Belinda Lee

Biography

Born in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, Lee was signed to a film contract in 1954 by the Rank Studios after being seen performing as a student of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

She made her film debut opposite comic Frankie Howerd (in his film debut) in The Runaway Bus (1954). It was directed by Val Guest..

Hammer Films promptly borrowed her to play the female lead in Murder by Proxy (1954), opposite Dane Clark. Guest used her in a small role in Life with the Lyons (1954), again for Hammer.

Lee had small roles in Meet Mr. Callaghan (1954) and The Belles of St Trinian's (1954), the latter being a big hit. She had a good part in a thriller Footsteps in the Fog (1955), supporting Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons, then played a series of decorative parts in comedies: Man of the Moment (1955) with Norman Wisdom; No Smoking (1955); Who Done It? (1956) with Benny Hill. She replaced Diana Dors in The Big Money with Ian Carmichael, which Rank disliked so much they delayed showing.

She was married to the photographer Cornel Lucas from 1954 until 1959.

Stardom

Rank finally gave Lee a good chance, casting her as a nurse in a medical drama The Feminine Touch (1956). She followed this with a crime drama The Secret Place (1957) and Miracle in Soho (1957), the latter written by Emeric Pressburger. She was an aristocrat helping Louis Jourdan in Dangerous Exile (1957), during the filming of which she was injured when her hair caught fire.

British exhibitors voted her the 10th most popular British film star at the box office in 1957.

Lee's first film in Italy was The Goddess of Love (1957).

She returned to Rank to make Nor the Moon by Night (1957) which was shot on location in South Africa. During filming, Lee left to go to Italy to visit her married lover. Italian newspapers reported that Lee had taken an overdose of sleeping pills. Three days later, papal prince Filippo Orsini, who had been linked to her by the papers, was reported to have been hospitalised after slashing his wrists. Police refused to comment on the newspaper reports linking the two romantically. Orsini, whose injuries were light, refused to tell the police why he had done it. Lee said that she had been suffering from insomnia and had taken an overdose by mistake. Both were married to others at the time. The Vatican said that Orsini would lose his title if it were proven that he had attempted suicide, and indeed the Pope did remove Orsini and the Orsini family from their hereditary title of Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne.

Lee's contract with Rank was terminated and she relocated to Europe.

Europe

In Italy, Lee starred in The Magliari (1959), directed by Francesco Rosi. She went to Germany for Love Now, Pay Later (1959) and France for Les Dragueurs (1959) and Marie of the Isles (1959). In Italy she did Long Night in 1943 (1960) and played the title role in Messalina (1960) and Cornel Wilde's love interest in Constantine and the Cross (1961). Her last film was the Biblical epic The Story of Joseph and His Brethren (1961).

Death

In 1961, Belinda Lee died in a car accident near San Bernardino, California, on her way to Los Angeles from Las Vegas, where she had been acting in a film. Her ashes are kept at Campo Cestio Cemetery (Cimitero acattolico) in Rome, Italy.

Legacy

The 1963 semi-documentary Italian film The Women Of The World was dedicated to Lee (who had died two years previously), with a written announcement at the start of the film (which interrupts the title music): To Belinda Lee, who throughout this long journey accompanied and helped us with love.