Tania Busselier in Ciné-Revue

Pretty eurostarlet and Jesus Franco regular Tania Busselier in two full-page images from vintage magazine Ciné-Revue.

Unfinished Franco

Some rare images from two unfinished Jesus Franco film. These appeared in a lengthy article on the director in the French Vampirella, issue nr. 13. The first two are from El Misterio del Castillo Rojo (1972), Franco's first production for his own company, Manacoa Films. Often listed as completed, the film was never finished. The last three are from the tantalisingly titled, Le Manoir du Pendu (1973). This was shot back-to-back with La Noche de los Asesinos and would feature the ubiquitous Lina Romay alongside Antonio Mayans, Alberto Dalbes, Susan Swan and Dan Van Hussen. Sadly, it wasn't always sunny in Manacoa...

Eurostarlets #31: Sophie Hardy

Lovely French starlet Sophie Hardy in a full-page Ciné-Revue image. Sophie Hardy is known to genre fans for her appearances in Max Pécas's La Baie du Désir (1964), Jesus Franco's Cartes Sur Tables and two German Edgar Wallace Krimi, Der Hexer (1964) and Das Geheimnis der Weissen Nonne (1966 - The Trygon Factor). She often has a stripclub or bathroom scene, revealing her considerable charms. Check out my post on Sophie's shower in Der Hexer here. She also appeared in Don Sharp's A Taste of Excitement (1970) with Eva Renzi.

Lorna l'Exorciste

Jesus Franco has often been called an acquired taste and you either like his films or you don't, there's no middle ground. I simply love them and have been doing so since i was a mere teen. For me, this man and his daunting array of films exude fascination. Here's an Euro Cinéma article on one of Franco's weirdest and best films of the 1970s, Les Possédées du Diable (1974), an off-key and unparalleled experience, dreamlike and sleazy at the same time. For me this is far superior to the seriously over-rated La Comtesse Noire (1973). Mind you, however, this is not for the inexperienced ...

By all means also read a fantastic review over at Quiet Cool!!

A Tale of Two Sisters - Part 2

Ciné-Revue image of Chantal Broquet, sister of former model and Jesus Franco regular, Alice Arno (born Marie-France Broquet). Like her more famous sister, she too appeared in some early 1970s Franco films, Al Otro Lado del Espejo (1973), Maciste contre la Reine des Amazones (1973) and Les Exploits Erotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide (1973), along with Eurociné exploitation fare like, Pigalle Carrefour des Illusions (1973) and Les Filles du Golden Saloon (1975). In these she often appeared alongside her sister.

Eurostarlets #019: Tania Busselier

Centre-page illustration from Belgian magazine Ciné-Revue, showing the enigmatic French starlet during her 1972 visit to the Film Festival of Cannes, France. She created quite a scandal as the audacious and ravishing pink baby doll she wore was completely translucent, hiding nothing of her considerable charms. She also caught the attention by arriving at the Palais des Festivals, in a barrage of flashing lightbulbs, on a white destrier. She was guided inside on the arm of Roland Lesaffre, Marcel Carné's favoured actor. Tania's appearance did not go unnoticed by the producers, who vied for the attention of the then Parisian Haute Couture model. Her remarkable entry at the Festival did not lead to stardom, although to genre fans she is considerably well known for her roles in Jesus Franco's movies, La Comtesse Perverse, Plaisir à Trois (both 1974) and Greta - Haus ohne Männer (1977), alongside numerous appearances in French erotic films, such as Le Tango de la Perversion (1974) with Joëlle Coeur and Jean Rollin's Douces Pénétrations (1976).