Marla English
Acting
Biography
She was born Marleine Gaile English in San Diego, California. As a teenager, she worked as a model and performed locally. English was originally signed to a contract by Paramount Pictures in 1952 after winning a San Diego beauty pageant to be "Fairest of the Fair". She was paid $150 per week to appear in such films as Red Garters (1954) and Rear Window (1954). She was often cut out of these films. Her contract went up to $200 a week. Her breakthrough role came when she was borrowed by Aubrey Schenck to appear in Shield for Murder (1954). She received a major break when she was cast opposite Spencer Tracy in The Mountain, a film which was to be made in France. English was given a smallpox vaccine before leaving to go on location. She quickly developed a raging fever and decided to pull out of the movie. Paramount suspended English and replaced her with Barbara Darrow. Parade Magazine questioned English about her decision in September 1955. She said it was a very dumb move and was unsure why she decided against making The Mountain. A close relative told the publication that English had fallen in love with Paramount actor Larry Pennell. She became enraged when the studio would not give Pennell a role in the film so they could travel to France together. English made mostly B films throughout her career in Hollywood. Some of these include Three Bad Sisters, Runaway Daughters, The She Creature, Flesh and the Spur, and Voodoo Woman. In 1955, she appeared with John Ireland and Pennell in Hell's Horizon.
Known For
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Rear Window
Italy 1757, Pippo Popolino, a lowly tailor, disguises himself as the great Casanova in order to romance the attractive widow Francesca. He little suspects what awaits him... Locked into the incongruous role by the desperation of the real Casanova's creditors, Pippo must journey to Venice on a delicate mission far beyond his capabilities.
Casanova's Big Night
A mysterious hypnotist reverts his beautiful assistant back into the form of a prehistoric sea monster that she was in a past life.
The She-Creature
Following the death of a wealthy man, his three daughters squabble about who should be the principal heiress.
Three Bad Sisters
Three teenagers with troubled families are unable to adjust at home and in high-school. Tempted with an easy, carefree life they soon pass from misdemeanors into serious crime - and will suffer for it. Sometimes, repentance comes too late.
Runaway Daughters
The French Foreign Legion battles rebellious Arabs in North Africa.
Desert Sands
Tale of an adventurer trying to rescue a damsel kidnapped by pirates.
Yankee Pasha
A lonely, unhappy owner of a Beverly Hills boarding house reflects on her lonely, unhappy life and the lonely, unhappy man she once loved.
About Mrs. Leslie
A crooked police detective masterminds a robbery then fights to keep the stolen money.
Shield for Murder
Deep in the jungles a mad scientist is using the natives' voodoo for his experiments to create an indestructible being to serve his will. When a party of gold seekers stumbles upon his village, the scientist realizes that Marilyn the expedition's evil leader is the perfect subject for his work.
Voodoo Woman
Homer Flagg is a railroad worker in the small New Mexico town of Desert Hole. One day, he finds an abandoned automobile at an old atomic proving ground. His doctor and best friend, Steve Harris, diagnoses him with radiation poisoning and gives Homer three weeks to live. A big city reporter hears of Homer's plight and convinces her editor to provide an all-expenses paid trip to New York.
Living It Up
A trio of thieves make their getaway by kidnapping a young hot-rodder, and take over a mountain cabin for a hideout after overpowering its occupants.
A Strange Adventure
A young man searches for his brother's killer with the help of a gunfighter, a native woman and a traveling medicine man.
Flesh and the Spur
The pilot, co-pilot, and crew of a bomber try to hit a Korean bridge in bad weather.