Ewa Aulin

Ewa Aulin
Ewa Aulin in Col cuore in gola (1966)
Born (1950-02-13) 13 February 1950
Landskrona, Sweden
Occupation Actress
Years active 1965 - 1996

Ewa Brigitta Aulin (born 13 February 1950 in Landskrona, Skåne County) is a former Swedish actress who appeared in a number of Italian and some American films in the 1960s and 1970s. She is remembered for playing the title character in the cult film Candy where she appeared with John Huston, Ringo Starr, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, Richard Burton and Marlon Brando. She is known to horror film fans for starring in Death Smiles at a Murderer, Death Laid an Egg and Ceremonia Sangrienta (aka Legend of Blood Castle).

Biography

Ewa Aulin rose to fame in her native Sweden when she won the title of Miss Teen Sweden in 1965 at age 15. In the same year Aulin had been approached by Gunnar Fischer to appear as the young girl in his short film Djävulen's Instrument (The Devil's Instrument). Subsequently, she represented Sweden in the first ever Miss Teen International pageant, which was held on April 6, 1966 in Hollywood, California. Aulin won; thereby earning the title of Miss Teen International 1966.

Aulin's success as Miss Teen International attracted attention not only in Sweden, where she appeared on the popular entertainment show Hylands Hörna, but also in Italy, and in 1967 at age 16, she made her feature-film debut with a supporting role in the comedy Don Giovanni in Sicilia (Don Juan in Sicily), based on the novel by Vitaliano Brancati. This film led to a movie career for Aulin that would last a little more than six years, starting with leading roles in two notable giallo films: the pop art-style Col cuore in gola (With Heart in Mouth, 1967) directed by Tinto Brass, and the avant-garde La morte ha fatto l'uovo (Death Laid an Egg, 1968) directed by Giulio Questi. Aulin's co-star in both these films was Jean-Louis Trintignant.

In late 1967, Aulin was cast as the title character in her most famous film, the American-Italian-French co-production Candy, directed by Christian Marquand. Aulin learned that she had the role only the day before filming began in early December 1967. The story involves Aulin's character's search for the meaning of life, which leads to encounters with a variety of different men and always ends in a sexual situation. The film did poorly in America and failed to make an international star out of Aulin. It was more successful in Europe and has gained some popularity as a cult film in later years. Aulin, in particular received praise for performance in the film, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. As a consequence of her appearance in this role, Aulin was stereotyped as something of a 'blonde nymphet' by people in the film industry.

The only other American film Aulin appeared in was Start the Revolution Without Me (1970), a comedy of errors set during the French Revolution. Aulin played a supporting role as Christina of Belgium, and the film starred Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland, but like Candy, the film did little business in America.

Later the same year, Aulin starred in the experimental film Microscopic Liquid Subway to Oblivion, which was written, produced and directed by Aulin's husband, British writer-director John Shadow, whom she had married secretly in Mexico in early 1968 and who was the father of her son Shawn Rolf John Loyola, born in 1969. The film itself barely was released anywhere in the world, and Aulin and John Shadow later divorced in 1972.

After this, Aulin only appeared in Italian films. Many of her films were sex comedies set in the Middle Ages but she also managed to make more impact in drama and thriller films. She played one of the leads in the giallo The Double (1971) directed by Romolo Guerrieri, as well as leading roles in Quando l'amore è sensualità (When Love Is Lust, 1973) and Jorge Grau's Ceremonia Sangriento (1973), played an undead avenging angel in Joe D'Amato's gothic horror film La morte ha sorriso all'assassino (Death Smiles at a Murderer, 1973) and also appeared in the thriller Una vita lunga un giorno (Long Lasting Days, 1973).

In 1974, at age 24, Aulin married a builder, Cesare Paladino, and by him had two daughters. She abandoned her acting career, enrolled at university, and became a teacher. Since her retirement, she has appeared only in one other film, Mi fai un favore (Stella's Favor, 1996), in a supporting role.[1]

Filmography

Ewa Aulin with singer Mino Reitano (1973)

References

  1. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117031/reference
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.