While SADISTIK must naturally have numerous trysts in the course of his adventures, his one true love is his inseparable companion Dana. For the run of the series from 1966 to 1969 the voluptuous, luscious Luciana Paoli played his paramour. Before and during SADISTIK, Luciana had a movie career often performing in European historical dramas, adventure films and spy spoofs.

    The Abruzzi, Italy native's first film, Beautiful But Dangerous in 1955 starred Gina Lollobrigida and Vittorio Gassman. Future horror film master Mario Bava (and Danger: Diabolik director) served as cinematographer. That same year she also appeared in another historical drama, The Queen of Babylon, with Rhonda Fleming and Ricardo Montalban. Luciana was in the 1965 sword and sandal film known under different titles including Maciste, Avenger of the Mayans, which was cobbled together from a few films. She shot her most well known film that year, Casanova '70 with Marcello Mastroianni, which also featured Danger: Diabolik's co-star Marisa Mell.


Various pin-ups of Luciana Paoli as Dana, Sadistik's fatal lover!

    By 1966 she began starring in the SADISTIK photo novels but still acted in films like the semi-amusing James Bond spoof Seven Golden Women Against Two 007s (as one of the Golden Women) with Jayne Mansfield's bodybuilding husband Mickey Hargitay. Luciana did a few more films including a medical comedy with Alberto Sordi in 1968. She continued to star in SADISTIK for another year and evidently retired.

7 Golden Women Against Two 07 (1966) Theatrical Trailer



    Luciana Paoli was the subject of numerous photo shoots... mostly cheesecake and pin-ups. Many pictures made it into American magazines as well. Pictured above are a series of Paoli pin-ups from the February 1960 issue of Male magazine. The title was published by the sister company of Marvel Comics and the editor was Bruce Jay Friedman, later a well-known writer and father of cartoonist Drew Friedman. The magazine mostly published pulpy and sexy adventure stories with exciting illustrations by top-notch artists. Along with gags and cartoons, pin ups were a regular feature and Volume 10, Number 2 features an spread on the future Dana. Here’s the brief text accompanying the photos:

LUCIANA, WHAT DOES YOUR FATHER DO?

Everyone in Rome knows what 20-year-old Luciana Paoli does--- stops traffic, causes riots, competes with the Coliseum as Rome’s chief tourist attraction--- but no one has the faintest idea what the father of this new starlet does. MALE knows. It’s been Luciana’s best kept secret. Daddy’s a construction engineer.

    “Most of us with the large figure say it prevents people from taking us seriously as actresses. This is not so. My large figure won’t stop me from becoming an actress.”



    The August 1961 edition of Frolic has her cover-featured as "The Gal Who Made The Roman Romeo's Rave." It boasts she has a breast measurement of 42" and includes a pictorial. Four pages of Luciana photos were also printed in the fourth issue of The Vagabond in 1961. More on her, stateside, is unknown. With the publication of SADISTIK perhaps there will be a renewed interest in this Junoesque beauty that left such a mark in the genre of the dark photo books.


POW-POW-PAOLI! Three faces of Luciana: (R) A pin up from Gaze, an American magazine from Humorama, February, 1961. (Center) Luciana graces the cover of the Italian "New High Tension Special Collection" from February 1965. It appears to be from the same photo shoot as a pin up in Killing 29 and reprinted in Sadistik Limited Edition 1. Thanks to SS-Sunda for the image. (L) A frame capture from Luciana's classic spy spoof Sette donne d'oro contro due 07 (1966) around the time she started her role as Dana.

LUCIANA PAOLI
FILMOGRAPHY
courtesy imdb.com
  1. A suon di lupara (1968) .... Augusta
  2. Medico della mutua, Il (1968)
    ... aka Be Sick... It's Free (International: English title)
    ... aka The Family Doctor
  3. Lotosblüten für Miss Quon (1967) .... Anita
    ... aka A Lotus for Miss Quon (USA: TV title)
    ... aka Coup de gong à Hong-Kong (France)
    ... aka Trappola per 4 (Italy)
  4. Sette donne d'oro contro due 07 (1966) .... Miranda
  5. Casanova '70 (1965)
  6. Vendicatore dei Mayas, Il (1965)
  7. Arciere nero, L' (1959)
    ... aka The Black Archer (USA)
  8. Gente felice (1957)
    ... aka Benvenuto onorevole (Italy)
  9. Retaggio di sangue (1956) .... Marina
  10. Cortigiana di Babilonia (1955)
    ... aka The Queen of Babylon (USA)
  11. Donna più bella del mondo, La (1955) (uncredited)
    ... aka Beautiful But Dangerous (USA)
    ... aka Belle des belles, La (France)
    ... aka The World's Most Beautiful Woman (International: English title: literal title)

Some of the films of Luciana Paoli: On the left, photos and poster of Casanova '70, starring Marcelo Mastroianni. (More pin ups from the film coming soon!) On the right, posters from her other films.


DANA CHEATS ON THE KING OF CRIME! Luciana Paoli appeared in other photo novels, including as Eva, the companion of Lord X. The publishers figured if the Diabolikal Super-Kriminal could make a "Killing" with a black cover, a yellow circle and Dana, then they could do as well with a black cover, yellow pentagon and Eva! After appearing in the first issue, the editors promised her return... though she never did. They milked Luciana's star appeal by featuring her on the next cover and with an ad mentioning she was on 'vacation,' but by issue 3 she was replaced with 'Barbara."


LORD X #1 had some pages in color, showcasing Luciana's strawberry blonde hair and other assets. Whether in color or black & white, Luciana spends most of her time getting menaced, pawed at, stripped and bound. Business as usual for the fetching photo novel star!


A Paoli pin-up from Killing/Satanik No. 8
 
Lucious Luciana
 
More ACTOR GALLERIES: