Time To Celebrate Sex Kitten Soledad Miranda!
I’ve written before about movie “sex kittens”, Actresses who used their sexuality to drive their career. Hollywood also “assigns” that moniker as a marketing tool, and talented Actresses like Ann-Margret and the iconic Marilyn Monroe had to fight to earn respect – because their beauty overshadowed their talent.
There are also many stories of “sex symbols” whose careers ended in tragedy…but now, thanks to two new blu-ray releases, cult movie fans can celebrate the life of European sex kitten Soledad Miranda!
Miranda was born in Seville, Spain. She started her career at eight years old as a flamenco dancer and singer, and began making films at the age of sixteen.
Thanks to Severin films, you can see her two greatest achievements!
“Vampyros Lesbos!”
Let’s begin with a cult classic! It may sound like a campy movie based on the title, but this is one of cult Director Jess Franco’s greatest films, Miranda’s greatest achievement, and an atmospheric horror gem!
Here is the trailer:
“Vampires Lesbos” is a great cult film from the early seventies, about a sexy vampiress who seduces and kills women in order to satisfy her insatiable thirst for female blood.
I will share a few links to my stories about Director Jess Franco, perhaps best known for the sex-fueled films he made with his wife, the legendary Actress Lina Romay…
Lina Romay is a cult movie legend, but Franco’s first discovery was Soledad Miranda, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Romay…
Now you can see her greatest film thanks to Severin Films, and the new blu-ray release has a ton of great extras! Here is how Mondo Digital describes them:
“The 20-minute “Interlude in Lesbos” features Franco speaking in his usual heavily-accented English (with welcome subtitles) talking about how he got ‘Vampyros Lesbos’ generous German backing at this point in his career, the reason for the story’s locale, his unorthodox approach to depicting vampires on film, and of course, the considerable star potential and sweet personality of Miranda.”
“I like the lesbian relations between two women,” he explains about his angle on the story, which obviously proved to be a solid foundation. In “Sublime Soledad,” film historian Amy Brown covers the actress’s wide-ranging career for 20 minutes complete with some great rare film and TV clips as well sa samples of Miranda’s lesser-known career as a pop singer.
That alone makes these worth buying, but there is also an 11-minute analysis and history of the film, along with many other extras.
How about this one, the goofy “Jess Is Yoda’ is an interview outtake with the maestro holding a Santa Yoda doll(!) and discussing his favorite makeup effects artist – talk about obscure but very welcome extras!
Another classic Jess Franco film starring Soledad Miranda was also released the same day, with another great title!
First, take a look at the trailer:
Here is the plot: a young doctor kills himself after a medical committee terminates his research into human embryos. His wife then seeks revenge on those who drove her husband to his death by seducing and then killing them one by one!
The extras on this new blu-ray release are also terrific, including a great interview with Franco called “Jess Killed in Ecstasy,” which makes sense since he has a role in the film – look!
According to the great Mondo Digital website, The Director “talks for nearly 17 minutes about the film’s genesis as a successor to Vampyros for the same German financier, the literary genesis of the necrophilic aspect of the story, the reason for all that amazing architecture, the reason for Miranda’s “Susan Korda” screen name in these films, and his recovery from the shocking news of her death.”
Yes, Miranda died a shocking death, which I will get to in a moment, first, kudos to Mondo Digital for a great writeup on the films!
You can read a never-ending list of great cult movie reviews by bookmarking the website – I visit daily!
And now, here is some information about the legendary sex kitten who starred in these films:
The Tragic Life Of Soledad Miranda!
Miranda began making films in Spain when she was 16, and over the next decade made more than thirty…
Her biggest break came from Director Franco, who cast Soledad in the iconic “Vampyros Lesbos”. The success of the film made her a sex siren in Europe…and there was nothing stopping her!
Then, tragedy struck. Here is the timeline from wikipedia: “In August, 1970, near the end of filming ‘The Devil Came From Akasava’, Soledad and her husband took a short holiday in Portugal. She was looking forward to theatrical performances in Latin America and was thrilled with some news from Jess Franco: his producer wanted to offer her a multi-year film contract that would make her a star. On the morning of 18 August 1970, reportedly on the way to Franco’s hotel to sign the contract, Soledad and her husband went out driving along the Costa do Sol highway between Estoril and Lisbon. They were involved in a collision with a small truck which completely crushed their car. Though her husband, who was driving, only had minor injuries, Soledad received serious fractures to her skull and spine, placing her in a deep coma. She died several hours after the accident at the Hospital of São José in Lisbon, never having come out of her coma. Jesus Franco said it was one of the worst days of his life when he heard on the phone that she had been killed.”
What a tragic end. At least movie fans now have pristine versions of her two greatest films to remember her. Director Jess Franco would go on to discover another young Actress who would became his wife:
Lina Romay is one of cult cinema’s greatest stars…a brave Actress who put “everything” out there for the world to see!
This might be her most controversial film with Franco. To read about Romay and Franco’s notorious “Hot Nights Of Linda”, click here:
http://johnrieber.com/2014/03/11/lindas-shocking-hot-nights-lina-romays-classic-sexploitation/
And “Linda” might be the most shocking of their films, but not by much! Yes, “Lorna The Exorcist” awaits!
Erotic horror was Franco’s specialty! You can reach all about their cult classic “Lorna The Exorcist” by clicking here:
Soledad Miranda and Lina Romay are two of Europe’s greatest sex kittens, but they have nothing on what Hollywood had to offer!
Read all about legendary Hollywood sex siren Jayne Mansfield by clicking on my story here:
http://johnrieber.com/2014/12/28/jayne-mansfield-the-tragic-life-of-hollywoods-legendary-sex-kitten/
And leave me a comment to let me know what you think of “Lesbos!”
