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Harriet Medin

Harriet Medin

Actor · Died May 20, 2005, aged 91 · Somerville, Massachusetts, USA

Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1914, Harriet White Medin started out as a dental assistant and cleaned the teeth of young John and Robert Kennedy. After deciding to pursue work in the theater and playing a role on Broadway, she joined the USO and this led to her becoming the first American actress to relocate to post-war Italy and work in Italian films, beginning with Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946). Her following role was the lead in a dramatic film about the life of a saint, Genoveffa di Brabante (1947). She never found success as anything but a character actress and was often typecast as starchy, prim housewives and housekeepers. Orson Welles wanted her to play the role of Emilia in his Othello, but Harriet's inability to remain at the beck and call of Welles' shooting schedule forced him to recast the role with Fay Compton. When she realized that her acting career was at a standstill, she began working as a dialogue coach, helping Italian actors with their English. She became the personal assistant of Gina Lollobrigida in this respect for many years, and also assisted directors working in Italy, among them Vittorio De Sica, Joseph Losey, Raoul Walsh and John Huston. She witnessed some extraordinary things in film history, including the death of Tyrone Power on the set of Solomon and Sheba (for which she blamed George Sanders) and the filming of the famous Trevi fountain scene in La Dolce Vita (1960), in which she played Edna, Anita Ekberg's personal assistant. In the early 1960s, Harriet entered the Italian horror boom when they needed actors who could speak English, the better for the movies to seem British or American rather than Italian. She played the housekeepers in Riccardo Freda's _Orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock, L' (1962), played important red herring parts in Bava's The Whip and the Body (1963) and Blood and Black Lace (1964), and also appeared in Elio Scardamaglia's The Murder Clinic (1966). After assisting John Huston on Reflections in a Golden Eye, Harriet was persuaded by her friend, director Andrew Marton, to come and live in his guest house in Hollywood. One day, while doing the dishes, she decided that her marriage (to art director Gastone Medin) was over, and she accepted Marton's invitation by walking out on her old life, leaving the sink full of dirty dishes. After relocating to California, she did a fair amount of work in television (in addition to playing Henry Fonda's date in an episode of Family, she appeared on Bonanza, The A-Team, Northern Exposure and many other shows) and low-budget films. As a SAG member, she had to play the blind girl's mother in Schlock (1973) under the pseudonym of "Enrica Blankey." She also played the President of the United States in Death Race 2000 (1975), one of Linda Hamilton's diner customers in The Terminator (1984) and a grocery shopper in The Witches of Eastwick (1987). She narrated the trailer for George Romero's Hungry Wives (Season of the Witch).

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
March 14, 1914
Died
May 20, 2005 (aged 91)
From
Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
29 on MovieCove · 40 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Up 32% in 30 days

What are Harriet Medin's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
45%
Self
30%
Bonds
15%
Power
9%
Obsession3 titles, browse their movies with this themeGuilt2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 4

Heightened: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their heightened movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 4

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 4

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2

Ambiguous: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their ambiguous movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 0 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 2

Roles they play

2 analyzed roles

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Dread
4
Melancholic
4
Tense
3

How their films linger

Haunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Harriet Medin's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 29 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (13).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Harriet Medin's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

40 credits, 29 with a MovieCove page.

  • Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead(1995)

    as Old Woman

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • JAG(1995)

    Show 1 episode · as Mrs. Cole

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows

  • Troublemakers(1994)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • All-American Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Show 1 episode · as Customer

  • Those Secrets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    as Vivian

  • All I Want for Christmas(1991)

    as Mrs. Graff

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air(1990)

    Show 1 episode · as Elderly Woman

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • Northern Exposure(1990)

    Show 1 episode · as Nedra Larkin · as Nedra Larkin (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Quantum Leap(1989)

    Show 1 episode · as Momma

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • The Killing Time(1987)

    as Nell

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • The Witches of Eastwick(1987)

    as Woman at Market

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • The Terminator(1984)

    as Customer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Blood Beach(1980)

    as Ruth Hutton

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films

  • Murder Can Hurt You!(1980)

    as Great Lady

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • The Tenth Month (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    as Mrs. Cox, Lawyer

  • The Bermuda Triangle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    as Frau Meise

  • The Captive: The Longest Drive 2(1976)

    as Mrs. McMasters

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Death Race 2000(1975)

    as Thomasina Paine

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Schlock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    as Mrs. Blinerman

  • Squares (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    as Hannah Ruth

  • Troppo per vivere... poco per morire(1967)

    as Dr. Evans' assistant

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Murder Clinic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    as Sheena

  • Blood and Black Lace(1964)

    as Clarissa

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Agent 8 3/4(1964)

    as Hotel Receptionist

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • The Whip and the Body(1963)

    as Giorgia

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Black Sabbath(1963)

    as Neighbor (segment "A Drop Of Water")

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Ghost(1963)

    as Catherine Wood

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • The Horrible Dr. Hichcock(1962)

    as Martha, the maid

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Mill of the Stone Women(1960)

    as Marta

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • La Dolce Vita(1960)

    as Sylvia's Secretary (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Bonanza(1959)

    Show 1 episode · as Mrs. Ocher

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows

  • Beat the Devil(1953)

    Dialect Coach

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Rapture (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    as Infermiera

  • Ha da venì... don Calogero! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Actor

  • Othello(1951)

    Dialect Coach

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Quo Vadis(1951)

    as Woman (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Vulcano (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    Dialogue Coach

  • Black Magic(1949)

    as (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Genoveffa di Brabante (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Actor

  • Paisan(1946)

    as Harriet, the nurse

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

Career shape

Star power in the 94th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 40 titles from 1946 to 1995; peak year 1963.

Highest rated

The Whip and the Body (1963)

Midcredits 69th

Film career

19461995

Peak 1963 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting37 of 40: 37 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score61stOther crew3 of 40: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1940s3 · acting1950s7 · 4 acting · 3 crew1960s10 · acting1970s6 · acting1980s6 · acting1990s8 · acting

Billing

usually 13th · top billed in 0% of 17 roles
4666

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Harriet Medin's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 58th percentile, the median of all 24; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 60th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

69thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 29 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up10
  • 50th to 74th12
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 29 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved6
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser13
  • Broadly Agreed4
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

The Captive: The Longest Drive 2 (1976)

81st percentile spread · 26% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Terminator (1984)

Midcredits 98th · 90% liked

Reviewers score the acting 70/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 75, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Harriet Medin work with?

People who share at least 2 of Harriet Medin's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Riccardo Freda shares the most, 2.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers