress Belinda Lee Killed in Auto Crash: British Star Hurled Out of Speeding Car in Desert Wreck; Three Others Hurt".Los Angeles Times.14 March 1961. p. 2.
  49. ^"BELINDA LEE DIES IN CAR CRASH: Three men injured".The Guardian.15 March 1961. p. 13.
  50. ^"Actress Belinda Lee Funeral Set Monday".Los Angeles Times.18 March 1961. p. B8.
  51. ^"Belinda Lee Dies in Desert Crash".The Bakersfield Californian.14 March 1961. pp. 1, 4 – via Newspaper Archive.
  52. ^"YOUNG HAVE NO MORALS, The" (Les Dragueurs) "".Monthly Film Bulletin.Vol. 28, no. 324. London. 1 January 1961. p. 42.
  53. ^"Belinda Lee's Bequest".The Daily Telegraph.No. 32986. London, England. 9 May 1961. p. 25.
  54. ^La donna nel mondoatIMDb
  55. ^"Belinda Lee Killed in 100 MPH Car Crash".The Daily Telegraph.No. 32940. London, England. 15 March 1961. p. 15.
  56. ^Cecil Wilson (28 March 1964). "Feuding galore".Daily Mail.No. 21124. London, England. p. 13.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toBelinda Lee.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belinda_Lee&oldid=1259467397"