Happy Tuesday! I want to say that it's hard to believe it is 27 degrees out when yesterday it was in the 50s, but again, again this is the Midwest. We can have three seasons in a day and have. You get used to it and part of being used to it is getting to complain about it. Ha! At any rate, the sun is shining which makes any day bearable. I am almost done with this little film diary, 300 words. The tinier the piece, the more complicated the revision. In the meantime, I am sharing something I wrote on my Medium page FIVE years ago today. My writing style has definitely changed a lot but I still have Beryl appreciation! Enjoy! Why You Should Check Out Beryl Cunningham First, we have to start with her name. I mean Beryl is unique in most parts of the world as it is and is enough to give one pause. A quick Google search pulled up other notable women who shared the name, a British born Kenyan aviator, an Australian activist/politician, an English jazz singer, a Trinidadian dancer and founder of The Little Carib Theatre, and an American swing pianist. A matter of fact, if I was to have another girl I would name her Beryl, but I digress. There is not much about her on the Internet, which is why I decided to type this little piece up. I was curious about her and frustrated that I had to scavenge the Internet like a vulture to create a complete picture of the woman, so here is a quick rundown: Beryl Cunningham, daughter of a University Professor, was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, came to fame after starring in the 1960's erotic drama, Le Salamandre, co-starring Erna Schurer. The women play model and photographer, respectively working in Tunisia, whose relationship is tested by the intrusion of a young psychologist. Erotic dramas, Erotic comedies, and giallos were popular in Italy in the 1960's and 1970's and Beryl starred in quite a few.
I discovered Beryl in The Weekend Murders, a 1970 giallo directed by Michele Lupo. The Weekend Murders is an Italian take on the Agatha Christie Whodunits with a splash of campari about a dysfunctional family that rushes to their British Estate for the reading of a loved one’s will and one by one are murdered. Beryl played Pauline Collins the wife of one of the heirs. The film is far from perfect but enjoyable if you are a fan of the Giallo genre.
I am a huge fan of the 70’s Giallos though. The looks, style, fashion, and even architecture of Italy at that time was stunning to me and seeing a black woman in that setting was refreshing especially when they make it past the first five minutes of the reel.
Beryl reminded me of a Jamaican Raquel Welch because of their similar styles and look. Both had stints as models, singers, Beryl released Why-O/Tua in 1978 and hosted the 1971 edition of Cantagiro, an Italian summer festival. Even some of the films they were doing at certain times had an interesting similarity. Here are a couple of examples:
Beryl: Tarzana, the Wild Woman- 1969
Raquel: One Million Years B.C. — 1966
Beryl: The Weekend Murders- 1970
Raquel: The Last of Sheila- 1973
This however is where the similarities end. Beryl does not have as large a catalog as Raquel (1/3 of the film credits!) For reasons unknown, to me Beryl was unable to hold onto the success garnered by her first few commercial films. Looking at her credits, the last role she played was, Shadow in The Exterminators of the Year 3000 (1983) and she retired from acting in sometime later in the eighties. At last search, (moments before publish this) I could not find any recent news on Beryl Cunningham, but wherever she is, I hope she is living a good life.
**UPDATED: BERYL DIED THREE YEARS AGO, I SAW NO MENTION OF IT. SO SAD!**
Sources:
Le Favolose Attrici Anni Settanta — Parte Seconda/ The Fabulous Seventies Actresses — Part Two: Italian Cinema by Maria Cremonini
Thank you so much for this insightful, loving post. I learned so much! I will have to check out Beryl Cunningham, may she rest in peace.