Rosalba Neri is a C.S.C. actress who graduated from Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in 1959. She was active in Italian films from the late 50's until the mid-70's. Thanks largely to her "hot" appearances in a number of high-profile cult and exploitation films, today she is certainly one of the best known actresses to have received the C.S.C. credit in her films.
Rosalba was born on June 19th 1939 in Forli, Italy. Like a number of other actresses, she first came to acting via winning beauty contests, using it as a springboard to follow her dreams. Her film debut came in 1958 and the following year she graduted from Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, quickly becoming one of their most in demand graduates.
Her best early roles were in peplum and historical productions and desert adventures where she played a succession of bitches and evil queens, usually getting second female lead billing below the duller heroines. She worked steadily through the cycles of eurospies and spaghetti westerns, then, in 1969, she turned to "hot" roles in adult-oriented exploitation fare, gialli and horror films. These roles kept her busy through the next few years, but by 1973-4 her roles were becoming fewer and parts much smaller.
In 1973 she married Harry Cushing, who was her producer on La figlia di Frankenstein and L'amante del demonio, his only 2 known credits. In an interview she states that she retired from acting due to a combination of her marriage and because she was unhappy with the lack of variety in the roles she was being offered. Rosalba still turns up from time to time in video interviews found as extras on DVD and blu-ray releases of her films.
She is still living at the time of writing. Rosalba's presence in a number of high-profile cult films ensures that she is remembered today where a lot of her contemporaries are not.
Rosalba's biographical details are repeated by many sources and many are confirmed in a video interview in which she discusses her life and career (see Page 10).
Since she is fairly well known compared to our other C.S.C. actresses I think it is unlikely there will be much in the way of undocumented roles to be found for her, but I have been proved wrong in the past and will be very happy if I am again.
Filmography
- Mogli pericolose (uncredited) .... Angelina
1960 - Era notte a Roma (credited) .... Erika Almagia
- Esther and the King (credited) .... Keresh
- Il corazziere (credited) .... Girl collecting gold for her homeland
- Il sepolcro dei re (credited) .... Elib
1961 - Che gioia vivere (credit only)
- El Cid (uncredited) .... Harem girl
- Ercole al centro della Terra (credit only)
- Giallo club - Invito al poliziesco (TV series, season 4, episode 1: La morte ha due volti) (credited) .... Lana
- Giallo club - Invito al poliziesco (TV series, season 4, episode 4: Qualcuno ha tradito) (credited) .... Lana Nevada
- Le italiane e l'amore (credited) .... Secretary
- Totò, Peppino e... la dolce vita (credited) .... Magda
- Vacanze alla baia d'argento (poster credit) .... Santuzza (role unconfirmed)
1962 - I due della legione (credited) .... Alina
- Il sangue e la sfida (poster credit) .... role?
- Lo sceicco rosso (credited) .... Hammel
- Più rosa che giallo (TV series, season 1, episode 2: Il secondo nodo scorsoio) (credited) .... Tildy
1963 - Ercole contro Moloch (credited) .... Queen Demeter
- Il peccato (credited) .... Rosa
- La ballata dei mariti (credited) .... German hitch-hiker
- Una volta nella vita (credited) .... Olivia Fontaine
- Uno strano tipo (credited) .... Marina
1964 - Angelica (uncredited) .... The Polak
- Cadavere per signora (credited) .... Giovanna
- Coriolano eroe senza patria (credited) .... Virginia
- Gli invincibili tre (credited) .... Demora
- Il dominatore del deserto (credited) .... Fatima
- Il leone di Tebe (credited) .... Nais
- La valle dell'eco tonante (credited) .... Rahmis
- Sansone contro il corsaro nero (credited) .... Rosita
1965 - Due mafiosi contro Goldginger (credited) .... Agent 0024
- I grandi condottieri (credited) .... Delilah
- Io uccido, tu uccidi (credited) .... Santuzza
- Kindar, l'invulnerabile (credited) .... Kira
- La meravigliosa Angelica (uncredited) .... The Polak
- Superseven chiama Cairo (credited) .... Faddja
- The Agony and the Ecstasy (uncredited) .... Woman trying to seduce Michelangelo
1966 - Arizona Colt (credited) .... Dolores
- Dinamite Jim (credited) .... Margaret
- Johnny Yuma (credited) .... Samantha Felton
- Password: Uccidete agente Gordon (credited) .... Amalia Sanchez
- Upperseven, l'uomo da uccidere (credited) .... Pauline
1967 - Agente speciale L.K. (credited) .... Yaka
- Con la morte alle spalle (credited) .... Silvana
- I giorni della violenza (credited) .... Lizzie
- Johnny Texas (credited) .... Rosita
- L'uomo del colpo perfetto (credited) .... Margot
- Per 50.000 maledetti dollari (credited) .... Elena
1968 - I lunghi giorni dell'odio (credited) .... Melina
- Killer, adios (credited) .... Fannie Endes
- Niente rose per OSS 117 (poster credit) .... Conchita Esteban
- Sartana non perdona (credited) .... Passenger in the saloon
- Vivo per la tua morte (credited) .... Encarnation
1969 - 99 donne (credited) .... Zoe
- Barbagia (credited) .... Prostitute
- Il castello di Fu Manchu (credited) .... Lisa
- La taglia è tua... l'uomo l'ammazzo io (credited) .... Rosie
- Marquis de Sade: Justine (credited) .... Florette
- Top Sensation (credited, also as Assistant director) .... Paola
1970 - Arizona si scatenò... e li fece fuori tutti! (credited) .... Paloma Moreno
- Le piacevoli notti di Justine (credited) .... Contessa Pagnani
1971 - Due maschi per Alexa (credited) .... Alexa
- Il giorno del giudizio (credited) .... Rising Sun
- La bestia uccide a sangue freddo (credited) .... Anna Palmieri
- La figlia di Frankenstein (credited) .... Tania Frankenstein
- Mio padre Monsignore (credited) .... Bianca
1972 - Alla ricerca del piacere (credited) .... Eleanora Stuart
- Attento gringo... è tornato Sabata! (credited) .... Kidnapped woman
- Casa d'appuntamento (credited) .... Marianne
- Colpo grosso... grossissimo... anzi probabile (credited) .... Pierre's wife
- Confessioni segrete di un convento di clausura (credited) .... Madonna Lisa
- Decamerone '300 (credited) .... Fenecia
- Il prode Anselmo e il suo scudiero (credit only)
- Il sorriso della iena (credited) .... Gianna
- L'amante del demonio (credited) .... Helga
- Meo Patacca (credited) .... Princess
- Monta in sella!! Figlio di... (credited) .... Agnes
1973 - Crescete e moltiplicatevi (credited) .... Sister Flaminia
- I racconti di Viterbury (credited) .... Bona
- Il plenilunio delle vergini (credited) .... Countess Dracula
- La muerte incierta (credited) .... Shaheen
- Lo chiamavano Tresette... giocava sempre col morto (credited) .... Mrs. Pappalardo
- Primo tango a Roma... storia d'amore e d'alchimia (credited) .... Vannina
- Sentivano uno strano, eccitante, pericoloso puzzo di dollari (credited) .... Maria Costello
- Tony Arzenta (Big Guns) (credited) .... Cuttita's wife
1974 - Cugini carnali (credited) .... Altomare
- Dieci bianchi uccisi da un piccolo indiano (credited) .... Katherine
- La casa della paura (credited) .... Alicia Songbird
- Lo strano ricatto di una ragazza per bene (credited) .... Stella
- The Arena (credited as Sara Bay) .... Cornelia
1975 - Libera, amore mio! (credited) .... Wanda
1976 - Il pomicione (poster credit) .... Liliana (role unconfirmed)
Additional credits
- Za-bum N. 2 (1965) 5 part TV sketch series, as herself
- Half hour video interview (2004) an extra on 2004 release of La bestia uccide a sangue freddo
- Various brief interviews featured as extras on DVD's and blu-rays
More Rosalba!
There are very few titles for Rosalba that I was unable to find.
- Il relitto (1961) IMDb as Girl at the night club
No Neri!
Every actor has to have at least one credit online where they do not appear.
- Le voci bianche (1964) IMDb with no role, Rosalba is not credited and does not appear
IMDb also has a number of film credits for the similarly-monikered singer Rosalina Neri mis-credited on Rosalba's page. - I pinguini ci guardano (1956)
- Vivendo cantando... che male ti fò? (1957)
- Valeria ragazza poco seria (1958)
- Olga e i suoi figli (1985)