Bella Cortez

Bella Cortez (born Alicia Paneque,[1] also known as Bella Cortese) is a Cuban actress and dancer known for her work in Italian sword-and-sandal films of the 1960s.

Career

Alicia Paneque was spotted by an Italian film producer visiting Cuba. She accepted the proposal and moved to Italy.[2] Her first release was Primo Zeglio's The Seven Revenges (1961).[3]

Cortez played niece to Orson Welles's character and formed "an attractive pair of young lovers" with Luciano Marin in the international film The Tartars (1961).[4] The same year, she was paired opposite Gordon Mitchell in the Seven Arts production The Giant of Metropolis (1961), directed by Umberto Scarpelli.[5] They appeared together in two more films; Vulcan Son of Jupiter (1962) and Ali Baba and the Seven Saracens (1964).[6] Cortez's characters were that of and Greco-Roman mythological Aetna an Arabian princess, respectively in these films.[7][8] She continued her starring roles with Antonio Leonviola-directed epic drama Taur, The Mighty (1963).[9]

Cortez played the female lead in Ali Baba and the Sacred Crown, directed by Erminio Salvi. The book Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990 noted that Cortez was a "major asset to the production".[1] She made appearance in a supporting character in Gothic horror Katarsis (1963).[10][11]

Beside starring in 11 films, Cortez also did print modelling for cars and graced the covers of several European magazines. Following her marriage, she left the film industry.[2]

Personal life

Cortez was romantically involved with Emimmo Salvi.[6] After her marriage, she relocated to the United States and as of 2011 Cortez was living at her daughter's house.[2]

References
  1. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 16.
  2. Fraser, Patrick (25 July 2011). "Help Me Howard: Movie Star Bella". WSVN. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011.
  3. Smith 2009, p. 285.
  4. Smith 2009, p. 250.
  5. "[Untitled]". The Greenwood Commonwealth. Greenwood, Mississippi. 29 May 1963. p. 5. Retrieved 1 November 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Prickette, James (2012). Actors of the Spaghetti Westerns. Xlibris Corporation. p. 1919. ISBN 978-1-4691-4429-0.
  7. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 17.
  8. Smith 2009, p. 274.
  9. Smith 2009, p. 286.
  10. McKay, James (2012). The Films of Victor Mature. McFarland. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-7864-4970-5.
  11. Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969. McFarland. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-4766-1989-7.

Bibliography
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