Martine Beswick
Encyclopedia
Martine Beswick is an English
actress
and model
, best known for her roles in two James Bond
films.
, Jamaica
to English parents.
Beswick is best known for her two appearances in the James Bond
film series. Although she auditioned for the first Bond film Dr. No
, she was cast in the second film From Russia with Love
as the fiery gypsy girl, Zara. She engaged in the famous "catfight" scene with her rival Vida (played by former Miss Israel
Aliza Gur
). She was incorrectly billed as "Martin Beswick" in the title sequence. Beswick then appeared as the ill-fated Paula Caplan in Thunderball
. She had been away from the Caribbean
so long that she was required to sunbathe constantly for two weeks before filming, in order to look like a local.
Martine went on to appear in One Million Years B.C.
opposite Raquel Welch
, with whom she also engaged in a catfight. She then appeared in various Hammer Studio
low budget films
, most notably Prehistoric Women and the gender-bending Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
. She played Adelita in the well-regarded Spaghetti Western
A Bullet for the General
in 1967 opposite Klaus Kinski
and Gian Maria Volonté
. She starred as the Queen of Evil in Oliver Stone
's 1974 directorial debut Seizure
, aka "Queen of Evil". In the 1970s, Beswick moved to Hollywood and regularly appeared on both the big screen and small screen. She made numerous guest appearances in television series including Sledge Hammer!
, Fantasy Island
, The Fall Guy
, Mannix
, The Six Million Dollar Man
and Falcon Crest
. In 1980, she played the lead role in the comedy film The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood.
Beswick's career was active well into the 1990s. In recent years, she has mainly participated in film documentaries, providing commentary and relating her experiences on the many films she has appeared in. She owned a removals business in London, but is now semi-retired except for her guest appearances at international Bond conventions.
Beginning with Melvin and Howard
in 1980, she changed the spelling of her last name to "Beswicke," but reverted to her original name in the mid-90s; her last credit with the longer spelling is Wide Sargasso Sea
in 1993.
Contrary to speculation recorded elsewhere, Beswick never married.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, best known for her roles in two James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
films.
Biography
Beswick was born on 26 September 1941 in Port AntonioPort Antonio
Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about 60 miles from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
to English parents.
Beswick is best known for her two appearances in the James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
film series. Although she auditioned for the first Bond film Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
, she was cast in the second film From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
as the fiery gypsy girl, Zara. She engaged in the famous "catfight" scene with her rival Vida (played by former Miss Israel
Miss Israel
-Winners:...
Aliza Gur
Aliza Gur
Aliza Gur was Miss Israel of 1960 and a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe pageant that same year...
). She was incorrectly billed as "Martin Beswick" in the title sequence. Beswick then appeared as the ill-fated Paula Caplan in Thunderball
Thunderball (film)
Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
. She had been away from the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
so long that she was required to sunbathe constantly for two weeks before filming, in order to look like a local.
Martine went on to appear in One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 British adventure/fantasy film starring Raquel Welch, set - loosely - in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions, and was a remake of the 1940 Hollywood film One Million B.C., and it recreates many of the scenes of that film...
opposite Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
, with whom she also engaged in a catfight. She then appeared in various Hammer Studio
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
low budget films
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
, most notably Prehistoric Women and the gender-bending Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is a 1971 British film directed by Roy Ward Baker based on the short story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions and was their second adaptation of the story after their 1960 film The...
. She played Adelita in the well-regarded 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...
A Bullet for the General
A Bullet for the General
A Bullet for the General , is a 1966 film which stars Gian Maria Volonté, Klaus Kinski, Lou Castel and Martine Beswick. Originally entitled El Chucho, quién sabe?, it is the story of El Chucho, the bandit, and Bill Tate who is a counter-revolutionary in Mexico...
in 1967 opposite Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski , was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre , Woyzeck , Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde .-Early...
and Gian Maria Volonté
Gian Maria Volontè
Gian Maria Volonté was an Italian actor. He is perhaps most famous outside of Italy for his roles as the main villain in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More.-Early life:Volonté was born in Milan, and graduated in Rome in 1957...
. She starred as the Queen of Evil in Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's 1974 directorial debut Seizure
Seizure (film)
Seizure is a 1974 surreal horror-thriller film. It is the directorial debut of Oliver Stone, who also co-wrote the screenplay.-Plot:Horror writer Edmund Blackstone sees his recurring nightmare come to chilling life one weekend as one by one, his friends and family are killed by three villains,...
, aka "Queen of Evil". In the 1970s, Beswick moved to Hollywood and regularly appeared on both the big screen and small screen. She made numerous guest appearances in television series including Sledge Hammer!
Sledge Hammer!
Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character,...
, Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
, Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
, The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
and Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
. In 1980, she played the lead role in the comedy film The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood.
Beswick's career was active well into the 1990s. In recent years, she has mainly participated in film documentaries, providing commentary and relating her experiences on the many films she has appeared in. She owned a removals business in London, but is now semi-retired except for her guest appearances at international Bond conventions.
Beginning with Melvin and Howard
Melvin and Howard
Melvin and Howard is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme. The screenplay by Bo Goldman was inspired by real-life Utah service station owner Melvin Dummar, who was listed as the beneficiary of USD$156 million in a will allegedly handwritten by Howard Hughes that was...
in 1980, she changed the spelling of her last name to "Beswicke," but reverted to her original name in the mid-90s; her last credit with the longer spelling is Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.The novel...
in 1993.
Contrary to speculation recorded elsewhere, Beswick never married.
Film
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1963 | Saturday Night Out Saturday Night Out Saturday Night Out is a 1964 British comedy drama film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Heather Sears, John Bonney, Bernard Lee, Erika Remberg, Francesca Annis, Margaret Nolan and David Lodge. A trio of merchant seamen and several passengers disembark from their ship when it arrives... |
| 1963 | From Russia with Love From Russia with Love (film) From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the... |
| 1965 | Thunderball Thunderball (film) Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham... |
| 1966 | One Million Years B.C. One Million Years B.C. One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 British adventure/fantasy film starring Raquel Welch, set - loosely - in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions, and was a remake of the 1940 Hollywood film One Million B.C., and it recreates many of the scenes of that film... |
| 1967 | John il Bastardo |
| 1967 | Prehistoric Women (aka Slave Girls) |
| 1967 | The Penthouse The Penthouse The Penthouse is a 1967 film directed by Peter Collinson. It stars Suzy Kendall and Terence Morgan and was based on a 1964 play The Meter Man by Scott Forbes.-Cast:*Suzy Kendall as Barbara Willison*Terence Morgan as Bruce Victor... |
| 1967 | A Bullet for the General A Bullet for the General A Bullet for the General , is a 1966 film which stars Gian Maria Volonté, Klaus Kinski, Lou Castel and Martine Beswick. Originally entitled El Chucho, quién sabe?, it is the story of El Chucho, the bandit, and Bill Tate who is a counter-revolutionary in Mexico... |
| 1971 | Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is a 1971 British film directed by Roy Ward Baker based on the short story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions and was their second adaptation of the story after their 1960 film The... |
| 1973 | Ultimo tango a Zagarol |
| 1974 | Seizure Seizure (film) Seizure is a 1974 surreal horror-thriller film. It is the directorial debut of Oliver Stone, who also co-wrote the screenplay.-Plot:Horror writer Edmund Blackstone sees his recurring nightmare come to chilling life one weekend as one by one, his friends and family are killed by three villains,... , aka Queen of Evil |
| 1980 | The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood |
| 1980 | Melvin and Howard Melvin and Howard Melvin and Howard is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme. The screenplay by Bo Goldman was inspired by real-life Utah service station owner Melvin Dummar, who was listed as the beneficiary of USD$156 million in a will allegedly handwritten by Howard Hughes that was... |
| 1987 | Cyclone Cyclone (1987 film) Cyclone is a 1987 science fiction action film about a woman who must keep the ultimate motorcycle from falling into the wrong hands. The film was directed by Fred Olen Ray, and stars Heather Thomas, Jeffrey Combs, and Martin Landau.-Plot:... |
| 1987 | The Offspring The Offspring The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada... |
| 1990 | Evil Spirits |
| 1990 | Miami Blues Miami Blues (film) Miami Blues is a 1990 action-crime-thriller-film based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. It stars Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by George Armitage.- Plot :... |
| 1991 | Critters 4 Critters 4 Critters 4 is a 1992 science fiction comedy horror film starring Don Keith Opper, Terrence Mann, Angela Bassett and Brad Dourif. It was directed by Rupert Harvey and written by Harvey, Barry Opper, Joseph Lyle and David J. Schow. It is the fourth and seemingly final film in the Critters series... |
| 1991 | Trancers II Trancers II Trancers II is a 1991 American action science fiction film directed by Charles Band. It is the sequel to Trancers starring Tim Thomerson and Helen Hunt.The film has been released on DVD through the Trancers boxset or as a single DVD in Europe.-Plot:... |
| 1992 | Life on the Edge |
| 1993 | Wide Sargasso Sea Wide Sargasso Sea Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.The novel... |
| 1995 | Night of the Scarecrow Night of the Scarecrow Night of the Scarecrow is a 1995 horror film directed by Jeff Burr. The film is about a warlock, in the form of a scarecrow who comes back to life after being set free by a group of teenagers, who seeks revenge for the death of the warlock.-Cast:... |
Television
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1965 | Danger Man Danger Man Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts... |
| 1969 | It Takes a Thief |
| 1970 | Mannix Mannix Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors... |
| 1971 | Longstreet Longstreet (TV series) Longstreet is an American crime drama series that was broadcast on the ABC in the 1971-1972 season . A 90-minute pilot movie of the same name aired prior to the debut of the series as an ABC Movie of the Week.-Synopsis:... |
| 1975 | Strange New World |
| 1975 | Switch Switch (TV series) Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner, who worked as private eyes, for a deceptive sting operation... |
| 1976 | City of Angels City of Angels (1976 TV series) City of Angels is a 1976 television series created by Stephen J. Cannell and Roy Huggins, who had previously worked together on The Rockford Files... |
| 1976 | The Six Million Dollar Man The Six Million Dollar Man The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI... |
| 1977 | Baretta Baretta Baretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma... |
| 1980 | Hart to Hart Hart to Hart Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg... |
| 1981 | Quincy, M.E. Quincy, M.E. Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC... |
| 1982 | The Fall Guy The Fall Guy The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series... |
| 1983 | The Powers of Matthew Star The Powers of Matthew Star The Powers of Matthew Star is an American sci-fi television series that aired from September 17, 1982 through April 8, 1983, on NBC. It starred Peter Barton The Powers of Matthew Star is an American sci-fi television series that aired from September 17, 1982 through April 8, 1983, on NBC. It... |
| 1984 | Fantasy Island Fantasy Island Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:... |
| 1984 | Days of our Lives Days of our Lives Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around... |
| 1985 | Cover Up |
| 1985 | Falcon Crest Falcon Crest Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced.... |
| 1987 | Sledge Hammer! Sledge Hammer! Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character,... |
External links
- Martine Beswick at HorrorStars
- Martine Beswick interviewed by M J Simpson