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IMDbPro

Maria Montez(1912-1951)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
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Maria Montez
The caliph of Baghdad must go into hiding with a group of traveling performers when his brother usurps the throne. Both brothers desire a beautiful dancing girl, who is torn between power and true love.
Play trailer2:09
Arabian Nights (1942)
1 Video
99+ Photos
In a world weary of war and dispirited by the ravages of the Great Depression, Hollywood at the turn of the 1940's concocted a wildly popular, effective lot of escapist fare (though often cheaply made) to regale the sick at heart worldwide. Universal Pictures, more often than not, led in producing such films. We know about the monster movies: wolf men, invisible men -- and invisible women too, for that matter. We know about Sherlock Holmes chasing not killer hounds in 1890 but chasing killer Nazis a half- century later. Such were among typical Universal "B" productions. Enter Maria de Santo Silas -- Maria Montez. This daughter of a Spanish diplomat traveled extensively after being educated in the Canary Islands and attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to establish herself as a stage actress in Europe. In 1940 she found herself in New York City, a model. Her screen career began in 1941, with Universal casting her in bit parts. On account of her strikingly exotic looks and her exotic accent, the studio soon paired her with other "exotics" (Sabu and Turhan Bey), and usually with a more "home-style" hero (Jon Hall), in a series of low-budget adventures, filmed in Technicolor and situated in fantasy lands, with Montez herself often situated in revealing dress. With Montez threatened by all manner of nastiness -- from evil caliphs to man-eating sharks to her own cobra-worshipping twin sister (!) -- her pictures soon became immensely popular, even though she could not really act, could not dance and could not sing. Audiences flocked to see her films, just to witness the trials and endurance of an alluring beauty in distress (as well, perhaps, as to glimpse some scantily clad, beauteous flesh). The Depression having long since passed, the end of World War II meant also the end of flying carpets and sand dunes and deadly reptiles as potential subjects for attracting moviegoers. That bit of history, plus a bit of girth added to Montez's frame, led her and her husband, the actor Jean-Pierre Aumont, to abandon Hollywood for Europe, where she would appear in a handful of French and Italian adventure films. On 7 September 1951 Maria Montez was discovered drowned in her bath, possibly having first suffered a heart attack.
BornJune 6, 1912
DiedSeptember 7, 1951(39)
BornJune 6, 1912
DiedSeptember 7, 1951(39)
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Photos110

Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, and Maria Montez in That Night in Rio (1941)
Maria Montez in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)
Jon Hall and Maria Montez in White Savage (1943)
Andy Devine, Jon Hall, and Maria Montez in Sudan (1945)
Jon Hall and Maria Montez in Gypsy Wildcat (1944)
Brian Donlevy, Maria Montez, and Nissa in South of Tahiti (1941)
Andy Devine and Maria Montez in Raiders of the Desert (1941)
Erich von Stroheim, Pierre Brasseur, and Maria Montez in Portrait of a Killer (1949)
Jon Hall and Maria Montez in Sudan (1945)
Andy Devine, Jon Hall, and Maria Montez in Sudan (1945)
Preston Foster and Maria Montez in Tangier (1946)
Marie McDonald, Maria Montez, Janet Warren, Barbara Slater, and Nan Wynn in Pardon My Sarong (1942)

Known for

Leif Erickson, Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942)
Arabian Nights
6.1
  • Sherazade
  • 1942
Lon Chaney Jr., Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Cobra Woman (1944)
Cobra Woman
5.7
  • Tollea
  • Naja
  • 1944
Maria Montez in Siren of Atlantis (1949)
Siren of Atlantis
5.6
  • Queen Antinea
  • 1949
Peter Coe, Jon Hall, and Maria Montez in Gypsy Wildcat (1944)
Gypsy Wildcat
5.7
  • Carla
  • 1944

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Revenge of the Pirates (1951)
    Revenge of the Pirates
  • Schatten über Neapel (1951)
    Schatten über Neapel
  • Maria Montez in Amore e sangue (1951)
    Amore e sangue
  • Paul Hubschmid, John Brahm, Maria Montez, and Massimo Serato in The Thief of Venice (1950)
    The Thief of Venice
  • Portrait of a Killer (1949)
    Portrait of a Killer
  • Wicked City (1949)
    Wicked City
  • Maria Montez in Siren of Atlantis (1949)
    Siren of Atlantis
  • Rod Cameron and Maria Montez in Pirates of Monterey (1947)
    Pirates of Monterey
  • Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in The Exile (1947)
    The Exile
  • Louise Allbritton, Preston Foster, Maria Montez, Robert Paige, and Sabu in Tangier (1946)
    Tangier
  • Turhan Bey, Jon Hall, and Maria Montez in Sudan (1945)
    Sudan
  • Turhan Bey, Susanna Foster, Maria Montez, and Jack Oakie in Bowery to Broadway (1944)
    Bowery to Broadway
  • Peter Coe, Jon Hall, and Maria Montez in Gypsy Wildcat (1944)
    Gypsy Wildcat
  • Marlene Dietrich, Orson Welles, W.C. Fields, Laverne Andrews, Maxene Andrews, Patty Andrews, Susanna Foster, Grace McDonald, Donald O'Connor, George Raft, Peggy Ryan, Dinah Shore, Vera Zorina, and The Andrews Sisters in Follow the Boys (1944)
    Follow the Boys
    • (uncredited)
  • Lon Chaney Jr., Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu in Cobra Woman (1944)
    Cobra Woman

Soundtrack

  • Patric Knowles and Maria Montez in Mystery of Marie Roget (1942)
    Mystery of Marie Roget
    • (uncredited)
  • Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Andy Devine, and Maria Montez in South of Tahiti (1941)
    South of Tahiti

Videos1

Trailer
Trailer 2:09
Trailer

Personal details

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    • June 6, 1912
    • Barahona, Dominican Republic
    • September 7, 1951
    • Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, France(drowned)
    • Jean-Pierre AumontJuly 13, 1943 - September 7, 1951 (her death, 1 child)
    • Tina Aumont
    • Julia Andre(Sibling)
  • Novel: "Forever Is a Long Time."
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 10 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 7 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    For her stage name, she chose the last name of Montez in honor of dancer Lola Montes, a favorite of Maria's father. However, she was overruled by the studio when she insisted on spelling it with an S, not a Z.
  • Quotes
    [on viewing Arabian Nights (1942)] When I look at myself, I am so beautiful I scream with joy!
    • Arabian Nights
      (1942)
      $150 /week

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