1970 – Soledad Miranda – She Kills in Ecstacy

If Vampyros Lesbos remains for many the ultimate Soledad Miranda flick, I much prefer this disturbing portrait of revenge and madness. Many consider that the main movie in the new-bride-gets-revenge-on-the-scum-who-killed-her-hubby must be François Truffaut’s La mariée était en noir, based on the Cornell Woolrich novel. Here, busy Jess Franco proposed his own take on this kind of story, where a young woman must live through the shock of her doctor husband’s suicide, following the termination of his research on human embryos by a medical committee. While this is not the most elaborate script (remember, this is a Franco movie!), it’s just enough material to witness an amazing performance by Soledad Miranda.

She doesn’t say much but vengeful is she, as her character decides to seduce this quartet of experts and kill them. An obligatory lesbian scene is included, as one of the potential victims is a woman (played by another Franco regular, Eva Strömberg). Here sexy, disturbed and purposeful, Soledad Miranda was on her way to become a major player on the international scene. She sadly died in a car accident some months after filming this project, on her way to sign a star-making contract.

This was filmed during a very busy period in the director’s career, as he seems quite inspired by his acting muse, beautiful Spanish/Portuguese Soledad. These years saw the creation of his most classical work, the films that are still talked about today and will be for a long time. In She Kills in Ecstacy, Franco himself has a role as a doctor, rubbing shoulders with another frequent collaborator, Howard Vernon (of whom we can “enjoy” a glimpse of his manhood at some point in the proceedings). This motion picture could be an opportunity to begin exploring Franco’s world and of course being acquainted with a great actress, without whom this film would probably remain a footnote in an obscure encyclopedia.

Next in line: a key mute role in a film where ugliness was the main publicity point (sorry).