Barbara Steele's non-horror roles

In the "A Conversation with Barbara Steele" featurette on the Severin DVD of NIGHTMARE CASTLE, she says that she did "oodles" (or some such word) of non-horror films in Italy that nobody ever wants to talk about. Any particular recommendations? I mean, other than 8 1/2.

I've been meaning to Netflix Fulci's I MANIACI, but the film has gotten such terrible reviews that I keep putting it off.

She appears briefly in Felinni's 8 1/2.



This post has been edited by Raymond Tucker on Nov 2 2009, 03:31 PM

Mario Monicelli's L'ARMATA BRANCALEONE (1966) is a treat, a proto-Monty Python HOLY GRAIL send-up of medieval chivalry and organized religion/greed and timeless human ignorance that also works as straight adventure (knights refashioned as Kurosawan samurai) when the occasion demands.Vittorio Gassman (as a down at the heels crusader of more swagger and brawn than brain) leads an attractive cast including Catherine Spaak, Gian Maria Volontè...and Barbara Steele given a tailor-made star turn. She seduces our hero only to reveal herself as a dominatrix. She doesn't want him because he's a real man but because she tags him as the perfect whimpering slave. Her public humiliation of Vittorio (who wants to play along but is finding it increasingly painful) is really funny. The filmmakers cannily allowed her to do her Gothic castle specialty in a non-horror context to great effect. PS: I'm intrigued by this insane youtube clip from Fermate il mondo... voglio scendere (which translates as Stop the World...I Want to Get Off. Whoever gave it this title must have known the Anthony Newley musical of the same name though there's no resemblance otherwise). The (not very well regarded) 1968 satire follows a circle of disaffected non-conformist youth gradually selling out and buying into the system. Oddly, though, Steele's name doesn't figure in the credits (available in a separate clip). Apology: I posted the wrong clip earlier. It should be fixed. You'll see Lando Buzzanca and Barbara 'going at it' though what it is they're going at isn't exactly clear...

This post has been edited by James Cheney on Nov 2 2009, 07:17 PM

Raymond, I've seen 8 1/2, hence my last sentence. James, that clip isn't show up here, at least not for me, but I'd already run across it on YouTube and wondered "what the Hell?" Here's another clip from that film. It's frustrating, the way that Barbara is clearly gyrating wildly and yet most of her cropped out of a lot of the shots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTprpN_2X0A

One still, which I'd wondered about when seeing it some book on Eroticism in Horror years and years ago, came up during the conversation with Barbara on the Severin NIGHTMARE CASTLE. A google image search hasn't turned it up, but it depicts her chained to a post or pillar, displaying some sideboob, while a guy in a loincloth or shorts appears to be whipping her. Anyone know what I'm talking about, and what film it might be from?

In the "Barbara Steele in conversation" featurette, she mentions that Antonioni wanted to do a horror film with her and Monica Vitti. The mind reels! She also had what sounds like a great role as an alchemist specializing in curing impotence in Fellini's CASANOVA, but the first few weeks of filming were lost or stolen (I forget which), and her scenes were never reshot. A pity (imagine what a completed version of the film that had both her and Chesty Morgan, whose scene was cut in post, would have been like!)

In the featurette, she gives one reason why her career more or less falteed when she married James Poe and moved to the states, something she says was a huge mistake on her part (possibly because of how much she loved Italy, as opposed to just career reasons or a marriage that didn't work out). She says she hated auditioning and was very insecure. In Rome, directors from Fellini to Freda would ask her out to lunch and offer her roles over a glass of wine. In Hollywood, she had to go to them, rather than them coming to her.

Ooops! That's what happens when I don't read the full post. Sorry Ian. I should've known better than to think you'd have missed that.

This post has been edited by Raymond Tucker on Nov 5 2009, 09:06 PM

That still is from L'ARMATA BRANCALEONE (1966), which James discusses. The still makes it look like an erotic scene, which it is to some degree, but it's played with a sense of humor. The movie is available on an all region DVD in Italian with English subtitles. Search for it on Amazon under the foreign language title for details/specs about the disc. Amazon is currently out of stock, but maybe it's available from other online sources?

There are DVDs from Brazil for both BRANCALEONE films, but the English subtitles are poorly translated and often confusing. The first film is still wonderful, however.