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 known as 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 married five times, but notably had intimate affairs with many other Hollywood actors. She was ultimately one of the leading sex symbols of her time.
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).
Arline Hunter was an American actress and model. She was perhaps best known as Playboy's Playmate of the Month for August 1954. Her centerfold was the first not to be purchased from the John Baumgarth Co. by Hugh Hefner, and was instead photographed by Ed DeLong, who went on to become one of the more prolific Playboy photographers in the 1960s.
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.
The Violent Years is a 1956 American exploitation film directed by William Morgan and starring Jean Moorhead as Paula Parkins, the leader of a gang of juvenile delinquent high school girls. The film is notable for having an uncredited Ed Wood as the author of its screenplay. It was released in 1956 on a double bill with the German import Conchita and the Engineer.
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.
Star in the Dust is a 1956 American Technicolor Western film directed by Charles F. Haas and starring John Agar, Mamie Van Doren and Richard Boone. It was based on the 1953 Lee Leighton novel Law Man.
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.
The Girl in Black Stockings is an American B-movie mystery film released by United Artists in 1957. Directed by Howard W. Koch, it stars Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, and Mamie Van Doren.
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.
3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt is a 1964 comedy film starring Mamie Van Doren and Tommy Noonan, who also directed and co-wrote the film.
Born Reckless is a 1958 American Western film starring Mamie Van Doren and released through Warner Bros. studios.
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.
College Confidential is a 1960 American B-movie drama directed by Albert Zugsmith and starring Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows and Mamie Van Doren.
Ain't Misbehavin' is a 1955 musical film released by Universal-International and starring Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, Jack Carson and Mamie Van Doren. A young, rich-dreaming club girl falls in love with and marries the rich man of her dreams. As she begins to try to change herself to fit in with the ladies of rich society, her husband feels she is misbehaving with another man. In the end, they divorce and Sarah goes to a remote lodge. Kenneth meets her there and another argument ensues. Sarah then overhears Kenneth talking to Piermont about his love for Sarah just the way she is, and she leaves for the club, leaving instructions for the lodge master to tell Kenneth where she is. At the club, they get back together and fall in love all over again.
Running Wild is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Abner Biberman and starring William Campbell, Mamie Van Doren, Keenan Wynn, and Kathleen Case. The film was often paired with Tarantula as part of a double feature.
Yankee Pasha is a 1954 American romantic adventure film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Jeff Chandler, Rhonda Fleming and Mamie Van Doren. Shot in technicolor, it was produced and distributed by Hollywood studio Universal Pictures. The film is based on the 1947 novel Yankee Pasha by Edison Marshall.
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.
