Maria Rohm Movies
- 1975
An Italian-French-Spanish version of the much-filmed Agatha Christie story, this film is strangely set in Iran, not Great Britain. Ten guests are invited to a remote desert inn and informed that the mysterious host has described in a nursery rhyme how they will all die during the gathering. One by one, the characters, played by such Continental stars such as Elke Sommer and singer Charles Aznavour as well as Britons Oliver Reed and Richard Attenborough, dwindle in number, each in accordance with a verse of the nursery rhyme, until only a few remain. The final characters then plot to ensnare the criminal mastermind behind the weekend of mayhem. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Elke Sommer, (more)
Director Ken Annakin and an international cast including Charlton Heston and George Eastman try to breath life into Jack London's often-filmed wilderness adventure. The story follows the adventures of John Thornton (Heston) and Pete (Raimund Harmstorf) as they brawl their way through the Alaskan wilderness mushing around in dog sleds and hunting for gold. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Raimund Harmstorf, (more)
In this touching adventure, a remake of the popular 1940 film, two Georgia boys ignore their racial differences to team up and befriend a feral bird dog, whom they train to participate in a fence-jumping contest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Earl Holliman, Lew Ayres, (more)
- 1972
This 1972 international production of Treasure Island is one of many film versions of the classic adventure by Robert Louis Stevenson. Kim Burfield plays Jim Hawkins, a young man who works at a pub with his mother (Maria Rohm). When drunken old sailor Billy Bones (Lionel Stander) comes in for a drink and dies, Jim gets his hands on an old pirate's treasure map. He then enlists the help of Squire Trelawney (Walter Slezak) and Dr. Livesey (Angel DelPozo) to join him locate the island on the map. They join the ship lead by Captain Smollett (Rik Battaglia). The ship's cook, Long John Silver (Orson Welles), has convinced the rest of the crew to organize a mutiny in order to keep the riches for themselves. This adaptation of Treasure Island was released in several different language versions, each with a different director. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Kim Burfield, (more)
This internationally produced adaptation of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty is essentially a vehicle for Oliver star Mark Lester. The young Lester spends most of the film trying to reclaim his beautiful black horse, which passes through several hands over the course of 90 minutes. All the setpieces of the Sewell original are in attendance, including the showstopping "burning barn" sequence. Walter Slezak is the only truly recognizable actor in the film outside of Lester. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Lester, Uschi Glas, (more)
- 1970
- R
The classic story of evil by Oscar Wilde is a plodding, campy, trashy production that gives the viewer moments of unintentional laughter. Dorian Gray (Helmut Berger) is the vain young Englishman who sells his soul to the devil to remain eternally youthful in appearance. His portrait is being painted by Basil (Richard Todd), much to the delight of his first true love Sybil (Marie Liljedahl). Lord Henry Wolton (Herbert Lom )is Dorian's partner in collaborating with evil. Gray remains the same but the picture reflects his image to show the ravages of old age and time. The drama, mystery and psychology of the original book is absent from this poorly made remake done 25 years earlier. Herbert Lom goves the only noteworthy performance of the film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Berger, Richard Todd, (more)
Not to be confused with Massimo Dallamano's contemporaneous treatment of the Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch classic, this unrelated (but quite entertaining) thriller from cult director Jesus Franco was originally known as Black Angel. James Darren stars as Jimmy Logan, an American jazz musician in Turkey who finds the body of a dead girl washed ashore while coming down from an LSD trip on the beach. The woman, Wanda Reed (Maria Rohm), had been murdered by the sadistic Ahmed Kortobawi (Klaus Kinski) Percival Kapp (Dennis Price), and a lesbian fashion-photographer named Olga (Margaret Lee). Some time later, Jimmy goes to work in a Rio de Janeiro nightclub and moves in with Rita (Barbara McNair), a beautiful black singer. One day, a woman named Venus enters the club, and is a dead ringer for Wanda Reed. When the murders begin, the only motive seems to be revenge from beyond the grave. This well-made shocker contains some enjoyable songs and cameo appearances by the director and Manfred Mann as jazz musicians, as well as being the best of numerous collaborations between Franco and British producer Harry Alan Towers. Prints run 90 and 86 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Darren, Barbara McNair, (more)
This erotic horror film from cult director Jesus Franco is based on the witch-hunting exploits of Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys (Christopher Lee), a real historical figure who died in prison in 1702 at the age of 54. In 1685 England, young Alicia Gray is burnt for witchcraft. Alicia's sister Mary (Maria Rohm) unwisely falls for Harry Selton (Hans Hass, Jr.), a rebel against King James II. After the rebels are defeated, Harry is captured by agents of Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys (Christopher Lee), who defends the crown by accusing its enemies of witchcraft. Also a captive, Mary tries to save her lover by surrendering herself to the cruel Judge, who takes perverse sexual pleasure in sadistic torture. The film revels in displays of whipping, sex, and chained women, but is difficult to evaluate otherwise due to the numerous different versions available, some with alternate endings. One version has Jeffreys hanged, then taken down and beheaded, while another has him watching a hanging from a window while a narrator reads his death sentence. There is also a third ending in which Jeffreys makes a confession to Harry's father, the Earl of Wessex (Leo Genn), before suffering a fatal heart attack. Franco used the character again, this time portrayed by Cihangir Gaffari (aka John Foster) in his 1972 film Les Demons. Howard Vernon, who plays the cruel executioner Jack Ketch here, took a heroic role in the sequel. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Leo Genn, (more)
This doggedly faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel about a vampiric nobleman was helmed by cult director Jesus Franco. Despite its textual loyalty and atmospheric photography by Manuel Merino, the film -- a co-production from Spain, Italy, Germany, and Liechtenstein -- is plodding and dull. Even Christopher Lee (in an uncharacteristically weak performance as Dracula), Klaus Kinski (as the mad Renfield), and seven credited screenwriters cannot make this confused, distant film worthwhile. Cult filmmaker Bruno Mattei edited the Italian version, and scenes were later used in Calvin Floyd's In Search of Dracula. Among several different versions are prints running 100, 98, and 86 minutes. Franco appears as a servant to Professor Van Helsing (Herbert Lom), and though certainly literate, the film nevertheless fails as both horror and drama. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski, (more)
- 1969
Jesus Franco's campy women's prison film, though both stereotypical and rare to find in its original version, is worthwhile for genre devotees primarily due to an outstanding cast. Mercedes McCambridge is unintentionally hilarious as sadistic lesbian warden Thelma Diaz, spitting tacky dialogue with exuberant venom in a performance so overbearing that it verges on classic. The plot is standard for the genre, as three women (Maria Rohm, Elisa Montes, Luciana Paluzzi) are sentenced to an island prison off the Panamanian coast, only to encounter torture, rape, and lesbianism. When sympathetic Warden Caroll (Maria Schell) replaces Diaz, the prisoners assume that conditions will improve, but their agony only worsens until they decide to escape. Rosalba Neri co-stars, and Herbert Lom runs the corrupt men's prison nearby. 99 Mujeres was heavily censored in various prints, with versions running anywhere between 70 and 108 minutes. Edits running 84, 86, and 94 minutes are most commonly available. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Schell, Mercedes McCambridge, (more)
- 1969
From Jesus Franco, the infamous director behind such exploitation classics as Sadomania and Vampyros Lesbos, comes this low-budget erotic adventure starring Bond girl Shirley Eaton as a maniacal lesbian warlord. Eaton plays Sumitra, the bisexual leader of a clan of oversexed women bent on world-domination by forcing the earth's men into servitude. The only thing standing in Sumitra's way is a tough-guy kingpin played by Academy Award-winner George Sanders. Also known as Rio 70, Future Woman, Die Sieben Männer der Sumuru, and The Seven Secrets of Sumuru, The Girl From Rio also stars Richard Wyler and Maria Rohm. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler, (more)
The first of several collaborations between cult director Jesus Franco and British producer Harry Alan Towers, this horror-tinged adventure is full of jungle action, creative murders, and violent sexual sadism. Christopher Lee portrays the mysterious Asian madman Fu Manchu, plotting world domination from his secret headquarters underneath the Amazon rainforest. Fu has discovered a rare poison which affects only men, and uses it as lipstick for ten beautiful women, who are to deliver a kiss of death to each of 10 public officials. Carl Jansen (Gotz George) and Sir Denis Nayland Smith (Richard Greene), a pair of Scotland Yard detectives, track Fu Manchu to his underground hideout and -- with the aid of Dr. Ronald Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford) -- search for the antidote to the deadly poison. Lee's wooden performance is alleviated by an amusing turn by Ricardo Palacios as a revolutionary, and a beautiful female cast. Vicente Roca and Marcelo Arroita Jauregui also appear in this entertaining, if extremely sexist, fourth entry in the Fu Manchu series. Nude torture scenes and snake attacks are featured in some of the numerous prints, running 91, 88, 82, and 61 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee
- 1968
Shirley Eaton stars as Sumuru, the barbaric leader of an Amazon tribe, in Jesus Franco's uninspired adventure based on characters created by Sax Rohmer. Banker Ennio Rossini (Walter Rilla) hires a detective named Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler) to travel from Barcelona to Brazil in search of his kidnapped daughter Ulla (Marta Reves). Sutton and a hotel manicurist (Maria Rohm) team up to save the girl from Sumuru's clutches but must deal with unexpected complications in the form of Sir Masius (George Sanders), a sadistic Great White Hunter out to steal Sumuru's gold. Sanders is wonderful (in one of his final roles before his suicide) but the numerous production problems (including a lawsuit by Rohmer's estate which led to Sumuru being renamed Sumitra in several prints) keep the film from being truly worthwhile. Typical of many European genre efforts of the 1960s, this was a Spanish-German-British-American co-production. All scenes involving the banker were cut from the American print, which also heavily trimmed the torture and sex, replacing some of the missing footage with stock Rio de Janeiro tourist scenes. Versions run 84 and 79 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) is the internationally known criminal mastermind back for another round of evil deeds. The objects of his malevolence are the police chiefs of the world, in particular the head of Scotland Yard. With the help of his equally evil daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin), Fu Manchu deals with shadowy figures of the underworld to reach his objectives. The felonious Fu assumes the leadership of all the world's crime syndicates to exact his revenge, striking fear into the hearts of every law-abiding crime fighter. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Carsten, Tony Ferrer, (more)
- 1968
In this jungle adventure, a downed Yankee flier must make his way alone through the dense Amazon jungle. At one point, he finds himself surrounded by unfriendly natives. He is just about to lose his life when a beautiful white woman, who is revered by the natives as a goddess, swoops down from the trees and saves his neck. The word of the jungle girl's existence gets around and the girl suffers dire consequences when she suddenly finds herself pursued by a wicked carney, a scientist, and the enraged natives, who believe she has betrayed them by rescuing the pilot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
While traveling through Hong Kong, Bob Mitchell (Robert Cummings) accidentally stumbles into the middle of criminal negotiations between a mean gang, the Five Golden Dragons, and the local mobsters. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Felix Manderville (Vincent Price) is a traveling magician who manages to make young women disappear in this exploitation thriller. The trouble is, Felix drugs the femmes and sells them to white slave traders with the help of his mind-reading assistant Rebecca (Martha Hyer). Marie Armstrong (Anne Smyrner) and her husband Stephen (George Nader) are American tourists who fall into the trap of the felonious flesh pedlars. Price plays the part with his usual suave and sinister manner in this routine production. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Martha Hyer, (more)
- 1967
Janine Reynaud and Rossana Yanni return as Diana and Regina, the sexy female detectives from the Red Lips Agency, in cult filmmaker Jesus Franco's enjoyable sequel to El Caso de las Dos Bellezas. The women receive some song lyrics from a messenger who has been stabbed in the back, and they visit an island inhabited by strange, suspicious people. The mystery revolves around the notes of the late eugenics expert Prof. Bertrand, who seems to have been creating muscular mutants in red posing straps before his death. Diana and Regina are kidnapped by lesbians, threatened by the mutants, and appear in several sexy striptease acts in this silly, entertaining romp. Michel Lemoine is the prime suspect, Adrian Hoven and Chris Howland appear as Interpol agents and Franco makes a cameo as a shifty informant. Prints run 83 and 77 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Two Yankee spies team up with British intelligence to stop the beautiful but deadly Su-Muru, a woman with eyes literally on ruling the world. Having gathered an enormous army of gorgeous women, she and her minions use their considerable wiles and natural attributes to enslave the world's most important men. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Avalon, George Nader, (more)
- 1966
24 Hours to Kill is an all-star crime caper filmed as an apparent tax write-off in Europe and Lebanon. Mickey Rooney plays an American airline purser whose greed gets the better of him. During a 24-hour layover in Beirut he transports a cache of stolen goods, which brings him to the attention of smuggler Walter Slezak. Lex Barker is the pilot who reluctantly tries to bail the avaricious Rooney out. A satisfying twist ending (especially satisfying to those for whom a little of Mickey Rooney goes a long way) caps 24 Hours to Kill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this drama a Canadian journalist heads for Hungary to do a story when he meets a man who asks him to bring a package containing "medicine" for his niece. The reporter agrees but accidently loses the niece's phone number. He decides to have the message of the packet's arrival broadcast on the radio. He is approached by someone claiming to be the one the package is meant for. Soon the journalist finds that the package has two passports that would have helped a scientist get to Austria. The "recipient" of the package turns out to be a police spy. So was the man who gave him the package. They two agents had planned to arrest the Canadian as a spy too, and use him as a bartering chip for the Americans. They would trade him, for one of their agents. Fortunately, the courageous Canadian disarms a border guard and escapes to Austria with the scientist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
