Nieves Navarro
Encyclopedia
Nieves Navarro is a retired Spanish-born Italian actress and fashion model. Navarro worked extensively in Italian cinema appearing alongside actors such as Totò
and Lino Banfi
in the 1960s and 70s. She later adopted the Americanized stage name Susan Scott for many of her productions after 1969.
Navarro was also one of the first female stars of the Spaghetti Western
genre
making her feature film debut in A Pistol for Ringo
and its sequel The Return of Ringo
along with later appearances in The Big Gundown
(1966), Long Days of Vengeance (1967), Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (1970) and Adiós, Sabata
(1971). In 1972, she married to the Italian director and producer Luciano Ercoli, starring in many of his productions up until the early-1980s, and was familiar for her erotically-themed
roles in giallo and sex comedies
. She went into semi-retirement after 1983, making two last films in 1989. In recent years, she has returned to live in her native Spain with her husband.
, Spain
on November 11, 1938, her career began as advertising and fashion model. The introduction of television in Spain
in 1956 led to further appearances in commercials and other work in the industry during the next few years. She began her career as a film actress in Italy alongside Totò
in the Lawrence of Arabia parody Totò d'Arabia (1965), an Spanish-Italian co-production, in which she played Doris, a beautiful spy in the service of the British SIS
, who charms the Sheik of Kuwait El Ali el Buzur (Fernando Sancho
) and allows Totò to use her to drive of the one-hundred wives of Sheik jealous.
Her early work in films took place in the Spaghetti Western
s that were shot regularly in her hometown of Almeria. In 1965, she appeared in A Pistol for Ringo
, starring Giuliano Gemma
, as the girlfriend of the Mexican bandit Sancho (Fernando Sancho). Navarro also appeared in the sequel The Return of Ringo
, and supporting roles in The Big Gundown
(1966), Long Days of Vengeance (1967), Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (1970) and Adiós, Sabata
(1971). Nieves also had leading roles in a number of action
and horror film
s during this period and was among the protagonists of the film Death Walks At Midnight (1972), directed by Luciano Ercoli, who eventually became her husband.
She subsequently moved to Italy with Ercoli where she spent the rest of her career, starring in many of her husband's projects, which ended veering towards Italian erotica
and "giallo" cinema. It was in the latter genre that highlighted her as a major star especially her appearances in the Emannuelle series, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals
(1977) and Emanuelle e Lolita (1978), directed by Joe D'Amato
and Henri Sala respectively.
In 1983, Navarro attempted to return to Spanish cinema with films like Gianfranco Angelucci's drama Honey with Fernando Rey
, but with less than expected success. She made two last films in 1989, Fiori di zucca and Casa di piacere, before going into retirement. In recent years, she has returned to Spain
, settling in Barcelona
with Ercoli.
Totò
Prince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...
and Lino Banfi
Lino Banfi
Lino Banfi is an Italian film actor and presenter. He has appeared in over 100 films since 1960.-Biography:...
in the 1960s and 70s. She later adopted the Americanized stage name Susan Scott for many of her productions after 1969.
Navarro was also one of the first female stars of the Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
making her feature film debut in A Pistol for Ringo
A Pistol for Ringo
A Pistol for Ringo is a 1965 Spaghetti Western, a joint Italian and Spanish production. Originally written and directed by Duccio Tessari, the film's success led to a sequel, The Return of Ringo, later that year....
and its sequel The Return of Ringo
The Return of Ringo
# Il ritorno di Ringo - Main Titles # The Disguise # Mariachi #1 # Violence # Sheriff Carson # The Fuentes # Mariachi #2 # Main Titles Instrumental...
along with later appearances in The Big Gundown
The Big Gundown
The Big Gundown is a 1966 spaghetti western directed by Sergio Sollima and starring Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian...
(1966), Long Days of Vengeance (1967), Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (1970) and Adiós, Sabata
Adiós, Sabata
Adiós Sabata is a 1971 Spaghetti Western film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. It is the second film in The Sabata Trilogy by Parolini...
(1971). In 1972, she married to the Italian director and producer Luciano Ercoli, starring in many of his productions up until the early-1980s, and was familiar for her erotically-themed
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
roles in giallo and sex comedies
Sex comedy
Sex comedy is a term for comedy movies with sexual content usually referring to those made in the United Kingdom in the mid 1970s. They may range from comic pornographic films like the Confessions series to relatively innocent comedies that include jokes about sex and other sexual related humour,...
. She went into semi-retirement after 1983, making two last films in 1989. In recent years, she has returned to live in her native Spain with her husband.
Biography
Born Nieves Navarro García in AlmeríaAlmería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on November 11, 1938, her career began as advertising and fashion model. The introduction of television in Spain
Television in Spain
Television in Spain was launched in 1956, when TVE started its regular broadcasts. Prior to 1982, public television monopolised the Spanish television, but the first private television was not launched until 1990. In 1974, colour transmission started with tests in 1972. Full-time colour broadcasts...
in 1956 led to further appearances in commercials and other work in the industry during the next few years. She began her career as a film actress in Italy alongside Totò
Totò
Prince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...
in the Lawrence of Arabia parody Totò d'Arabia (1965), an Spanish-Italian co-production, in which she played Doris, a beautiful spy in the service of the British SIS
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
, who charms the Sheik of Kuwait El Ali el Buzur (Fernando Sancho
Fernando Sancho
Fernando Sancho was a Spanish actor. Sancho was born in Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain, and died in Madrid after surgery....
) and allows Totò to use her to drive of the one-hundred wives of Sheik jealous.
Her early work in films took place in the Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s that were shot regularly in her hometown of Almeria. In 1965, she appeared in A Pistol for Ringo
A Pistol for Ringo
A Pistol for Ringo is a 1965 Spaghetti Western, a joint Italian and Spanish production. Originally written and directed by Duccio Tessari, the film's success led to a sequel, The Return of Ringo, later that year....
, starring Giuliano Gemma
Giuliano Gemma
-Biography:Born in Rome, Gemma first worked as a stuntman, then was offered real acting parts by director Duccio Tessari, starting with the film Arrivano i titani . He also made an appearance in Luchino Visconti's Il Gattopardo as Garibaldi's General...
, as the girlfriend of the Mexican bandit Sancho (Fernando Sancho). Navarro also appeared in the sequel The Return of Ringo
The Return of Ringo
# Il ritorno di Ringo - Main Titles # The Disguise # Mariachi #1 # Violence # Sheriff Carson # The Fuentes # Mariachi #2 # Main Titles Instrumental...
, and supporting roles in The Big Gundown
The Big Gundown
The Big Gundown is a 1966 spaghetti western directed by Sergio Sollima and starring Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian...
(1966), Long Days of Vengeance (1967), Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (1970) and Adiós, Sabata
Adiós, Sabata
Adiós Sabata is a 1971 Spaghetti Western film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. It is the second film in The Sabata Trilogy by Parolini...
(1971). Nieves also had leading roles in a number of action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
and horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s during this period and was among the protagonists of the film Death Walks At Midnight (1972), directed by Luciano Ercoli, who eventually became her husband.
She subsequently moved to Italy with Ercoli where she spent the rest of her career, starring in many of her husband's projects, which ended veering towards Italian erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
and "giallo" cinema. It was in the latter genre that highlighted her as a major star especially her appearances in the Emannuelle series, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals is a 1977 Italian sexploitation film by Joe D'Amato....
(1977) and Emanuelle e Lolita (1978), directed by Joe D'Amato
Joe D'Amato
Joe D'Amato, was a prolific Italian filmmaker who directed roughly 200 films, usually at the same time acting as producer and cinematographer, and sometimes providing the script as well...
and Henri Sala respectively.
In 1983, Navarro attempted to return to Spanish cinema with films like Gianfranco Angelucci's drama Honey with Fernando Rey
Fernando Rey
Fernando Casado Arambillet , best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and TV actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States...
, but with less than expected success. She made two last films in 1989, Fiori di zucca and Casa di piacere, before going into retirement. In recent years, she has returned to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, settling in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
with Ercoli.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | A Pistol for Ringo A Pistol for Ringo A Pistol for Ringo is a 1965 Spaghetti Western, a joint Italian and Spanish production. Originally written and directed by Duccio Tessari, the film's success led to a sequel, The Return of Ringo, later that year.... |
Dolores | |
| The Return of Ringo The Return of Ringo # Il ritorno di Ringo - Main Titles # The Disguise # Mariachi #1 # Violence # Sheriff Carson # The Fuentes # Mariachi #2 # Main Titles Instrumental... |
Rosita | ||
| 1966 | Kiss Kiss...Bang Bang Kiss Kiss...Bang Bang Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang was a 1966 Italian spy movie directed by Duccio Tessari and starring Giuliano Gemma.The movie revolves around a former spy named Kirk Warren, who is forced to steal a secret formula in order to avoid execution after having been caught attempting to steal a million dollars.The... |
Alina Shakespeare | |
| Totò d'Arabia | Doris | ||
| Che notte, ragazzi! | Consuelo | ||
| The Big Gundown The Big Gundown The Big Gundown is a 1966 spaghetti western directed by Sergio Sollima and starring Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian... |
The Widow | ||
| 1967 | Long Days of Vengeance | Dolly | |
| Rojo | Consuela | ||
| 1969 | Le Paria Le Paria Le Paria is a French comedy police film from 1969. It was directed by Claude Carliez, written by Claude Rank, starring Jean Marais and Marie-José Nat. The film was also known under the title Diamond Rush , , .- Plot :... |
Sylvia | |
| A Wrong Way to Love Amarsi male A Wrong Way to Love is a 1969 Italian drama film. It was directed by Fernando Di Leo. It stars Nieves Navarro, Gianni Macchia, Micaela Pignatelli, Lucio Dalla, and Lea Lander.... |
Anna Lanfranchi | as Susan Scott | |
| Amor a todo gas | Laura Montes/Falsa Elena | ||
| Naked Violence | Livia Ussaro | as Susan Scott | |
| 1970 | Le foto proibite di una signora per bene | Dominique | as Susan Scott |
| Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming | Belle Manassas | as Susan Scott | |
| 1971 | Le foto proibite di una signora per bene | Dominique | as Susan Scott |
| Adiós, Sabata Adiós, Sabata Adiós Sabata is a 1971 Spaghetti Western film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. It is the second film in The Sabata Trilogy by Parolini... |
Saloon Dancer at Kingsville Texas | as Susan Scott | |
| Siete minutos para morir | Karin Foster | ||
| Death Walks on High Heels | Nicole Rochard | as Susan Scott | |
| 1972 | All the Colors of the Dark | Barbara Harrison | as Susan Scott |
| Kill the Poker Player | Lilly/Kate | as Susan Scott | |
| So Sweet, So Dead | Lily | as Susan Scott | |
| La morte accarezza a mezzanotte | Valentina | as Susan Scott | |
| 1973 | Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio | Kitty | as Susan Scott |
| 1974 | Chi ha rubato il tesoro dello scia? | as Susan Scott | |
| Il giudice e la minorenne | Laura | as Susan Scott | |
| Troppo rischio per un uomo solo | Nina | as Susan Scott | |
| 1975 | Los hijos de Scaramouche | as Susan Scott | |
| Il vizio di famiglia | Ines, the Countess | as Susan Scott | |
| 1976 | Noi siam come le lucciole | as Susan Scott | |
| Il medico... la studentessa | Luisa | as Susan Scott | |
| There's a Spy in My Bed | Madame | ||
| Velluto nero | Crystal | as Susan Scott | |
| Mauricio, mon amour | Uncredited | ||
| 1977 | The Rip-Off La Bidonata La Bidonata, also known as The Rip-off, is a once lost 1977 Italian comedy/crime film. This was the final film directed by giallo specialist Luciano Ercoli.-Production:... |
Ornella | as Susan Scott |
| Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals is a 1977 Italian sexploitation film by Joe D'Amato.... |
Maggie McKenzie | as Susan Scott | |
| 1978 | Emanuelle e Lolita | Emanuelle | as Susan Scott |
| Cugine mie | Aunt Gaia | ||
| 1979 | Candide Lolita | Adrienne Larousse | as Suzanne Scott |
| The Nurse in the Military Madhouse | Veronica La Russa | as Susan Scott | |
| 1982 | La moglie in bianco... l'amante al pepe | Anna-Maria Mancuso | as Susan Scott |
| Sex and Black Magic | Helen | as Susan Scott | |
| 1983 | El fascista, doña Pura y el follón de la escultura | Pura | |
| Honey | Governess | as Susan Scott | |
| 1989 | Fiori di zucca | Madre di Enzo | as Susan Scott |
| Casa di piacere |
Further reading
- Baldi, Alfredo. Schermi Proibiti: La Censura in Italia 1947-1988. Venice: Marsilio, 2002.
- Bruschini, Antonio and Antonio Tentori, ed. Western all'italiana: The Specialists. Firenze: Glittering lmages, 1998.
- Giusti, Marco. Dizionario del Western all'Italiana. Italy: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 2007.