July 2016 was an excellent month for EFSP. For the first time since May 2010, when we started counting, there were more than 90,000 pageviews in one month. But December 2016 was even better! Three days ago we passed the magical number of 100,000 pageviews. So like everybody, EFSP finishes this year partying ánd looking back. If you like to join the party: here are the 12 most popular star posts ever.
![Elsa Martinelli]()
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/255.
Glamorous Elsa Martinelli (1935) is an Italian actress and former fashion model. She showed her beautiful curves in many European and Hollywood productions of the 1950s and 1960s, but somehow she never became the star she was destined to become in the mid-1950s.
![Marina Berti]()
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano (Milan), no. 384. Photo: Atlantisfilm.
Italian actress Marina Berti(1924-2002) is a forgotten diva from the postwar Italian cinema. She was a popular starlet of Italian and Hollywood films in the 1940s and early 1950s – sometimes credited as Maureen Melrose.
![Elke Sommer]()
German postcard by UFA (Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft), Berlin-Templehof, no. CK 438. Photo: Herbert Fried / UFA.
Gorgeous Elke Sommer (1940) was a German sex symbol who conquered Hollywood in the early 1960s. With her trademark pouty lips, high cheek bones and sky-high bouffant hair-dos, Sommer made 99 film and television appearances between 1959 and 2005. The blonde film star was also one of the most popular pin-up girls of the sixties, and posed twice for Playboy.
![Gérard Philipe]()
French Postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 371. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Gérard Philipe (1922–1959) was adored for his good looks, but he was also a very talented actor. He was sought out by France's preeminent directors for his versatility and professionalism. His early death has elevated him to a near legendary status in France.
![Marion Michael]()
German postcard by Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (UFA), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3865. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Stempka-Cinepress / Arca.
German film actress and singer Marion Michael (1940-2007) was a one hit wonder as Liane, the jungle girl. As the female Tarzan, the blonde beauty has become an icon of the German cinema.
![Ornella Muti]()
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.
Beautiful Italian actress Ornella Muti (1955) often appeared in sexy Italian comedies and dramas, but she also worked for such major European directors as Marco Ferreri, Francesco Rosi and Volker Schlöndorff. English language audiences probably know her best as the sensuous Princess Aura in Flash Gordon (1980).
Italian postcard by Rotalcolor, Milano (Milan), no. 238.
In 1958, a 'striptease' by the then 18 years old Lebanese actress and former belly dancer Aïché Nana (1940-2014) at a Roman party caused an international scandal. Subsequently she became one of the icons of ‘La Dolce Vita’, the liberated era of sex, drugs and rock & roll as documented by Federico Fellini. Aïché Nana appeared in 15 European films between 1956 and 1985.
![Mylène Demongeot]()
German postcard by Kruger, no. 902/162.
Beautiful Mylène Demongeot (1935) became one of the blond sex symbols of the French cinema when she seduced Yves Montand in Les sorcières de Salem (1957). The coquettish French actress would go on to co-star in the three Fantômas adventures and many other European films of the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s she also became a producer.
![Claudia Cardinale]()
German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. H 72.
Italian actress Claudia Cardinale (1938) is one of Europe's iconic and most versatile film stars. The combination of her beauty, dark, flashing eyes, explosive sexuality and genuine acting talent virtually guaranteed her stardom. Her most notable films include the classics 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963), Il Gattopardo (Luchino Visconti, 1963), and Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968).
![Bud Spencer]()
Italian postcard. Promotional card for Io Sto Con Gli Ippopotami/I'm for the Hippopotamus (Italo Zingarelli, 1979).
On 27 June 2016, 86-years old Bud Spencer has died in Rome, Italy of natural causes. The huge Italian actor with his trademark black beard was the popular star of many Spaghetti Westerns and low-budget action films of the late 1960s and 1970s. In 18 films he co-starred with his long time film partner Terence Hill. In his youth, Spencer (then: Carlo Pedersoli) was the first Italian to swim 100 metres in less than a minute. He also had a degree in law, and he registered several patents.
![Marina Vlady]()
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 74. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Sensual and alluring French star Marina Vlady (1938) had the makings of just another blonde bombshell, but in 1963 she stunned everybody with her performance in L’Ape Regine/The Conjugal Bed. At the Cannes Film Festival the feline beauty won that year the Golden Palm for Best Actress.
![Alain Delon]()
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, 1967. retail price: 0,20 MDN.Photo: publicity still for Rocco e i suoi fratelli/Rocco and his brothers (Luchino Visconti, 1960).
Alain Delon (1935) was the breathtakingly good-looking James Dean of the European cinema of the late 1950s and early 1960s who proved in this film that he was also a magnificent actor.
12. Elsa Martinelli: 4900 views
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/255.
Glamorous Elsa Martinelli (1935) is an Italian actress and former fashion model. She showed her beautiful curves in many European and Hollywood productions of the 1950s and 1960s, but somehow she never became the star she was destined to become in the mid-1950s.
11. Marina Berti: 5401 views
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano (Milan), no. 384. Photo: Atlantisfilm.
Italian actress Marina Berti(1924-2002) is a forgotten diva from the postwar Italian cinema. She was a popular starlet of Italian and Hollywood films in the 1940s and early 1950s – sometimes credited as Maureen Melrose.
10. Elke Sommer: 6819 views
German postcard by UFA (Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft), Berlin-Templehof, no. CK 438. Photo: Herbert Fried / UFA.
Gorgeous Elke Sommer (1940) was a German sex symbol who conquered Hollywood in the early 1960s. With her trademark pouty lips, high cheek bones and sky-high bouffant hair-dos, Sommer made 99 film and television appearances between 1959 and 2005. The blonde film star was also one of the most popular pin-up girls of the sixties, and posed twice for Playboy.
9. Gérard Philipe: 6904 views
French Postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 371. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Gérard Philipe (1922–1959) was adored for his good looks, but he was also a very talented actor. He was sought out by France's preeminent directors for his versatility and professionalism. His early death has elevated him to a near legendary status in France.
8. Marion Michael: 7161 views
German postcard by Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (UFA), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3865. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Stempka-Cinepress / Arca.
German film actress and singer Marion Michael (1940-2007) was a one hit wonder as Liane, the jungle girl. As the female Tarzan, the blonde beauty has become an icon of the German cinema.
7. Ornella Muti: 7806 views
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.
Beautiful Italian actress Ornella Muti (1955) often appeared in sexy Italian comedies and dramas, but she also worked for such major European directors as Marco Ferreri, Francesco Rosi and Volker Schlöndorff. English language audiences probably know her best as the sensuous Princess Aura in Flash Gordon (1980).
6. Aïché Nana: 8581 views
Italian postcard by Rotalcolor, Milano (Milan), no. 238.
In 1958, a 'striptease' by the then 18 years old Lebanese actress and former belly dancer Aïché Nana (1940-2014) at a Roman party caused an international scandal. Subsequently she became one of the icons of ‘La Dolce Vita’, the liberated era of sex, drugs and rock & roll as documented by Federico Fellini. Aïché Nana appeared in 15 European films between 1956 and 1985.
5. Mylène Démongeot: 9692 views
German postcard by Kruger, no. 902/162.
Beautiful Mylène Demongeot (1935) became one of the blond sex symbols of the French cinema when she seduced Yves Montand in Les sorcières de Salem (1957). The coquettish French actress would go on to co-star in the three Fantômas adventures and many other European films of the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s she also became a producer.
4. Claudia Cardinale: 9841 views
German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. H 72.
Italian actress Claudia Cardinale (1938) is one of Europe's iconic and most versatile film stars. The combination of her beauty, dark, flashing eyes, explosive sexuality and genuine acting talent virtually guaranteed her stardom. Her most notable films include the classics 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963), Il Gattopardo (Luchino Visconti, 1963), and Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968).
3. Bud Spencer: 10705 views
Italian postcard. Promotional card for Io Sto Con Gli Ippopotami/I'm for the Hippopotamus (Italo Zingarelli, 1979).
On 27 June 2016, 86-years old Bud Spencer has died in Rome, Italy of natural causes. The huge Italian actor with his trademark black beard was the popular star of many Spaghetti Westerns and low-budget action films of the late 1960s and 1970s. In 18 films he co-starred with his long time film partner Terence Hill. In his youth, Spencer (then: Carlo Pedersoli) was the first Italian to swim 100 metres in less than a minute. He also had a degree in law, and he registered several patents.
2. Marina Vlady: 13806 views
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 74. Photo: Sam Lévin.
Sensual and alluring French star Marina Vlady (1938) had the makings of just another blonde bombshell, but in 1963 she stunned everybody with her performance in L’Ape Regine/The Conjugal Bed. At the Cannes Film Festival the feline beauty won that year the Golden Palm for Best Actress.
1. Alain Delon: 26048 views
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, 1967. retail price: 0,20 MDN.Photo: publicity still for Rocco e i suoi fratelli/Rocco and his brothers (Luchino Visconti, 1960).
Alain Delon (1935) was the breathtakingly good-looking James Dean of the European cinema of the late 1950s and early 1960s who proved in this film that he was also a magnificent actor.