Dark-haired 60s cult pop icon Pamela Tiffin debuted in Summer and Smoke (1961) and was a scene-stealing comedienne opposite James Cagney in Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three (1961) before becoming the queen of teenage drive-in movies in State Fair (1963), Come Fly with Me (1963), For Those Who Think Young (1964), The Lively Set (1964) and The Pleasure Seekers (1964).
After landing a sexy adult role opposite Paul Newman in Harper (1966), she went blonde and ran away to Italy to star in such films as Kiss the Other Sheik (1968), The Fifth Cord (1971) and Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears (1973). This thoroughly researched career retrospective pays tribute to the talented Tiffin, hailed by Cagney for her “remarkable flair for comedy,” and addresses why she did not achieve superstardom. Interviews with co-stars, including Franco Nero, and film historians offer a behind-the-scenes look at her most popular films.

Tom Lisanti is the award-winning author of multiple books about 1960s and 1970s film and television history. He has appeared as a cohost on Turner Classic Movies and has written for Cinema Retro, Films of the Golden Age, Cinema of the ’70s, and Scary Monsters.

Tom Lisanti
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 280
Bibliographic Info: 66 photos, filmography, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9661-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2016-9
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments v

Preface 1

1. In the Beginning 5

2. A Career Is Launched

     Summer and Smoke 9

3. Poof, She’s a Star

     One, Two, Three 21

4. It’s a Grand Night for Singing … Well, Maybe Not

     State Fair 36

5. Soaring Into the Wild Blue Yonder

     Come Fly with Me 48

6. No, Films Is Where She’d Rather Stay

     The Fugitive (TV), Three on an Island (TV pilot) 61

7. For Those Who Think Pamela

     For Those Who Think Young 67

8. Start Your Engines

     The Lively Set 79

9. It’s a ­Starlet-Eat-Starlet World

     The Pleasure Seekers 87

10. Where’s Pamela?

     The Hallelujah Trail 106

11. Jiggling the Diving Board

     Harper 115

12. Blondes Do Have More Fun

     Oggi, domani, dopodomani Delitto quasi perfecto (The Almost Perfect Murder) 127

13. Broadway Baby

     Dinner at Eight (stage play) 137

14. Marcello Mastroianni: Take Two

     Kiss the Other Sheik 147

15. Arrivederci, Hollywood! 152

16. Pamela, Italian Style

     I Protagonisti (The Protagonists); Straziami, ma di baci saziami (Kill Me with Kisses); L’Archangelo (The Archangel) 157

17. In This Corner … Lana Turner

     The Survivors (TV) 171

18. Back in the U.S.A.

     Viva Max; Uncle Vanya (stage play) 177

19. The Godfather It Ain’t

     Cosi di Cosa Nostra (The Godson) 191

20. Pamela Bares Some Skin

     Il vichingo venuto dal Sud (The Blonde in the Blue Movie) 196

21. Giallo Time

     Giornata nera per l’Ariete (The Fifth Cord) 204

22. Tiffin Makes Three

     Los Amigos (Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears) 212

23. Questo è tutto gente!

     E se per caso una mattina…; Amore mio, uccidimi! (Kill Me, My Love!); La signora è stata violentata! (The Lady Has Been Raped); Brigitte, Laura, Ursula, Monica, Raquel, Litz, Florinda, Barbara, Claudia, e Sofia le chiamo tutte … anima mia 223

24. Life After Moviemaking 230

Credits 237

Pamela Tiffin as Herself 249

Chapter Notes 255

Bibliography 261

Index 267

“Lisanti does an excellent job chronicling the career of Pamela Tiffin…5 stars”—Examiner.