Mamie Van Doren is an American actress, singer, model, and sex symbol who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. A blonde bombshell, she is one of the "Three M's" along with Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, who were friends and contemporaries. In 1953, Van Doren, then named Joan Lucille Olander, signed a seven-year contract with Universal, which hoped that she would be their version of Marilyn Monroe. During her time at Universal, she starred in teen dramas, exploitation films, musical, and comedy films among other genres. She has married five times, and had intimate affairs with many other Hollywood actors. She was one of the leading sex symbols in the 1950s.
Bicycle Thieves, also known as The Bicycle Thief, is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of his young family.
Girls Town is a 1959 American drama film directed by Charles F. Haas and starring Mamie Van Doren, Mel Tormé, and Ray Anthony. Paul Anka also appears in his first acting role. Van Doren stars as a juvenile delinquent who is sent to a girls' school run by nuns, where she finds herself unable to help her sister. The film capitalizes on the 1950s rebellious-teen exploitation films, with catfights, car races, music from Anka and The Platters, and sexy outfits.
Ray Anthony is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women is a 1968 American science fiction film, one of two films whose footage was taken from the 1962 Soviet SF film Planeta Bur for producer Roger Corman. The original film was scripted by Alexander Kazantsev from his novel and directed by Pavel Klushantsev. This adaptation, made by Peter Bogdanovich, who chose not to have his name credited on the film, included new scenes added that starred Mamie Van Doren. The film apparently had at least a limited U.S. release through American International Pictures, but became better known via subsequent cable TV showings and home video sales. The film contains no footage from Planeta Bur that was not used in the earlier Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965).
An American in Buenos Aires is a 1961 Argentine film directed by George Cahan. The film was based on the story by Antonio de Lara. The film starred Mamie Van Doren and Jean-Pierre Aumont. It is also known by the alternative title of The Blonde from Buenos Aires.
High School Confidential! is a 1958 American crime drama film directed by Jack Arnold, starring Mamie Van Doren, Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Jackie Coogan, Diane Jergens and Michael Landon.
At the Edge of the City is a 1953 Italian crime film drama directed by Carlo Lizzani. The film stars Massimo Girotti, Marina Berti and Giulietta Masina. In Rome a young man is falsely accused of killing his girlfriend. It was shot at the Palatino Studios in Rome and on location in the city. The film used neorealist style and was based on a real-life case.
Sex Kittens Go to College is a 1960 American comedy film by Allied Artists Pictures, produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith and starring Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld and Mijanou Bardot. The film was also released in its European print with an additional nine-minute dream sequence showcasing the robot Thinko with four striptease dancers.
Vice Raid is a 1959 B-movie crime drama directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Mamie Van Doren and Richard Coogan. It was issued on a double bill with Inside the Mafia.
Guns, Girls and Gangsters is a 1959 American film noir crime film directed by Edward L. Cahn starring Mamie Van Doren, Gerald Mohr, Lee Van Cleef, and Grant Richards.
The Big Operator is a black and white 1959 American crime/drama film starring Mickey Rooney as a corrupt union boss, with Steve Cochran, Mel Torme and Mamie Van Doren as co-stars. The film is a remake of Joe Smith, American (1942) with labor union thugs replacing Axis spies.
College Confidential is a 1960 American B-movie drama directed by Albert Zugsmith and starring Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows and Mamie Van Doren.
Jessica is a 1962 comedy drama film directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Maurice Chevalier, Angie Dickinson and Sylva Koscina, with cinematography by Piero Portalupi and art direction by Giulio Bongini. It was a co-production between France, Italy and the United States. Location shooting took place around Forza d'Agrò on Sicily.
The Tough and the Mighty is a 1969 Italian drama film directed by Carlo Lizzani. It is based on the real-life events of Italian bandit Graziano Mesina.
Vacations in Majorca is a 1959 Italian comedy film directed by Giorgio Bianchi.
Antonio Cifariello was an Italian actor and documentarist.
A Qualcuna Piace Calvo is a 1959 Italian film, directed by Mario Amendola, starring Magali Noël, Antonio Cifariello, Roberto Risso and Gisella Sofio.
Freddy in the Wild West is a 1964 West German/Italian musical Western film directed by Sobey Martin and starring Freddy Quinn, Rik Battaglia, and Beba Lončar. Playing the small role of Olivia is Mamie Van Doren, a 1950s Hollywood sex goddess. It was co-produced with and shot on location in SFR Yugoslavia. It was one of a crop of western-set German films made in the 1960s, many of them based on works of Karl May. It is also known by the alternative title of The Sheriff Was a Lady.
American actress Mamie Van Doren has been in 41 films from 1951 to 2012. Van Doren was discovered by Howard Hughes as Miss Eight Ball, and Hughes put Van Doren in 4 RKO movies, including Jet Pilot, His Kind of Woman, and Two Tickets to Broadway. These movies would have Van Doren playing minor roles, where she was often uncredited or credited as Joan Olander.
