Margaret Lee at Brian's Drive-In Theater

biography

Born Margaret Box on August 4, 1943, in Wolverhampton, England, actress Margaret Lee was educated at the Italia Conti Theatre School in London, becoming fluent in Italian. Shortly after graduation, she headed to Italy to attempt to break into films. By the age of 19, Lee was acting in Italian comedies with the then-popular Italian team of Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia and appeared in a few sword and sandal films, including Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules (1962; with Reg Lewis) and Samson and the Sea Beast (1963; with Kirk Morris). Later in the decade, Lee became a regular fixture in European spy thrillers, including Agent 077 Fury in the Orient (1965; with Ken Clark) and Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966; with Ray Danton and Marisa Mell). With the death of the spy genre in the late 1960s, Margaret Lee was then often cast in popular Euro horror flicks such as Night of the Blood Monster (1970; with Christopher Lee) and Slaughter Hotel (1971; with Klaus Kinski).

LEFT and CENTER: 1960s cheesecake shots of beautiful Margaret Lee. RIGHT: Early 1970s glamour photo

In 1963, Lee married choreographer Gino Malerba, and while the union was short, it produced a son. With her film career hitting the skids in the early 1970s, as many film roles offered to her had descended into exploitation, Lee called a halt to her acting career and returned to England in 1972, marrying again and having another son.

the films of margaret lee

Agent 077 Fury in the Orient (1965)

With Ken Clark in the Euro spy thriller Agent 077 Fury in the Orient

Casanova '70 (1965)

With Marcello Mastroianni in the Italian comedy Casanova '70

Bang! Bang! You're Dead (1966)

From the British comedy spy flick Bang! Bang! You're Dead. RIGHT: With the film's star, Tony Randall

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966)

From the Italian spy film Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die with Mike Connors

Ghosts - Italian Style (1967)

LEFT: From the Italian comedy Ghosts - Italian Style with Sophia Loren. CENTER: Lee camps it up in this scene. RIGHT: Lee as Sayonara

Dick Smart 2007 (1967)

Lee as Lady Lister in the spy thriller Dick Smart 2007

margaret lee today

After the birth of her second son, film production coordinator Damian Anderson, in 1973, Margaret Lee took several years off. She returned to Italy in the early 1980s and resumed her acting career in a couple of films, including Neapolitan Sting (1983; with Treat Williams) before walking away from her career again. Lee is now retired from show business.

margaret lee films available from movies unlimited

Fire Monsters Against The Son Of Hercules [DVD](1962) DVD
There'll be a hot time in old Macedonia tonight, as Maxus, "the muscular son of the muscular one," squares off against a gaggle of gargantuan, fire-breathing creatures to save the residents of a remote valley. Reg Lewis, Margaret Lee star. AKA: "Colossus of the Stone Age." 79 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English. Plays All Regions.
Secret Agent, Super Dragon [DVD](1966) DVD
A series of strange murders in Michigan leads a CIA agent to a South America-based international crime cartel that is lacing gum and candy with psychotropic drugs. After discovering that the crooks plan on taking over America by getting college kids goofy on the poisoned goodies, our hero sets out to stop the bad guys. Ray Danton, Marisa Mell, Margaret Lee star in this European production. AKA: "New York Calls Superdragon." Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 12 [DVD] DVD
Poke fun (along with the MST3K gang) at some of cinema's most cringeworthy classics, starting with "The Starfighters" (1964), the rip-roaring adventure of a young pilot determined to outmaneuver his father, a former Air Force legend. Former U.S. congressman Robert "B-1 Bob" Dornan stars. Next, a CIA agent uncovers a diabolical plot by a South American gangster to add lethal drugs to candy and gum and sell it to American college kids. "Secret Agent Super Dragon" (1966) stars Ray Danton and Marisa Mell. Four-disc set also includes "The Rebel Set" and "Parts: The Clonus Horror." 6 2/3 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English; featurette; interviews; theatrical trailers.
Master Stroke (Colpo Maestro Al Servizio Di Sua Maesta Britannica) [DVD](1967) DVD
Richard Harrison stars as an actor in spaghetti westerns who is enlisted by criminal mastermind Adolfo Celli to take part in a series of complex heists. After he joins a former Scotland Yard official in criminal activities, he's recruited by a secret service organization to help stop his newest employers. Margaret Lee, Eduardo Fajardo also star. AKA: "The Great Diamond Robbery," "Master Stroke in the Service of Her Britannic Majesty." Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.
The Christopher Lee Collection [DVD] DVD
Four-disc boxed set includes "Circus of Fear," "The Blood of Fu Manchu," "The Castle of Fu Manchu," and "The Bloody Judge."
Circus Of Fear (Widescreen Version) [DVD](1967) DVD
What is the connection between a deadly bank heist and a sinister circus? There's murder under the big top in this grisly thriller, based on an Edgar Wallace novel. Christopher Lee, Leo Genn, Suzy Kendall, and Klaus Kinski star. AKA: "Psycho Circus." 90 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; audio commentary; biographies; photo gallery; poster gallery; theatrical trailer.
Action Man Collection [DVD] DVD
When businessman (and retired thug) Jean Gabin gets an offer he can't refuse from "Action Man" (1967) Robert Stack, he agrees to pull off one final caper, which runs smoothly until criminal rivals kidnap Gabin's wife. Slick French-Italian crime film co-stars Margaret Lee, Jean Topart. The espionage thriller "Peking Blonde" (1967) concerns a beautiful woman with amnesia who could hold valuable military secrets. Is she really the ex-mistress of a Chinese nuclear scientist? With Edward G. Robinson, Mireille Darc. AKA: "Blonde from Peking." In the knockout crime drama "The Day of the Wolves" (1971), seven mysterious bearded men arrive in a small town and sever all lines of communications. The town's former sheriff eventually arrives on the scene to stop their criminal scheme. Richard Egan, Martha Hyer, and Jan Murray star. Are two mercenaries ready for "The Big Game" (1972) when they are hired to protect a scientist who invents a mind-control weapon? And, could the weapon ever be turned against them? Ray Milland, Stephen Boyd star. AKA: "Control Factor." 6 hrs. total on two discs. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English (dubbed) Dolby Digital mono. Dubbed in English.
Five For Hell [DVD](1967) DVD
Europe, 1944: Five misfit soldiers are sent on a suicide mission into Nazi territory to retrieve attack plans. No one expected them to come out alive...but then no one asked them. Exciting WWII thriller stars John Garko, Nick Jordan, and Klaus Kinski. AKA: "Five Into Hell." Standard; Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.
War Classics, Vol. 4 [DVD] DVD
Includes "Half Shot at Sunrise," "They Raid by Night," "Five for Hell," and "Black Brigade."
Double Face (A Doppia Faccia) [DVD](1969) DVD
Mystery/suspense shocker about a millionaire industrialist who uses a car bomb to kill his lesbian wife, then thinks he sees her in an adult film. But is his former love really alive, or is something more sinister happening? Thriller based on Edgar Wallace's novel "The Face in the Night" stars Klaus Kinski, Christiane Kruger, Gunther Stoll. AKA: "Puzzle of Honors." Standard; Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.
Venus In Furs [DVD](1970) DVD
An American jazz musician in Rio confronts a mysterious woman who looks like a woman he found dead months before in Istanbul and is drawn into a sordid sexual demimonde. Homosexuality, masochism and murder all play parts in this intense adult drama from director Jess Franco. James Darren, Maria Rohm, Barbara McNair and Klaus Kinski star. AKA: "Paroxysmus." 86 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; interviews; biography; photo gallery; poster gallery; theatrical trailer.
The Bloody Judge [DVD](1970) DVD
Christopher Lee is at his cruelest as notorious 17th-century British "witchfinder" Judge George Jeffreys, who used his position to persecute and torture suspected enemies of the crown as well as those accused of witchcraft, in this sordid Jess Franco tale. Maria Rohm, Maria Schell and Howard Vernon also star. Restored version includes footage not shown in U.S. theatres. AKA: "Il Trono Di Fuoco," "Night of the Blood Monster," "Trial of the Witches." 104 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; deleted scene; alternate scenes; interviews; biographies; photo gallery; poster gallery; theatrical trailers; TV spot.
The Killers Are Our Guests (Gli Assassini Sono Nostri Ospiti) [DVD](1974) DVD
Pulling off an impressive heist in Milan, a team of jewel thieves is forced to seek help when one of the criminals is shot during the getaway. Lucking upon the home of Dr. Guido Malerva (Antonio de Teffe), the crooks take the surgeon and his beautiful wife hostage. When the doctor provides care for the malefactor, the gang shows its gratitude by subjecting the couple to physical and sexual abuse. Margaret Lee, Levia Cerini also star. 87 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English (dubbed) Dolby Digital stereo; photo gallery. Dubbed in English.
The Protectors: Season 1 [DVD](1972) DVD
All 26 first-season episodes--including "2000 Feet to Die," "Ceremony for the Dead," "A Kind of Wild Justice," "One and One Makes One," and "A Case for the Right"--are featured in a four-disc set. 11 1/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; audio commentary.