Maria Montez

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Maria Montez

María Montez , actually María África Antonia Gracia Vidal de Santo Silas (born June 6, 1912 in Barahona , Dominican Republic , † September 7, 1951 in Suresnes , France ), was a Dominican actress .

Life

Her father Isidoro Gracia was the Spanish honorary consul in the Dominican Republic. After her first experience as a model in New York , she went to Hollywood . She signed with the production company Universal Pictures , adopted the stage name "Montez" in the style of Lola Montez , who her father admired, and made her screen debut in 1940.

During the Second World War , thanks to a series of adventure films set against an exotic backdrop , she rose to be the “Queen of Technicolor ”, her strong accent becoming her trademark. Her partners were often Jon Hall and Sabu . The term "tits and sands" films, which was later applied to the Italian sandal films, among other things, established itself as an allusion to the actresses in these productions, who were often barely veiled .

With the end of the war, Montez's career also came to an end. She shot a few more films in Europe with her second husband, the French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont . Among other things, she was in the debut film of her husband's younger brother, François Villiers , in the drama Die Hafenbar von Marseille (1949) together with Lilli Palmer in front of the camera. She was found dead in the bathtub in 1951 - presumably after a heart attack. In the absence of an autopsy , the exact cause of death remained unclear.

Her daughter Tina Aumont from her second marriage was also an actress.

Aftermath

Some of Montez's films achieved cult status in later years, such as Die Serpent , which premiered in 1944 and was shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2001 and at the Viennale in 2006 , both times with a personal introduction by avant-garde director Kenneth Anger .

The American author Gore Vidal had the actress appear as a supporting character in his novel Myron (1974), the sequel to Myra Breckinridge . The title of the 1997 English paperback edition, which combined both books, was adorned with a photo from The Serpents .

As a tribute, the airport in her hometown was named after her.

Filmography

  • 1940: Boss of Bullion City
  • 1940: The Invisible Woman (The Invisible Woman)
  • 1941: Moonlight in Hawaii
  • 1941: Raiders of the Desert
  • 1941: South of Tahiti
  • 1941: That Night in Rio
  • 1942 Arabian Nights (Arabian Nights)
  • 1942: Bombay Clipper
  • 1942: Mystery of Marie Roget
  • 1943: Curse of the Temple Gods (White Savage)
  • 1944: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
  • 1944: Bowery to Broadway
  • 1944: The Serpent (Cobra Woman)
  • 1944: Gypsy Wildcat
  • 1945: Sudan
  • 1946: Tangier
  • 1947: The Pirates of Monterey
  • 1947: The Exile
  • 1948: The port bar of Marseille (Hans le marin)
  • 1949: Portrait d'un assassin
  • 1949: The Lady of Atlantis (Siren of Atlantis)
  • 1950: The thief of Venice (Il ladro di Venezia)
  • 1951: Shadows over Naples / Amore e sangue
  • 1951: The Corsair's Revenge (La Vendetta del corsaro)
  • 1951: Shadows over Naples (Camorra)

Web links

Commons : María Montez  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Margarita Vicens de Morales: María Montez, Su Vida
  2. ^ A b Cordelia Candelaria, Peter J. García, Arturo J. Aldama (eds.): Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture. Volume 1 A – L. Greenwood Press, 2004, ISBN 0-313-33210-X , pp. 560-561.
  3. Matthew Bernstein, Gaylyn Studlar (ed.): Visions of the East: Orientalism in film. Rutgers University Press, 1997, p. 11, p. 17.
  4. ^ Article in The New Spokesman, Spokane ( Washington ), September 8, 1951, accessed January 31, 2013.
  5. ^ Article in the Ellensburg Daily Record, Ellensburg (Washington), September 8, 1951, accessed on January 31, 2013.
  6. The Serpent on the SFIFF website, accessed January 31, 2013.
  7. Christina Nord: Caught in a Forest of Miracles , article in the daily newspaper of October 27, 2006, accessed on January 31, 2013.
  8. ^ Susan Baker, Curtis S. Gibson: Gore Vidal: A Critical Companion. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997, p. 150.
  9. Aeropuerto Internacional María Montez, Barahona ( Spanish ) Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI. Retrieved March 6, 2010.