robespierre9

Stephen Boyd made 3 films with director Nieves Conde in the 1970's, starting with the Great Swindle in 1971, followed by Marta also in 1971, then Casa Manchada in 1975. This would be one of Stephen Boyd's last films before his untimely death in 1977. These are some of his best roles, in my opinion. Conde has a great way of directing him, and this is an excellent film role for Boyd. The story revolves around a wealthy landowner Alvaro (Boyd), and the three women in his life. The tragedy of the story is the haunting repetition of the execution of all male ancestors of Casa Manchada by Spanish Revolutionaries. Filmed on location in Spain, and accompanied by gorgeous soundtrack music, I found this to be a really excellent movie. Stephen Boyd is commanding as the tempted husband, the tragic victim of fate, and the heart and soul of the story (even though he is dubbed in Spanish). Very hard to find, but well worth watching!

Filmed on location at Castillo de Vinuelas outside of Madrid, Marisa Mell plays 'Marta', a woman who becomes the 'captive' of a wealthy, disturbed bachelor Don Miguel, played by Stephen Boyd, in his vast castle. We find out she is looking for her lost sister Pilar, who used to be Arturo's wife. Both actors do a great job in this film. Stephen Boyd gets to show off his acting chops as the disturbed yet charming Miquel. He is mostly placid and engaging, but the more he reveals about his life, the 'Norman Bates' side of his character starts to seep through. Marisa Mell holds her own vs Boyd as Marta, and the romance that happens with her and Miquel is the best part of the story. At the time, Marisa Mell and Stephen Boyd were real-life lovers, so the love scenes they have together on screen are genuinely electric and very sexy (with frequent Marisa Mell nudity!).

This movie is not for everyone, but I think it is a 70's classic. Directed by Romain Gary, and starring his wife Jean Seberg (just after her nervous breakdown), this is a strange, dreamlike, bizarre film. There are some great moments in this film- sort of a cross between a spaghetti western, ClockWork Orange and Performance. Jean Seberg herself is perfectly cast in this as the bored housewife Emily looking for a thrill--and off to Pakistan (well, OK it was filmed in Spain) she goes! The renegade she meets, Brad Killian (name obviously in reference to his dedicated profession of killing every drug runner he can find), is played by the wonderful Stephen Boyd. In his leather-clad outfit and wild hair, he makes for a great anti-hero as he seduces Emily, and turns the cards on her husband, played by the excellent James Mason. The music is amazing, and there are a host of classic Italian character actors in this flick as the bad guys. Oh, and Curd Jergens shows up too! It's a great 70's trip - I highly recommend this if you can track it down on IOFFER.