Neri, Rosalba

[PeplumParadise]

Rosalba Neri in Cineguida 1968-69

Rosalba Neri is a C.S.C. actress who begin the studies at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in 1959 [1]. 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

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1958

1. Mogli pericolose .... Angelina (uncredited)
   
   1960
2. Era notte a Roma .... Erika Almagia (credited)
3. Esther and the King .... Keresh (credited)
4. Il corazziere .... Girl collecting gold for her homeland (credited)
5. Il sepolcro dei re .... Elib (credited)
   
   1961
6. Che gioia vivere (credit only)
7. El Cid .... Harem girl (uncredited)
8. Ercole al centro della Terra (credit only)
9. Giallo club - Invito al poliziesco (TV series) - season 4, ep. 1: "La morte ha due volti" .... Lana (credited)
10. Giallo club - Invito al poliziesco (TV series) - season 4, ep. 4: "Qualcuno ha tradito" .... Lana Nevada (credited)
11. Il relitto …. Girl in La Colonne nightclub (credited)
12. Le italiane e l'amore .... Secretary (credited)
13. Totò, Peppino e... la dolce vita .... Magda (credited)
14. Vacanze alla baia d'argento .... Woman looking for Tiberio (credited)
    
    1962
15. I due della legione .... Alina (credited)
16. Il sangue e la sfida .... unknown role (poster credit)
17. Lo sceicco rosso .... Hammel (credited)
18. Più rosa che giallo (TV series) - season 1, ep. 2: "Il secondo nodo scorsoio" .... Tildy (credited)
    
    1963
19. Ercole contro Moloch .... Queen Demeter (credited)
20. Il peccato .... Rosa (credited)
21. La ballata dei mariti .... German hitch-hiker (credited)
22. Una volta nella vita .... Olivia Fontaine (credited)
23. Uno strano tipo .... Marina (credited)
    
    1964
24. Angelica .... The Polak (uncredited)
25. Cadavere per signora .... Giovanna (credited)
26. Coriolano eroe senza patria .... Virginia (credited)
27. Gli invincibili tre .... Demora (credited)
28. Il dominatore del deserto .... Fatima (credited)
29. Il leone di Tebe .... Nais (credited)
30. La valle dell'eco tonante .... Rahmis (credited)
31. Sansone contro il corsaro nero .... Rosita (credited)
    
    1965
32. Due mafiosi contro Goldginger .... Agent 0024 (credited)
33. I grandi condottieri .... Delilah (credited)
34. Io uccido, tu uccidi .... Santuzza (credited)
35. Kindar, l'invulnerabile .... Kira (credited)
36. La meravigliosa Angelica .... The Polak (uncredited)
37. Superseven chiama Cairo .... Faddja (credited)
38. The Agony and the Ecstasy .... Woman trying to seduce Michelangelo (uncredited)
    
    1966
39. Arizona Colt .... Dolores (credited)
40. Dinamite Jim .... Margaret (credited)
41. Johnny Yuma .... Samantha Felton (credited)
42. Password: Uccidete agente Gordon .... Amalia Sanchez (credited)
43. Upperseven, l'uomo da uccidere .... Pauline (credited)
    
    1967
44. Agente speciale L.K. .... Yaka (credited)
45. Con la morte alle spalle .... Silvana (credited)
46. I giorni della violenza .... Lizzie (credited)
47. Johnny Texas .... Rosita(credited)
48. L'uomo del colpo perfetto .... Margot (credited)
49. Per 50.000 maledetti dollari .... Elena (credited)
    
    1968
50. I lunghi giorni dell'odio .... Melina (credited)
51. Killer, adios .... Fannie Endes (credited)
52. Niente rose per OSS 117 .... Conchita Esteban (poster credit)
53. Sartana non perdona .... Passenger in the saloon (credited)
54. Vivo per la tua morte .... Encarnation (credited)
    
    1969
55. 99 donne .... Zoe (credited)
56. Barbagia .... Prostitute (credited)
57. Il castello di Fu Manchu .... Lisa (credited)
58. La taglia è tua... l'uomo l'ammazzo io .... Rosie (credited)
59. Marquis de Sade: Justine .... Florette (credited)
60. Top Sensation .... Paola (credited, also as Assistant director)
    
    1970
61. Arizona si scatenò... e li fece fuori tutti! .... Paloma Moreno (credited)
62. Frau Wirtin bläst auch gern Trompete (Le piacevoli notti di Justine) .... Contessa Pagnani (credited)
    
    1971
63. Due maschi per Alexa .... Alexa (credited)
64. Il giorno del giudizio .... Rising Sun (credited)
65. La bestia uccide a sangue freddo .... Anna Palmieri (credited)
66. La figlia di Frankenstein .... Tania Frankenstein (credited)
67. Mio padre Monsignore .... Bianca (credited)
    
    1972
68. Alla ricerca del piacere .... Eleanora Stuart (credited)
69. Casa d'appuntamento .... Marianne (credited)
70. Colpo grosso... grossissimo... anzi probabile .... Pierre's wife (credited)
71. Confessioni segrete di un convento di clausura .... Madonna Lisa (credited)
72. Decamerone '300 .... Fenecia (credited)
73. Il prode Anselmo e il suo scudiero (credit only)
74. Il sorriso della iena .... Gianna (credited)
75. Judas... ¡toma tus monedas! / Attento gringo... è tornato Sabata! .... Kidnapped woman (credited)
76. L'amante del demonio .... Helga (credited)
77. Meo Patacca .... Princess (credited)
78. Monta in sella!! Figlio di... .... Agnes (credited)
    
    1973
79. Crescete e moltiplicatevi .... Sister Flaminia (credited)
80. I racconti di Viterbury .... Bona (credited)
81. Il plenilunio delle vergini .... Countess Dracula (credited)
82. La muerte incierta .... Shaheen (credited)
83. Lo chiamavano Tresette... giocava sempre col morto .... Mrs. Pappalardo (credited)
84. Primo tango a Roma... storia d'amore e d'alchimia .... Vannina (credited)
85. Sentivano uno strano, eccitante, pericoloso puzzo di dollari .... Maria Costello (credited)
86. Tony Arzenta (Big Guns) .... Cuttita's wife (credited)
    
    1974
87. Cugini carnali .... Altomare (credited)
88. Dieci bianchi uccisi da un piccolo indiano .... Katherine (credited)
89. La casa della paura .... Alicia Songbird (credited)
90. Lo strano ricatto di una ragazza per bene .... Stella (credited)
91. The Arena .... Cornelia (credited as "Sara Bay")
    
    1975
92. Libera, amore mio! .... Wanda (credited)
    
    1976
93. Il pomicione .... Liliana (credited)

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

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)

Notes and sources

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1. Elenco degli ex allievi C.S.C. from Fondazione CSC.it

[PeplumParadise]

Mogli pericolose (1958) as Angelina.

Rosalba's earliest known film appearance.

[PeplumParadise]

Era notte a Roma (1960) credited, as Erika Almagia

[PeplumParadise]

Esther and the King (1960) credited, as Keresh.

Looking gorgeous in an eye-catching early bad-girl role opposite Joan Collins that surprisingly failed to lead to bigger things.

[PeplumParadise]

Il corazziere (1960) credited, as Girl collecting gold for her homeland

[PeplumParadise]

Il sepolcro dei re (1960) credited, as Elib

Pictures upgraded by Johan

[PeplumParadise]

Che gioia vivere (1961) credited, but does not appear - the first of several credit only listings for Rosalba.

[PeplumParadise]

El Cid (1961) as Harem girl

[PeplumParadise]

Ercole al centro della Terra (1961) credited, but does not appear.

Despite what various people and websites would try and have you believe, Rosalba does NOT appear in this film, another credit only.

[PeplumParadise]

Giallo club - Invito al poliziesco (1961) TV series, season 4, episode 1: "La morte ha due volti", credited in the listing in Radiocorriere TV guide, as Lana.

Rosalba is also credited in Radiocorriere TV listing for the later episode "Qualcuno ha tradito" (season 4, episode 4), where she is listed as playing Lana Nevada, which could be the same character that she plays in "La morte ha due volti".