Born Chianetta Mara, Mara Maryl emerged from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia di Roma in 1957, initially acting in comedies as Mara Ombra. After her marriage to screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi in 1960, she adopted the name Mara Maryl for her acting roles while also writing under Maria Chianetta. Her contribution as a writer to The Great Alligator (1979) showcases her ability to blend horror with ecological themes, a hallmark of the exploitation genre, while often collaborating with her husband on projects that pushed the boundaries of cult cinema.
The Great Alligator
A tourist resort in Africa finds itself at the mercy of a huge man-eating crocodile from a local native legend which the croc is the incarnation of a native god angered by the intrusion of the tourists on its nesting ground. After a new natives are killed and eaten, they naturally blame the tourists and set out to kill them while the survivors try to rally on a boat with the hungry crocodile in the water, and the blood-thirsty natives on land waiting for them.
