Marisa Leonardo

Marisa Leonardo was a supporting character in the 1957 science fiction film 20 Million Miles to Earth. She was played by actress Joan Taylor. The character was created by director Nathan Juran and writers Robert Creighton Williams, Christopher Knopf and Charlotte Knight.

Biography
Marisa Leonardo was a young Italian woman who lived outside the city of Messina in Sicily. She was the daughter of Doctor Leonardo, a known zoologist and was a capable scientist in her own right. In 1957, Doctor Leonardo came into possession of a small alien life form from the planet Venus. The Venusian was barely eight-inches tall in height, but was growing quickly. On their way to the Giardino Zoo in Rome, the creature escaped and attacked Marisa. She survived the encounter, but the Venusian then took to hiding inside of a farmer's barn where it was tormented by a snarling dog. Marisa met Colonel Robert Calder, the astronaut responsible for first bringing the creature to Earth and she bore witness to the Venusian's continued growth cycle and ensuing rampage throughout the streets of Rome.

Notes & Trivia

 * Actress Joan Taylor also played a character named Carol Marvin in the 1956 movie Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.

Quotes

 * Marisa Leonardo: Caught me unprepared. I've been cooking over a hot creature all day.