Mariangela Melato
Encyclopedia
Mariangela Melato is an Italian
actress.
Melato was born in Milan
and studied at the Milan Theatre Academy. A striking, blonde actress, she began her stage career in the early 1960s and rose to fame after delivering powerful performances for a number of notable Italian stage directors such as Dario Fo
, Luchino Visconti
and Luca Ronconi
.
Her cinematic debut came in 1969 with Pupi Avati
's Thomas e gli indemoniati and Melato would continue to deliver memorable performances in the 1970s and grew to become a highly respected leading lady of many acclaimed and award-winning Italian films. Her memorable early film roles include the school teacher in Nino Manfredi
's comedy Between Miracles
(1971) and the female leads in Elio Petri's The Working Class Goes to Heaven
(1971) and Vittorio De Sica
's Lo chiameremo Andrea
(We'll Call Him Andrew, 1972).
Melato received much praise for her role as Giancarlo Giannini
's Milanese mistress in The Seduction of Mimi
(1972), directed by Lina Wertmüller
. This was to be the start of a very successful working relationship with Wertmüller, who also cast Melato and Giannini as the leads in her next film, Love and Anarchy
(1973), in which Melato plays an anarchic prostitute. The popular duo of Melato and Giannini were then paired in a third film by Wertmüller; Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (1974). Melato's critically acclaimed comedic performance in this film as a spoiled, unsympathetic aristocrat is one of her most internationally known roles.
For the remainder of the 1970s, Melato worked with some Europe's most renowned directors, including Claude Chabrol
in Nada (1974), Elio Petri in Todo modo
(1976) and Luigi Comencini
in Il gatto (1978). She also worked on television; playing the role of Princess Bithiah
, in the miniseries Moses the Lawgiver
(1974), which was also released in a theatrical version.
After attaining international success with many of her films, Melato attempted to make a career for herself in America as well. She played one of her most famous parts with a supporting role as villainess General Kala in Flash Gordon
(1980). She also played the female lead opposite Ryan O'Neal
in the comedy So Fine
(1981). However, she failed to attain the same success that she had in Italy and quickly went back to her native country, where she went on to act in a number of comedies and dramas. She also reunited with Lina Wertmüller for the film Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil (1986) but gradually appeared in fewer films, and did more theater. She gave one of her most wonderful theatrical performances in the leading role of The Miracle Worker
, and continues to be active in both theatre and cinema.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
actress.
Melato was born in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and studied at the Milan Theatre Academy. A striking, blonde actress, she began her stage career in the early 1960s and rose to fame after delivering powerful performances for a number of notable Italian stage directors such as Dario Fo
Dario Fo
Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...
, Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
and Luca Ronconi
Luca Ronconi
Luca Ronconi is an Italian actor, theater director, and opera director.- Biography :After growing up in Tunisia, where his mother was a school teacher, he graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome in 1953. He acted in productions of Luigi Squarzina, Orazio Costa, Michelangelo Antonioni...
.
Her cinematic debut came in 1969 with Pupi Avati
Pupi Avati
Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:...
's Thomas e gli indemoniati and Melato would continue to deliver memorable performances in the 1970s and grew to become a highly respected leading lady of many acclaimed and award-winning Italian films. Her memorable early film roles include the school teacher in Nino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre....
's comedy Between Miracles
Between Miracles
Between Miracles is a 1971 Italian commedia all'italiana film written and directed by Italian actor Nino Manfredi, in his debut as feature film director.-Cast:* Nino Manfredi - Benedetto Parisi* Lionel Stander - Oreste Micheli...
(1971) and the female leads in Elio Petri's The Working Class Goes to Heaven
The Working Class Goes to Heaven
The Working Class Goes to Heaven is a 1971 film directed by Elio Petri. It depicts a factory worker's realisation of his own condition as a simple "tool" in the process of production and, implicitly, his struggle with the trade unions...
(1971) and Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
's Lo chiameremo Andrea
Lo chiameremo Andrea
Lo chiameremo Andrea is a 1972 Italian comedy film directed by Vittorio De Sica.-Cast:* Nino Manfredi - Paolo Antonazzi* Mariangela Melato - Maria Antonazzi* Anna Maria Aragona - Teacher...
(We'll Call Him Andrew, 1972).
Melato received much praise for her role as Giancarlo Giannini
Giancarlo Giannini
Giancarlo Giannini is an Italian actor and dubber.Giannini was born La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. He studied at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome, and made his film debut in a small part in Fango sulla metropoli in 1965...
's Milanese mistress in The Seduction of Mimi
The Seduction of Mimi
Mimí metallurgico ferito nell'onore is an Italian language film directed by Lina Wertmüller, starring Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato. It was released in the United States as The Seduction of Mimi, although a literal translation of the title would be "Mimi the metalworker, wounded in honor"...
(1972), directed by Lina Wertmüller
Lina Wertmüller
Lina Wertmüller is an Italian film writer and director of aristocratic Swiss descent. In 1976, she became the first woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing with the film Seven Beauties.-Biography:...
. This was to be the start of a very successful working relationship with Wertmüller, who also cast Melato and Giannini as the leads in her next film, Love and Anarchy
Love and Anarchy
Love and Anarchy is a 1973 film directed by Lina Wertmüller and starring Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato. The story, set in Fascist Italy before the outbreak of World War II, centers on Giannini's character, an anarchist who stays in a brothel while preparing to kill Benito Mussolini...
(1973), in which Melato plays an anarchic prostitute. The popular duo of Melato and Giannini were then paired in a third film by Wertmüller; Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (1974). Melato's critically acclaimed comedic performance in this film as a spoiled, unsympathetic aristocrat is one of her most internationally known roles.
For the remainder of the 1970s, Melato worked with some Europe's most renowned directors, including Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol was a French film director, a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s...
in Nada (1974), Elio Petri in Todo modo
Todo modo
-Cast:* Gian Maria Volonté - M.* Marcello Mastroianni - Don Gaetano* Mariangela Melato - Giacinta, Moglie di M.* Ciccio Ingrassia - Voltrano* Franco Citti - Autista di M.* Tino Scotti - Il Cuoco* Renato Salvatori - Dr. Scalambri* Michel Piccoli - Lui...
(1976) and Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the commedia all'italiana genre....
in Il gatto (1978). She also worked on television; playing the role of Princess Bithiah
Bithiah
According to Hebrew beliefs; Bithiah or in Modern Hebrew Bityah was an Egyptian princess, and a daughter of Pharaoh. The name of her father is not in the Bible, but Rabbinic Midrash makes her the daughter of one of the Pharaohs of the Exodus,...
, in the miniseries Moses the Lawgiver
Moses the Lawgiver
Moses the Lawgiver was a 1974, 6-part TV mini-series directed by Gianfranco De Bosio and James H. Hill, starring Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quayle, Ingrid Thulin and Irene Papas, with screenplay by Vittorio Bonicelli and Anthony Burgess, and music by Ennio Morricone.An ITC/RAI co-production, shooting...
(1974), which was also released in a theatrical version.
After attaining international success with many of her films, Melato attempted to make a career for herself in America as well. She played one of her most famous parts with a supporting role as villainess General Kala in Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (film)
Flash Gordon is a 1980 British/American science fiction film, based on the comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond. The film was directed by Mike Hodges and produced and presented by Dino De Laurentiis. It stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian...
(1980). She also played the female lead opposite Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
in the comedy So Fine
So Fine (film)
So Fine is a 1981 comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman. The original music score was composed by Ennio Morricone.-Plot summary:Bobby Fine is an intellectual English professor who leaves his job when his father Jack appeals to him for help...
(1981). However, she failed to attain the same success that she had in Italy and quickly went back to her native country, where she went on to act in a number of comedies and dramas. She also reunited with Lina Wertmüller for the film Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil (1986) but gradually appeared in fewer films, and did more theater. She gave one of her most wonderful theatrical performances in the leading role of The Miracle Worker
The Miracle Worker
The Miracle Worker is a cycle of 20th century dramatic works derived from Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life. Each of the various dramas describes the relationship between Keller—a deafblind and initially almost feral child—and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who introduced her to...
, and continues to be active in both theatre and cinema.
External links
- Mariangela Melato official website
- Italian wikipedia entry
- Allmovie biography