Lisa became known as the "Starlet of many faces". She says of her acting career that it was distinguished in two ways. First, that she probably portrayed more diverse ethnic roles than any other actress on record and, second, that she probably acted in more really silly movies than any other actress on record.
Starting with the Peruvian/Hollywood epic, "Daughter of the Sun God", which has got to be one of the worst films ever produced anywhere on the planet, Lisa went on to star, or be featured, in endless Westerns, Polynesian adventures, and Hollywood romances. Among these were the science fiction thriller, "World Without End" (So bad, it's almost "good" and has become a sort of cult classic of the "50's Films" genre) and "She Gods of Shark Reef", one of Roger Corman's earliest claims to fame. Some of the more memorable experiences included working with Robert Loggia in Walt Disney's, "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca", and with Clayton Moore in his last film, "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold". It was all great fun!
During her years of film and TV work, Lisa portrayed a bevy of Polynesian, Native American, and Mexican maidens; Burmese, French, Italian and Spanish ingénue's; an East Indian Maharini; Pancho Villa's sweetheart; a futuristic survivor of nuclear devastation, the Persian love of Omar Khayyam and other fantastic beings. (For truly, she thinks of that time as one great fantasy) She almost lost her life braving rushing river rapids and crossing rickety wooden/rope bridges high in the Peruvian Andes; diving off jagged cliffs onto crashing waves in Hawaii, fighting live sharks; (swimming underwater, a knife between her teeth, through masses of tangled kelp, to rescue three drowning sailors off the shores of a mysterious island somewhere in the middle of the ocean) being thrown overboard, bound hand and foot, into shark infested waters as a sacrifice to the insatiable "She Gods!"; falling off jumping horses and being almost stomped to death by one; encounters with Boa Constrictors, Jaguars and lots of mean, dangerous men, including horrible beastly mutates from another time; handling killer hawks and being carried under the arms by two Apache warriors as they galloped their horses on either side of her to bring her to her father, the Chief. ("Keep your feet up!" yelled the Director, "so you won't get scratched by the cactus!")
Yet all these, and many other incredible escapades, were not enough to hold her back from moving on to other challenges and adventures not captured on the silver/Technicolor screen.
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Source: IMDb.com
Filmograph: Lisa Montell
Combat! – Marcelle: A Day in June (1962) TV episode - Marcelle
The Firebrand (1962) - Clarita Vasconcelos
Surfside 6 - The Surfside Swindle (1962) TV episode - Nancy Dinato
Daughter of the Sun God (1962) - Christine
77 Sunset Strip –
. Hot Tamale Caper: Part 2 (1961) TV episode - Linda Carnero
.Hot Tamale Caper: Part 1 (1961) TV episode - Linda Carnero
. The President's Daughter (1960) TV episode - Dolores
. The Parallel Caper (1960) TV episode - Lucita Martinez
. The One That Got Away (1960) TV episode - Pilar
The Deputy - Cherchez La Femme (1961) TV episode - Rosaria Martinez
Maverick - The Forbidden City (1961) TV episode - Andalucia Rubio
The Long Rope (1961) - Alicia Alvarez
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond - The Lonely Room (1960) TV episode - Terese
Cheyenne –
Apache Blood (1960) TV episode - Rheba Garcia
. Border Showdown (1955) TV episode - Rosa
Bat Masterson - Pigeon and Hawk (1960) TV episode - Selena Thorn
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse - Murder in Gratitude (1959) TV episode - Simone
Sugarfoot –
. Outlaw Island (1959) TV episode - Carmencita
. Guns for Big Bear (1958) TV episode - Kenoee
Have Gun - Will Travel - .Pancho (1959) TV episode - Soledad
Frontier Doctor - Gringo Pete (1959) TV episode - Marguerite Lidell
Northwest Passage - Stab in the Back (1959) TV episode - Emily Duren
Disneyland - The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca (1958) Fim/TV episode - Anita Chavez
The Ann Sothern Show - Six Wives Plus Two (1958) TV episode - Maharani
She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) - Mahia
The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958) - Paviva
Mike Hammer - The Paper Shroud (1958) TV episode - Maria Chamini
Matinee Theatre - The Heart's Desire (1958) TV episode - Yasmin
The Adventures of Jim Bowie - Curfew Cannon (1958) TV episode - Lisette Rochambeau
Colt .45 - One Good Turn (1957) TV episode - Teresa Valdez
Tales of Wells Fargo - Rio Grande (1957) TV episode - Juanita
Wire Service aka Deadline for Action (USA: rerun title)
The Last Laugh (1957) TV episode
Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) - Diana Martelli
Cavalcade of America - The Last Signer (1957) TV episode - Frederica
The O. Henry Playhouse.Fourth in Salvador (1957) TV episode
Tomahawk Trail (1957) - Tula
aka Mark of the Apache (UK)
Broken Arrow - Apache Dowry (1957) TV episode - Tesalbe
The Millionaire - aka If You Had a Million
The Nancy Wellington Story (1957) TV episode - Paula Wellington
Naked Paradise (1957) - Lanai
aka Thunder Over Hawaii (USA: reissue title)
Gaby (1956) - Claire
World Without End (1956) - Deena
The Wild Dakotas (1956) - Ruth Murphy
The Gene Autry Show - Law Comes to Scorpion (1955) TV episode - Esther Cameron
Pearl of the South Pacific (1955) - Momu
Jump Into Hell (1955) (as Irene Montwill) - Jacqueline
Lux Video Theatre - aka Summer Video Theatre (USA: summer title)
The Last Confession (1955) TV episode - Suzanne
Finger Man (1955) (uncredited)
Jane Wyman Show (1955)
Daddy Long Legs (1955) (uncredited) - College Girl
Escape to Burma (1955) – Andara
The Public Defender - Bertha (2 episodes, 1954-1955)
. Eight Out of a Hundred (1955) TV episode
. Bertha Polaski (1954) TV episode - Bertha
(For photographs click here)
