Nicoletta Machiavelli

[beutelwolf]

Exciting Cinema vol 4 no 1

[johnbear]

Publicity Still For Navajo Joe (1966)

[Fabrizio]

[Joszka]

"Wild West Gals", Glittering Images edition, 2008.
Pics from the movie "Giarreterra Colt", Gian Rocco, 1967.

[Joszka]

"Star Ciné Aventures" n°253, June 73.

[nerval]

[Steve44]

In post 25: She is not Nicoletta Machiavelli. She is Annabella Incontrera. Really

[Joszka]

"Excelsior" n°36, January 89.

[Findcandor]

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I was watching 1967's Matchless (A.K.A. Mission Top Secret), which led to this post on the film's main leading lady, Ira von Fürstenberg.

Along the way, an actress representing the "bad guys" appeared:


The second photo has our lady bookended by the film's stars, Patrick O'Neal and Ira von Fürstenberg

Who was she? There was an "edge" to her. She looked special.

Naturally, the resulting fishing around allowed for light to be shed on this woman. I even came across nude shots of her that have not been featured on this thread.

This obituary that appeared in 2015 (when she sadly died) was revealing, as was this page from a college (which appeared only a few months before she died) boasting about their "star teacher." The lady's mom was an American, of Scotch-Irish descent, dad was an Italian, and Nicoletta came across as a free spirit, much in line with the "different" aura she represented.


This page features other photos, including a few with the same black swimsuit seen above.
Nicoletta looks especially lovely in these views, evidently taken when she was very young.

(This other article that I encountered afterwards was pretty good. Here, she was reported to have said after she moved on to a different phase of her life: "I have seen very few of my films, actually, I'm not interested in them.")

Her 15th-16th century namesake, Niccolò Machiavelli, has a reputation for being devious (tyrants learned how to gain power, from his works), although as is usual, the real truth emerges when one digs deeper. There was more to the man, as one may read if interested, from here and here.

This "notorious" connection only serves to make Nicoletta Machiavelli all the more intriguing.


With Burt Reynolds in 1967's Navajo Joe, featuring its unforgettable theme song.
The film's composer was the great Ennio Morricone. EDIT: Perhaps an even more rousing version.

In Post #2 of this thread (which I see was started by venerable Member "Chromax" in 2008), Member "Mcol" put up a post about a "spaghetti western" entitled Giarrettiera Colt (1968), A.K.A. Garter Colt. As Mcol thoughtfully laid on us, this film was reputed to be the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films.




While conducting research for this post, I encountered this magazine article (entitled, "Girls of the Golden Westerns") that focused on this movie, and then I went on to transcribe it for easier reading. (Only later did I notice that ten years ago, Former Staff Member "Jorge borg" had put up the same reference. Here I thought I was breaking ground, only to be foiled again. Drat.)




Above: Nicoletta Machiavelli (descendant of the Florentine statesman-historian-philosopher of the Renaissance, Niccolo Machiavelli) in "Garter Colt". Nicoletta, incidentally, was John Huston's first choice for Eve in his Bible film but someone decided Eve was blonde and Nicoletta lost her role. John Huston, by the way, will not be directing "The Mad Woman of Chaillot" as mentioned on Page 27 — Brian Forbes will now direct the film.

Above: Nicoletta Machiavelli in "Garter Colt", one of the latest Italian westerns.

THE EUROPEAN WESTERN — shot mainly in Italy and Spain — has become as big a money-spinning theme as James Bond and looks like continuing for some time. The classic elements of the American western have been preserved but the degree of violence and sadism has been heightened to what seems a calculated degree.

Beginning with a number of male stars among whom Giuliano Gemma was (and is) outstanding, there is an increasing tendency to promote a "Girl of the Golden West" and the latest in this genre is Gian Rocco's "Garter Colt" with the new young star, Nicoletta Machiavelli wearing the garter.

The story is as classically corny and improbable as any in the genre. Garter Colt is a French adventuress who finds herself involved, against her will, between Mexican rebels, the troops of Maximilian of Augsburg and bands of arms-smuggling brigands. It is the year 1861 and we find ourselves on the Mexican and American border: Lulu, called "Garter Colt" on account of the pistol she keeps hidden in her garter, is travelling by coach toward Fort City. The coach is attacked by El Roho, The Red, the head of the arms smugglers, who is pursuing two French officers also travelling on the coach, Jean and his adjutant. El Roho is put to flight by Lulu's wit and accurate shooting just as the two Frenchmen are about to be overwhelmed.

The "Bible" film was this one from 1966, entitled, The Bible: In the Beginning..., with an all-star cast. I don't believe it was a box office success so it probably would not have mattered, but had the part of "Eve" (assuming there was an Eve, would Eve really have been a blonde?) been landed by Nicoletta, it could have led to greater opportunities. (Then again, the actress who played the part, someone named Ulla Bergryd, had a film career which went nowhere, so perhaps the failure to nab this role was a blessing.)


Hey, Adam was a blondie, too! Interestingly, the Swedish actress Ulla Bergryd became a teacher later in life, just as Nicoletta Machiavelli did, and Ulla also died in 2015, while living two more years than our lady. The actress who played the part inspired by Ms. Machiavelli in Kill Bill, Uma Thurman, is known to be of Swedish descent as well (although her Sweeddiness is evidently small). Why, there is no end to the parallels and connections

Since the "Tarantino" connection enhances the reputation of Garter Colt, some may be bemused by how a reviewer from the "Sergio Leone Web Board" has savaged the movie. Those wishing to see this film may benefit from knowing it's on YouTube. English speakers will need to download (if you don't know how, try 9convert.com), and then pick up subtitles; the one that worked for me was from here. (You then need to make sure both the movie and the subtitle files are named exactly the same.)


Nicoletta Machiavelli plays "Scarabea" in the 1969 film by the same name.
(Scarabea - wieviel Erde braucht der Mensch? or "How Much Land Does a Man Need?," based on Tolstoy's 1886 short story.)
A greedy German tourist who lusts for land makes a macabre bet with locals, and our lady accompanies him on his hike.
Nicoletta was nominated for the German Academy Award for best actress.

Let's finish off with these heretofore unseen nude shots. These are from Al di là del bene e del male (1977), or Beyond Good and Evil, regarding a love triangle between the philosopher Nietzsche, his best friend and a Jewish woman, exploring matters of morality. Nicoletta's part in the film appears to be small. In this scene, she is being spied on by a giggling boy and girl. When our lady becomes aware of her small fry audience, she covers up.



Naturally, as a shameless man, I was first attracted to Nicoletta Machiavelli and became curious about her based on her striking appearance. Yet now that we have learned a bit more about her, it seems to be an especially saddening pity that she is gone. The lady appears to have been a force in her own right, and carved her own path. Here is how she looked toward her life's end:




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[nerval]

Better scan