Without even trying to, I have somehow managed to see four of director Jess Franco's 140-plus films over the last few months. The man has been so very prolific is so many film genres that he is seemingly unavoidable for anyone whose tastes tend toward the "psychotronic." "The Girl From Rio" (1969) is one of his more coherent, impressively made, larger-budgeted, less sleazy efforts, at least compared to some other works in his gigantic oeuvre. In this one, formerly golden Bond girl Shirley Eaton plays a character widely referred to as Sumitra, although here she's usually called Sunanda (AND despite being based on Sax Rohmer's female villain Sumuru...don't ask). She and her all-woman army plan to conquer the world from their base city of Femina (near Rio), if American playboy on the run Jeff Sutton and crime boss Masius (the always-worth-watching George Sanders) don't get in the way. The film features excellent set and costume design, a chic and catchy theme song, unusual camera angles and a decidedly mod feel. Shirley is just fine in her villainess role, and viewers who enjoyed Maria Rohm's work in that same year's "Venus in Furs" (also by Franco) will just eat her right up here. The picture, for the most part, has its heart in the right place and is something of a gas. Sadly, it is also excessively padded with inevitable Carnivale footage, never goes far enough in terms of sex and perverseness, is grossly deficient when it comes to well-choreographed action scenes, and lacks the budget to make good on its admittedly smashing central conceit. The film's a mixed bag, to be sure, but a stylish and enjoyable one. I would never recommend ingesting psychedelics before watching it, but still, the picture almost demands to be seen that way...
28 Reviews
Franco's Spy Film
bensonmum23 July 2005
Since I recently watched Mario Bava's Danger Diabolik, I had an urge to see some other, lesser known spy movies. This is Jess Franco's attempt at the genre and he almost pulls it off. If it weren't for some lapses in action (and logic) this one would have been very good. But far too often, nothing much of interest is going on. In a typical James Bond movie, there are many instances where the action stops to further the plot. In The Girl from Rio, these stops in the action do nothing to advance the story. They are just there.
Franco probably had one of the bigger "name" casts in The Girl from Rio that he ever worked with. Shirley Eaton, from Goldfinger, is the villainous Sumuru. George Sanders, who I always get a kick out of watching, is very funny as the equally villainous Sir Masius. The biggest problem with the casting is Richard Wyler as the films hero. He's not interesting enough to carry the part.
Having watched a few Franco movies over the past few years, The Girl from Rio is decidedly tame. While the movie has its moments, the usual Franco sleaze is not evident. Too bad - it might have made some of the non-action moments more tolerable.
Franco probably had one of the bigger "name" casts in The Girl from Rio that he ever worked with. Shirley Eaton, from Goldfinger, is the villainous Sumuru. George Sanders, who I always get a kick out of watching, is very funny as the equally villainous Sir Masius. The biggest problem with the casting is Richard Wyler as the films hero. He's not interesting enough to carry the part.
Having watched a few Franco movies over the past few years, The Girl from Rio is decidedly tame. While the movie has its moments, the usual Franco sleaze is not evident. Too bad - it might have made some of the non-action moments more tolerable.
So-so Euro-spy movie co-produced by Spain/Britain with action, thrills and beautiful girls
ma-cortes2 December 2020
Sumuru , Shirley Eaton, is a gorgeous but evil woman who plans world domination by having her sexy all female army to eliminate male leaders. Her main purport is to replace them with her female agents, and eventually the male people to be used as slaves, while propagating the female genre . Along the way an allegedly swindler named Jeff Sutton , Richard Wyler , carries a suitcase with 10 million dollars , and a nasty ganster : George Sanders , as well as Sumuru , want to take it . Shorly after, Sumuru kidnaps Sutton and brings them to her headquarter : Femina. Then , the villain enemy with his local army invade the quarters in a modern Río de Janeiro . She is the most sadistic...diabolic..woman who ever lived!. She rules a palace of pleasure ...for women ! Where men are used in a diabolic plot to destroy civilization !.See this daring motion picture , never before exhibited ¡ A Carnivale of Sex and Violence from the director of Vampyros Lesbos and Eugenie . These are the future ..
Based on a series of cult novels by Sam Rohmer, who also wrote Fumanchu, about a magalomaniac femme fatal who wants to rule over the World. This is the sequel to "The Milion Eyes of Sumuru" 1967 directed by Lindsay Shonteff with Shirley Eaton, George Nader , Frankie Avalon, Klaus Kinski, Wilfrid Hyde White , and followed many years later by "Sumuru" 2003 by Darrell Roodt with Alexandra Kamp, Michael Shanks . All of them were produced by British producer Harry Alan Towers who married to Austrian Maria Rohm , usual actress in his films and occassionally producer . This follow-up "The seven secrets of Sumuru" also has a good cast , being a British/Spanish coproduction here appears Brits as Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler , and Spaniard players as Elisa Montes and Marta Revers . Again Shirley Eaton as the ruler Sumuru who schemes remove all the men who are currently in power and replace them with her army of beautiful women . Shirley reprised this role for amusement , as she said : I did enjoy being the wicked Lady in two rather bad movies , which I had not had the chance to be before , however, retiring from performing shortly afterwards . She is well accompanied by a lot of young girls , most of who are shown in skimpy mini skirls , light dresss and bikinis and they can all perform complex tasks . Stars the mediocre actor Richard Wyler who starred some Spaghetti Westerns , here he plays a roguish hero who turns a pawn in a confrontation between two nasty contenders while frees the damsel in distress .
Regularly directed by Jesús Franco or Jess Frank with his usual tics , brands and botcher style . It contains a colorful and sunny cinematography by Manuel Merino shot on location in Museum Arte Modern Río Janeiro, Brazil, Barcelona, Catalonia and La Manga del Mar Menor, Murcia , Spain . As well as thrilling and peculiar musical score with strange sounds by Daniel White , Franco's regular . This is a run-of-the-mill Jess Frank made in medium budget with his common elements , such as erotism, nudism, masochist scenes , perversion, prisoners locked in glass cages and habitual zooms.
Based on a series of cult novels by Sam Rohmer, who also wrote Fumanchu, about a magalomaniac femme fatal who wants to rule over the World. This is the sequel to "The Milion Eyes of Sumuru" 1967 directed by Lindsay Shonteff with Shirley Eaton, George Nader , Frankie Avalon, Klaus Kinski, Wilfrid Hyde White , and followed many years later by "Sumuru" 2003 by Darrell Roodt with Alexandra Kamp, Michael Shanks . All of them were produced by British producer Harry Alan Towers who married to Austrian Maria Rohm , usual actress in his films and occassionally producer . This follow-up "The seven secrets of Sumuru" also has a good cast , being a British/Spanish coproduction here appears Brits as Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler , and Spaniard players as Elisa Montes and Marta Revers . Again Shirley Eaton as the ruler Sumuru who schemes remove all the men who are currently in power and replace them with her army of beautiful women . Shirley reprised this role for amusement , as she said : I did enjoy being the wicked Lady in two rather bad movies , which I had not had the chance to be before , however, retiring from performing shortly afterwards . She is well accompanied by a lot of young girls , most of who are shown in skimpy mini skirls , light dresss and bikinis and they can all perform complex tasks . Stars the mediocre actor Richard Wyler who starred some Spaghetti Westerns , here he plays a roguish hero who turns a pawn in a confrontation between two nasty contenders while frees the damsel in distress .
Regularly directed by Jesús Franco or Jess Frank with his usual tics , brands and botcher style . It contains a colorful and sunny cinematography by Manuel Merino shot on location in Museum Arte Modern Río Janeiro, Brazil, Barcelona, Catalonia and La Manga del Mar Menor, Murcia , Spain . As well as thrilling and peculiar musical score with strange sounds by Daniel White , Franco's regular . This is a run-of-the-mill Jess Frank made in medium budget with his common elements , such as erotism, nudism, masochist scenes , perversion, prisoners locked in glass cages and habitual zooms.
Big Battle in Rio de Janeiro!
andrabem4 April 2007
As I live in Rio de Janeiro I was curious to see this film. The other reason I picked up this film was that it was directed by Jess Franco (I had already seen "Vampyros Lesbos", "She killed in ecstasy" and "Sadomania"). These films are what I would call porn trash - they tell stories that offer us luscious images of female flesh, lesbianism, mild violence and really entertain us. "Vampyros Lesbos", in particular, is a psychedelic sound and visual trip, featuring the gorgeous Soledad Miranda, present also in "She killed in ecstasy". Jess Franco has a sophisticated visual style of his own.
But "The Girl from Rio"(called also "The Seven Secrets of Sumuru) is absolutely amateurish. It tells no story at all. Its plot is a mixture of science-fiction, spy-thriller and soft porn trash. There is the detective, a mixture of James Bond and Flint (the main character?) always wearing flashy suits and carrying a suitcase containing 10 million dollars, there are the girls from Femina, a city located somewhere near Rio that intend to conquer the world and enslave the men, and there is a gang run by George Sanders. The 10 million dollars is what they are all fighting for. There are of course lots of girls.
Many fights, so badly done that people fall before they are hit. Femina was filmed inside and around the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio. The gang run by George Sanders is composed by 5 people! There's a scene in which they run after the hero(?) wearing fantasy masks and after a ridiculous fist fight, he knocks them out and runs away. Incredible! Not to mention the "apocalyptic final battle" among the hero, the female warriors of Femina and the Gang of Five.
"The Girl from Rio" belongs to the category "so bad that it's good". I had my fun all right! By todays standards this film can't even be considered porn and the violence is mild.
If you see this film, do it the same way you would watch an Ed Wood movie and you'll have your fun. This film was made in such an easy-going way that if you let yourself flow with it, you will have a smile on your face when it ends.
But "The Girl from Rio"(called also "The Seven Secrets of Sumuru) is absolutely amateurish. It tells no story at all. Its plot is a mixture of science-fiction, spy-thriller and soft porn trash. There is the detective, a mixture of James Bond and Flint (the main character?) always wearing flashy suits and carrying a suitcase containing 10 million dollars, there are the girls from Femina, a city located somewhere near Rio that intend to conquer the world and enslave the men, and there is a gang run by George Sanders. The 10 million dollars is what they are all fighting for. There are of course lots of girls.
Many fights, so badly done that people fall before they are hit. Femina was filmed inside and around the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio. The gang run by George Sanders is composed by 5 people! There's a scene in which they run after the hero(?) wearing fantasy masks and after a ridiculous fist fight, he knocks them out and runs away. Incredible! Not to mention the "apocalyptic final battle" among the hero, the female warriors of Femina and the Gang of Five.
"The Girl from Rio" belongs to the category "so bad that it's good". I had my fun all right! By todays standards this film can't even be considered porn and the violence is mild.
If you see this film, do it the same way you would watch an Ed Wood movie and you'll have your fun. This film was made in such an easy-going way that if you let yourself flow with it, you will have a smile on your face when it ends.
Danger: Francorella!
Coventry6 June 2006
The clever marketeer is he is, Jess Franco naturally also cashed in on the huge temporarily success of psychedelic spy movies like Mario Bava's ultimately sensational "Danger: Diabolik!". Franco is the ideal man to shoot a similar film, as he could freely insert as much sleaze, kitschy scenery and absurdly grotesque plot twists as he wanted to. And he partially understood this very well, as "The Girl from Rio" revolves on a man-hating organization, led by a funky dressed lesbo, that plots to turn all men into obedient slaves! Unfortunately (for them, at least), the diabolical plans conflict with the daily business of a feared crime syndicate boss, played by George Sanders. All the right ingredients are well-presented, yet this is a surprisingly weak and unsatisfying adventure movie. The plot is rich on imagination, but seemingly only on paper, as the action is quite tame. The film is also very colorful...but not too bright and especially shocking was the total lack of vicious sex. There's a bit of nudity, sure, but too few according to normal Franco standards. All the characters are sick in the head, so the least I expected (or hoped for) were more perverted undertones or frenzied themes. Franco obviously had a bigger budget as usual to work with, and I must say he spends that money well on more convincing set pieces and talented cast members. Particularly the veteran actor George Sanders ("Village of the Damned", "Psychomania") is one of the best players ever to appear in a Franco production. Too bad even he can't save "The Girl from Rio" from being a huge letdown. A legendary Euro-smut filmmaker like Jess Franco could and should have done more with this concept. Shame, shame, shame...
Disappointingly tame film.
gridoon18 November 2001
There are certain scenes in this film (like the hero's first meeting with super-villainess Shirley Eaton) where it seems to be on the edge of breaking sexual taboos and doing its premise (females want to rule the world by making men slaves) justice, but it never dares to. The result is a film with no sexuality and some tame violence. Despite the choppy plot, the film is not overly bad until its climax, where its amateurishness runs rampant (terrible editing, overuse of stock footage). Worth seeing only as a curio. (*1/2)
That Wacky Femme Fatale From Rio
Bogmeister28 August 2007
Take the secret agent / James Bond craze of the sixties, mix in some concepts from Sax Rohmer's female Fu Manchu femme fatale and stir in some absurdest twisted revisionism by director Franco - you have the man-hating lesbian Sumuru, or "The 7 Secrets of..." - better known as "The Girl From Rio" in the USA, recalling "That Man From Rio," which has nothing to do with this. Yes, this does take place in Brazil, we must give it that. Sumuru, or Sumitra as she's also referred to, is like an evil version of "Modesty Blaise," played here by actress Eaton with that familiar coy smile which most of us first became acquainted with in "Goldfinger." There are numerous close-up shots of her staring off camera, slowly opening her mouth, probably while watching something unpleasant (however, she is doubled in her key lesbian scene). She controls an entire army of female warriors, colorfully costumed, and rules a city called Femina or something (just outside Rio de Janeiro?). These concepts, which previously appeared in "The Million Eyes of Sumuru," sound terrific, but, despite some intriguing set design & visuals, it follows the same campy atmosphere of, for example, the very dated "Some Girls Do," which came out around the same time and which also featured a female army. At first glance, the sight of all these armed females, usually lined up in a row, catches one's interest, but, after 15 minutes or so, you realize there's nothing else there beyond just setting up the visual.
The plot follows what seems like a secret agent, a male, arriving in Brazil with 10 million dollars. He catches the attention of the local crime lord (Sanders, hamming it up as an elderly Bond-type villain), who sends dark-suited thugs in bowler hats to accost him. This sets everything up for a 3-way conflict between the agent, the crime lord and the mysterious Sumuru (the crime lord wants Sumuru's secrets). Sumuru also keeps various prisoners in glass cages - maybe that's one of the secrets. This sounds exciting but there are problems which go beyond just a slow pace; there are many shots which could have used a lot of tightening: one shot of an arriving airplane, for example, stays on the craft as it settles to a near stop, as if this had never been captured on film before. There's a similar approach to a typical sunset, as if there's something unusual about it. The fight scenes are very substandard, as if the filmmakers had to use the first takes. To add some production value, there's a scene of the real Rio carnival about midway through. I'm guessing there were various budget problems, especially evident in the climactic battle, where fake sound effects and smoke cover up a lot of bogus action, such as the lack of even real-looking guns - it calls to mind those times when kids use plastic guns and pretend bullets are being fired, falling over unconvincingly. There are touches of sadism, such as torturing a character to get answers, and female nudity, an early depiction of such after some restrictions were lifted. But, mostly, you'll be rolling your eyes. Hero:3 Villains:5 Femme Fatales:5 Henchmen:4 Fights:3 Stunts/Chases:3 Gadgets:4 Auto:4 Locations:6 Pace:3 overall:4
The plot follows what seems like a secret agent, a male, arriving in Brazil with 10 million dollars. He catches the attention of the local crime lord (Sanders, hamming it up as an elderly Bond-type villain), who sends dark-suited thugs in bowler hats to accost him. This sets everything up for a 3-way conflict between the agent, the crime lord and the mysterious Sumuru (the crime lord wants Sumuru's secrets). Sumuru also keeps various prisoners in glass cages - maybe that's one of the secrets. This sounds exciting but there are problems which go beyond just a slow pace; there are many shots which could have used a lot of tightening: one shot of an arriving airplane, for example, stays on the craft as it settles to a near stop, as if this had never been captured on film before. There's a similar approach to a typical sunset, as if there's something unusual about it. The fight scenes are very substandard, as if the filmmakers had to use the first takes. To add some production value, there's a scene of the real Rio carnival about midway through. I'm guessing there were various budget problems, especially evident in the climactic battle, where fake sound effects and smoke cover up a lot of bogus action, such as the lack of even real-looking guns - it calls to mind those times when kids use plastic guns and pretend bullets are being fired, falling over unconvincingly. There are touches of sadism, such as torturing a character to get answers, and female nudity, an early depiction of such after some restrictions were lifted. But, mostly, you'll be rolling your eyes. Hero:3 Villains:5 Femme Fatales:5 Henchmen:4 Fights:3 Stunts/Chases:3 Gadgets:4 Auto:4 Locations:6 Pace:3 overall:4
THE GIRL FROM RIO (Jesus Franco, 1969) **
Bunuel197613 May 2011
Back when this came out on DVD through Blue Underground, I used to purchase films on disc regularly, and I even acquired about a dozen of this notorious director's work in the said format (including a number of Harry Alan Towers productions such as this is and 2 Fu Manchu pictures – created, like the Sumuru figure here, by Sax Rohmer). However, I gradually started to hold back and then stopped altogether (though I did place a couple of orders during the last few months, with Franco's LORNA
THE EXORCIST {1974] actually figuring among the titles!), so that most of what came my way thereafter – THE GIRL FROM RIO included – was via ulterior sources.
The film - known by a variety of other inappropriate monikers such as FUTURE WOMEN, MOTHERS OF America (!}, THE SEVEN SECRETS OF SUMURU (the English translation of its official German title) and RIO 70 - is a sequel to the recently-viewed THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU (1967), with Shirley Eaton reprising the lead role (though she is actually called Sunanda here!); being Franco, the erotic element is much more to the fore in this case, with some mild if gratuitous nudity (straight from its opening moments!) which, however, does not involve Eaton but rather heroine Maria Rohm (Towers' own wife!). Typically, we get an ageing would-be star for the hero (CHARGE OF THE LANCERS {1954}'s Richard Wyler!) and a veteran presence clearly there to pick up a paycheck (George Sanders, who is made to ogle girls more than half his age and read comic-books while his henchmen rough-up the heroine!). While it is clear that Franco made these sort of films as a director-for-hire, he still attempted to incorporate his trademark concerns and imbue them with his recognizable style – at least on that front, this works to a certain extent: the colorful Rio locations are striking (we are also treated to a title song!) and, though carnival footage (which was also featured in the director's masterpiece VENUS IN FURS {1969}) is adopted as padding more than anything else, there is a chase scene in which the pursuers are rendered more sinister by donning masks; equally notable are the vaguely futuristic sets and kinky costumes.
Wyler is ostensibly a criminal who had looted 10 million dollars; this attracts both mastermind Sanders and ruler of 'Femina' Eaton (amusingly, she has been 'collecting' similarly audacious malefactors, among whom is the infamous Great Train Robbery fugitive{!}, and torturing them via a beam-less laser gun, that would also turn up later in Franco's DEVIL'S ISLAND WOMEN {1972}!). Another form of cruelty has the men pinned down to the floor and left at the mercy of a succession of voluptuous and previously-repressed girls (which, again, the director seems to have liked and re-used in the similarly below-average BLUE RITA {1977]). Along the way, the hero is also involved with Rohm (who surprisingly proves duplicitous), Sanders' kooky secretary and, of course, Eaton herself (in this, she frequently forsakes her dark wig from the previous film to show off her naturally, and frankly more appealing, blonde hair!). The film then climaxes with a virtual retread of the original's, as Eaton's compound is raided (by Sanders' men in choppers) and, though they put up a valiant fight (somewhat better than before since both Sanders and his mistress succumb themselves), it still ends with an explosion and Eaton herself fleeing but Sumuru would not be back for another adventure (at least from these hands)!
The film - known by a variety of other inappropriate monikers such as FUTURE WOMEN, MOTHERS OF America (!}, THE SEVEN SECRETS OF SUMURU (the English translation of its official German title) and RIO 70 - is a sequel to the recently-viewed THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU (1967), with Shirley Eaton reprising the lead role (though she is actually called Sunanda here!); being Franco, the erotic element is much more to the fore in this case, with some mild if gratuitous nudity (straight from its opening moments!) which, however, does not involve Eaton but rather heroine Maria Rohm (Towers' own wife!). Typically, we get an ageing would-be star for the hero (CHARGE OF THE LANCERS {1954}'s Richard Wyler!) and a veteran presence clearly there to pick up a paycheck (George Sanders, who is made to ogle girls more than half his age and read comic-books while his henchmen rough-up the heroine!). While it is clear that Franco made these sort of films as a director-for-hire, he still attempted to incorporate his trademark concerns and imbue them with his recognizable style – at least on that front, this works to a certain extent: the colorful Rio locations are striking (we are also treated to a title song!) and, though carnival footage (which was also featured in the director's masterpiece VENUS IN FURS {1969}) is adopted as padding more than anything else, there is a chase scene in which the pursuers are rendered more sinister by donning masks; equally notable are the vaguely futuristic sets and kinky costumes.
Wyler is ostensibly a criminal who had looted 10 million dollars; this attracts both mastermind Sanders and ruler of 'Femina' Eaton (amusingly, she has been 'collecting' similarly audacious malefactors, among whom is the infamous Great Train Robbery fugitive{!}, and torturing them via a beam-less laser gun, that would also turn up later in Franco's DEVIL'S ISLAND WOMEN {1972}!). Another form of cruelty has the men pinned down to the floor and left at the mercy of a succession of voluptuous and previously-repressed girls (which, again, the director seems to have liked and re-used in the similarly below-average BLUE RITA {1977]). Along the way, the hero is also involved with Rohm (who surprisingly proves duplicitous), Sanders' kooky secretary and, of course, Eaton herself (in this, she frequently forsakes her dark wig from the previous film to show off her naturally, and frankly more appealing, blonde hair!). The film then climaxes with a virtual retread of the original's, as Eaton's compound is raided (by Sanders' men in choppers) and, though they put up a valiant fight (somewhat better than before since both Sanders and his mistress succumb themselves), it still ends with an explosion and Eaton herself fleeing but Sumuru would not be back for another adventure (at least from these hands)!
Jess Franco, the Genuine Successor of Ed Wood
claudio_carvalho29 December 2011
Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler) arrives in Rio de Janeiro with a suitcase with 10 million dollars, and the powerful mobster Sir Masius (George Sanders) sends his henchman Carl (Herbert Fleischmann) with his gangsters to follow Jeff and get the money. Jeff has one affair with the manicure Leslye (Maria Rohm) and succeeds to escape from Sir Masius' mobsters.
Meanwhile, Sumuru (Shirley Eaton), the leader of the women of the City of Femina that wants to defeat the men and take over the world, captures Jeff and brings him to Femina expecting to get the money. Sumuru has several prisoners locked in glass cages, including Ulla Rossini (Martha Reves), who knows Jeff Sutton. Jeff discloses to Ulla that his arrival is part of a plan to save her from Sumuru. Jeff Sutton becomes a pawn in the middle of the war between Masius and Sumuru.
"Die Sieben Männer der Sumuru" is another crazy exploitation with free nudity of beautiful women by Jess Franco, the true successor of Ed Wood regarding bad movies, including his muse Maria Rohm. The acting, plot, fight choreography and dialogs are ridiculous, mixing a senseless spy movie with a sort of low-budget sci-fi from the 50's.
Most of the situations are laughable and ridiculous, but a criminal driving a "discreet" hearse is something that even Ed Wood had never imagined. It is sad only to see George Sanders, from "All about Eve", working in a film like that.
For a "carioca" (native of Rio de Janeiro), it is hilarious to see our Modern Art Museum transformed in the Femina; or Sumuru a.k.a. Sumitra, called Samantha in the Brazilian version released by Continental Distributor in the Trash Collection. The good points are the footages of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the external takes of the Wonderful City in the late 60's. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "A Garota do Rio" ("The Girl from Rio")
Meanwhile, Sumuru (Shirley Eaton), the leader of the women of the City of Femina that wants to defeat the men and take over the world, captures Jeff and brings him to Femina expecting to get the money. Sumuru has several prisoners locked in glass cages, including Ulla Rossini (Martha Reves), who knows Jeff Sutton. Jeff discloses to Ulla that his arrival is part of a plan to save her from Sumuru. Jeff Sutton becomes a pawn in the middle of the war between Masius and Sumuru.
"Die Sieben Männer der Sumuru" is another crazy exploitation with free nudity of beautiful women by Jess Franco, the true successor of Ed Wood regarding bad movies, including his muse Maria Rohm. The acting, plot, fight choreography and dialogs are ridiculous, mixing a senseless spy movie with a sort of low-budget sci-fi from the 50's.
Most of the situations are laughable and ridiculous, but a criminal driving a "discreet" hearse is something that even Ed Wood had never imagined. It is sad only to see George Sanders, from "All about Eve", working in a film like that.
For a "carioca" (native of Rio de Janeiro), it is hilarious to see our Modern Art Museum transformed in the Femina; or Sumuru a.k.a. Sumitra, called Samantha in the Brazilian version released by Continental Distributor in the Trash Collection. The good points are the footages of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the external takes of the Wonderful City in the late 60's. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "A Garota do Rio" ("The Girl from Rio")
Rio de JessFranco.
BA_Harrison7 April 2013
The Girl From Rio AKA Future Women is precisely the sort of loopy nonsense that we cult movie fans find absolutely fascinating: it has an outlandish espionage plot, born of the feminist movement yet still managing to exploit women at every turn; it stars familiar performers Shirley Eaton (Goldfinger) and George Sanders (All About Eve) camping it up like there's no tomorrow; there's crazy kitsch 60s fashion a go-go; and director Jess Franco (R.I.P.) ensures that the film is imbued with a strangeness and technical ineptitude of the kind guaranteed to keep his loyal followers happy, despite the whole affair being far more light-hearted than many of his other movies.
Eaton stars as lesbian megalomaniac Sunanda who is hell-bent on dominating the world with the help of her all-woman army of men-haters (which in itself should be more than enough to pique most trash movie fans' interest). Building a vast fortune by kidnapping the world's wealthiest people, the power-hungry women's libber has built her own city, Femina, from which she plans to launch her attack on mankind.
Sunanda's latest target is playboy Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler), who is rumoured to be carrying $10million cash with him in his briefcase; also interested in the money is Sunanda's rival, Rio crime boss Masius (Sanders). In reality there is no money, the briefcase being used as bait to reel in Sunanda, Jeff having been hired to locate missing heiress Ulla (Marta Reves) who he believes is being held captive in Femina.
With this three-way of Sunanda, Masius and Sutton established, all Franco is left to do is pad out his movie to feature length with assorted nonsense, which includes gangsters in creepy masks, lots of Rio carnival padding (including a one-legged reveller busting moves in the street), some torture via Sunanda's craptastic microwave ray, Eaton wearing a lacy body stocking, hilarious dialogue ('Don't be nasty—daddy doesn't like it'), more leggy totty than you can shake a stick at, and several silly showdowns, Jeff narrowly escaping on most occasions thanks to his incredible martial arts skills (a karate chop here, a judo throw there) or his trusty pistol (for use only when his chopping hand is feeling sore). When he's not kicking bad guy butt, Jeff's weapon of choice is his irresistible charm, with which he lures women—even dedicated man-haters—into bed with ease (thus allowing Franco to easily meet his quota of female nudity).
Ultimately, Femina is stormed by Jeff and Masius, who form an alliance to ensure continuing male superiority, their assault on the city resulting in a barrage of badly edited fake gunfire and an amateurish assault of unconvincing stock footage explosions. In a suitably silly final scene, Sunanda is shown to have survived the attack, despite having supposedly blown herself up with a self-destruct device inside her gold vault.
Eaton stars as lesbian megalomaniac Sunanda who is hell-bent on dominating the world with the help of her all-woman army of men-haters (which in itself should be more than enough to pique most trash movie fans' interest). Building a vast fortune by kidnapping the world's wealthiest people, the power-hungry women's libber has built her own city, Femina, from which she plans to launch her attack on mankind.
Sunanda's latest target is playboy Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler), who is rumoured to be carrying $10million cash with him in his briefcase; also interested in the money is Sunanda's rival, Rio crime boss Masius (Sanders). In reality there is no money, the briefcase being used as bait to reel in Sunanda, Jeff having been hired to locate missing heiress Ulla (Marta Reves) who he believes is being held captive in Femina.
With this three-way of Sunanda, Masius and Sutton established, all Franco is left to do is pad out his movie to feature length with assorted nonsense, which includes gangsters in creepy masks, lots of Rio carnival padding (including a one-legged reveller busting moves in the street), some torture via Sunanda's craptastic microwave ray, Eaton wearing a lacy body stocking, hilarious dialogue ('Don't be nasty—daddy doesn't like it'), more leggy totty than you can shake a stick at, and several silly showdowns, Jeff narrowly escaping on most occasions thanks to his incredible martial arts skills (a karate chop here, a judo throw there) or his trusty pistol (for use only when his chopping hand is feeling sore). When he's not kicking bad guy butt, Jeff's weapon of choice is his irresistible charm, with which he lures women—even dedicated man-haters—into bed with ease (thus allowing Franco to easily meet his quota of female nudity).
Ultimately, Femina is stormed by Jeff and Masius, who form an alliance to ensure continuing male superiority, their assault on the city resulting in a barrage of badly edited fake gunfire and an amateurish assault of unconvincing stock footage explosions. In a suitably silly final scene, Sunanda is shown to have survived the attack, despite having supposedly blown herself up with a self-destruct device inside her gold vault.
Eaton mess...
matthewmercy30 April 2014
As well as having producer Harry Allan Towers' previously profitable Fu Manchu series placed in his 'care' for the final two entries, The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), director Jesus 'Jess' Franco also gave us a film based around the exploits of another Sax Rohmer character, the villainess Sumuru, at around the same. What all three of these films share, apart from a complete disrespect for Rohmer's writing, is the fact that they are all absolutely, pitifully awful, and show up the inexplicably prolific Franco for what he is: devoid of talent.
The follow-up to Towers' frankly-quite-bad-enough 1967 production The Million Eyes of Sumuru (director, Lindsay 'Devil Doll' Shonteff), 1969's The Girl from Rio (also known as The Seven Secrets of Sumuru, and several other alternative titles that are so witless they don't even bear noting here) is right down there with the second of Franco's Fu Manchu films as representing the absolute nadir of his movie efforts, and again features Goldfinger's iconic Shirley Eaton repeating the Sumuru role from the previous Towers flick; that the character has, through some unfortunate error in the dubbing process, been re-named 'Sunanda' (!) is the very least of this pathetic film's problems.
In quite possibly the most depressing 'how are the mighty fallen' movie appearance of all time, the legendary George Sanders of Foreign Correspondent, All About Eve, and The Jungle Book fame here stars as the head of a criminal syndicate at odds with Eaton's female army, and he looks visibly embarrassed every time he appears. Our protagonist is a supposedly smooth investigator played the barely-known Richard Wyler, who is meant to be lady-killing, karate-chopping, pistol-packing tough guy in the mold of James Bond, but who quite frankly makes 'Boysie' Oakes look like Jason Bourne by comparison.
I hate Franco's films, they are just rubbish. All the director's familiar trademarks are here; endless, pointless tracking shots designed to pad out the film's length, relentless looping of various characters' voices by the ubiquitous Robert Rietty, atrocious, unfit-for-purpose music, a big role for Towers' wife Maria Rohm, nonsensical, cheaply assembled action sequences, and an utterly confusing and inadequate 'climax'. After this, her very last movie role, Eaton retired from acting to raise a family, and one can't help but think that, coming just five years after the heights of Goldfinger, the fact that she was reduced to appearing in trash like this must have influenced her decision. Honestly, you'd have more fun de-lousing a goat than watching this garbage.
The follow-up to Towers' frankly-quite-bad-enough 1967 production The Million Eyes of Sumuru (director, Lindsay 'Devil Doll' Shonteff), 1969's The Girl from Rio (also known as The Seven Secrets of Sumuru, and several other alternative titles that are so witless they don't even bear noting here) is right down there with the second of Franco's Fu Manchu films as representing the absolute nadir of his movie efforts, and again features Goldfinger's iconic Shirley Eaton repeating the Sumuru role from the previous Towers flick; that the character has, through some unfortunate error in the dubbing process, been re-named 'Sunanda' (!) is the very least of this pathetic film's problems.
In quite possibly the most depressing 'how are the mighty fallen' movie appearance of all time, the legendary George Sanders of Foreign Correspondent, All About Eve, and The Jungle Book fame here stars as the head of a criminal syndicate at odds with Eaton's female army, and he looks visibly embarrassed every time he appears. Our protagonist is a supposedly smooth investigator played the barely-known Richard Wyler, who is meant to be lady-killing, karate-chopping, pistol-packing tough guy in the mold of James Bond, but who quite frankly makes 'Boysie' Oakes look like Jason Bourne by comparison.
I hate Franco's films, they are just rubbish. All the director's familiar trademarks are here; endless, pointless tracking shots designed to pad out the film's length, relentless looping of various characters' voices by the ubiquitous Robert Rietty, atrocious, unfit-for-purpose music, a big role for Towers' wife Maria Rohm, nonsensical, cheaply assembled action sequences, and an utterly confusing and inadequate 'climax'. After this, her very last movie role, Eaton retired from acting to raise a family, and one can't help but think that, coming just five years after the heights of Goldfinger, the fact that she was reduced to appearing in trash like this must have influenced her decision. Honestly, you'd have more fun de-lousing a goat than watching this garbage.
Better than average Jess Franco outing
Woodyanders23 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Cunning and ruthless femme fatale Sumuru (deliciously played with lip-smacking wicked aplomb by Shirley Eaton) leads an all-female army who are planning to take over the world while operating out of Sumuru's base nearby Rio de Janeiro. Handsome American playboy Jeff Sutton (dashing Richard Wyler) reluctantly joins forces with shrewd crime kingpin Sid Masius (George Sanders in peak suave and sardonic form) in order to stop Sumuru. Director Jess Franco, working from a campy script by Harry Alan Towers, relates the entertainingly goofy story at a snappy pace, maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, makes the most out of the exotic Rio locations, offers a few inspired bizarre touches (for example, a gang of chortling flunkies wearing freaky devil masks), delivers a funny sense of sharp sarcastic humor, and stages the reasonably exciting action set pieces with more competence than usual (the lively climax is especially rousing). Moreover, there's a nice sprinkling of tantalizing peek-a-boo nudity and a bevy of beautiful women to make things more sexy and merry: The luscious Maria Rohm provides a tasty eyeful as the sweet Lesyle, the comely Marta Reeves likewise impresses as fetching rich babe Ulla Rossini, and the foxy Elisa Montes is a kittenish delight as Sid's loopy, yet sultry main squeeze Irene. Daniel White's jazzy and energetic score hits the swinging syncopated spot (the groovy theme song is a total gas, too!). Manuel Merino's vibrant and stylish cinematography gives the picture a funky psychedelic look. Extremely enjoyable vintage 60's kitsch.
Flawed, but entertaining just the same.
Hey_Sweden7 September 2018
Shirley Eaton repeats her role as the villainess from the earlier "The Million Eyes of Su Muru". Except that here she's referred to as "Sunanda", while being listed in the end credits as "Sumitra", and basically playing the role of the Sax Rohmer character "Su Muru". All right. Now that that nonsense is out of the way, Sunanda abducts Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler, who gives a flat performance), a playboy on the run. She's got her eye on the $10 million with which he absconded, yet so does Masius (ever wonderful George Sanders), a genial crime kingpin in Rio. He's prepared to mobilize underworld forces against her and her city of "Femina", which is inhabited only by Sunandas' women warriors.
The directing reins are handed over to Euro-cult favourite Jess Franco, but fans of the filmmaker may find this rough going for a while. At first, it often gets dull and plodding. But it does eventually improve somewhat, leading to a colourful finale. There's enough to take in to make the trip worth taking: plenty of eye candy (of both the feminine and scenic variety), an effectively exotic setting, a dynamic music score by Daniel White (and catchy theme song), a fun sense of costume design, and some enjoyable acting.
Eaton once again looks like she's enjoying the part of the feminist baddie, in what turned out to be her final role in a motion picture. Wyler is rather insipid, but Maria Rohm, Marta Reves, Elisa Montes, and Beni Cardoso are all enticing as the various women with which he interacts. Herbert Fleischmann is fine as a dapper henchman named Carl. But, other than Eaton, it's Sanders who's the most fun. He plays an antagonist who doodles on a tablecloth when bored, and who doesn't seem to have much of a stomach for violence. (He turns away when his underlings are roughing people up.)
Not exactly one of Francos' best, but it's all fairly pleasant to watch anyway. Those who favour his output of the 1970s will note that it's not as sleazy as some of those films. All in all, it's decent cheesy espionage fare.
Six out of 10.
The directing reins are handed over to Euro-cult favourite Jess Franco, but fans of the filmmaker may find this rough going for a while. At first, it often gets dull and plodding. But it does eventually improve somewhat, leading to a colourful finale. There's enough to take in to make the trip worth taking: plenty of eye candy (of both the feminine and scenic variety), an effectively exotic setting, a dynamic music score by Daniel White (and catchy theme song), a fun sense of costume design, and some enjoyable acting.
Eaton once again looks like she's enjoying the part of the feminist baddie, in what turned out to be her final role in a motion picture. Wyler is rather insipid, but Maria Rohm, Marta Reves, Elisa Montes, and Beni Cardoso are all enticing as the various women with which he interacts. Herbert Fleischmann is fine as a dapper henchman named Carl. But, other than Eaton, it's Sanders who's the most fun. He plays an antagonist who doodles on a tablecloth when bored, and who doesn't seem to have much of a stomach for violence. (He turns away when his underlings are roughing people up.)
Not exactly one of Francos' best, but it's all fairly pleasant to watch anyway. Those who favour his output of the 1970s will note that it's not as sleazy as some of those films. All in all, it's decent cheesy espionage fare.
Six out of 10.
A lot of pantyhose!
RodrigAndrisan5 August 2017
Another film inspired by "That Man from Rio" (1964). And not only by that, the idea with the army of lobotomized women is stolen from the first Commissioner X, "Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill"(1966). Something good might have gone out, but in the end something really stupid came out: the script! One of the last(and most mischievous) roles for George Sanders, who was a very good actor in many other movies. Here, he had to compete with buttocks, bellies, buttocks, bellies, nipples and nipples... Sumitra, Sunanda or Sumuru? Actually, it doesn't matter, it's the film with which Shirley Eaton has completed her cinematic career. Poor helicopters! They could have use them for some humanitarian purposes...
The Girl from Rio
Michael_Elliott27 February 2011
Girl from Rio, The (1969)
** (out of 4)
Coming from the same era as his FuManchu pictures, this European spy-caper comes from Jess Franco and actually is fairly decent as long as you don't expect too much from it. In the film, which is basically a take-off on Mario Bava's DANGER: DIABOLIK, former Bond girl Shirley Eaton plays Sumitra, the leader of a female gang who plan on taking over the world by turning all the men into their slaves. The girl gang must try and fight a couple evil men (one played by George Sanders) who plan to try and stop them. There's no question that this isn't a very good film but at the same time it's actually better than you might expect it to be. The biggest problem is with the screenplay that really doesn't offer up anything overly original or entertaining as the film's pacing is always at a stop-go motion that ends up killing the film. We get a lot of funky visuals as there's no question this is one of those psychedelic pictures that I'm sure many potheads might enjoy. You've got a pretty good soundtrack, some decent cinematography and it's good to see some familiar names showing up. Sanders was certainly slumping at this point of his career but he manages to be mildly entertaining here. Eaton also manages to turn in a decent performance and it really does appear as she's into everything going on and having a good time playing pretty much a female James Bond. She's certainly chomping away at the dialogue and appears to be having a blast. I think those unfamiliar with the work of Jess Franco might find themselves enjoying this because they're not really sure what they would normally be seeing from the director. Franco worked a few films into this genre but I'm personally not a fan of any of them so in the end this is a decent effort but there's just not enough soul here for me. I prefer his 70s output, which featured more bizarre and poetic films.
** (out of 4)
Coming from the same era as his FuManchu pictures, this European spy-caper comes from Jess Franco and actually is fairly decent as long as you don't expect too much from it. In the film, which is basically a take-off on Mario Bava's DANGER: DIABOLIK, former Bond girl Shirley Eaton plays Sumitra, the leader of a female gang who plan on taking over the world by turning all the men into their slaves. The girl gang must try and fight a couple evil men (one played by George Sanders) who plan to try and stop them. There's no question that this isn't a very good film but at the same time it's actually better than you might expect it to be. The biggest problem is with the screenplay that really doesn't offer up anything overly original or entertaining as the film's pacing is always at a stop-go motion that ends up killing the film. We get a lot of funky visuals as there's no question this is one of those psychedelic pictures that I'm sure many potheads might enjoy. You've got a pretty good soundtrack, some decent cinematography and it's good to see some familiar names showing up. Sanders was certainly slumping at this point of his career but he manages to be mildly entertaining here. Eaton also manages to turn in a decent performance and it really does appear as she's into everything going on and having a good time playing pretty much a female James Bond. She's certainly chomping away at the dialogue and appears to be having a blast. I think those unfamiliar with the work of Jess Franco might find themselves enjoying this because they're not really sure what they would normally be seeing from the director. Franco worked a few films into this genre but I'm personally not a fan of any of them so in the end this is a decent effort but there's just not enough soul here for me. I prefer his 70s output, which featured more bizarre and poetic films.
Space Age Sorceress Shirley's Screen Swansong
richardchatten28 April 2017
Obviously a sequel produced by Harry Alan Towers to his earlier 'Sumuru' (1967) relocated from Hong Kong to Rio de Janeiro, this film originally opened in West Germany as 'Die sieben Männer der Sumuru' ('The Seven Secrets of Sumuru'), but for some reason in the English language version Shirley Eaton's brunette arch-villainess has been renamed Sumitra (Samantha in the Brazilian version), despite her creator Sax Rohmer still being named in the credits.
Not quite as sleazy as Jess Franco's usual fare, it represents for him an excursion into James Bond territory amidst his usual welter of zooms and scantily clad females with sapphic inclinations and torture scenes borrowed from 'Barbarella'. Although as usual plainly shot on a shoestring, Rio's Museu de Arte Moderna has been brought in to give the production a carapace of Bond-style extravagance by providing an imposing backdrop as Sumuru's all-women city of Femina, from which she plans to launch her bid for global subjugation of the male sex.
Her army of gun-toting henchbabes, when not lined up dramatically for the camera, torturing victims wearing almost as little as they are, or using each other for target practice tend to scurry about aimlessly when actually called upon to deal with opposition. They wear a much sillier uniform here than in 'Sumuru', again with bare midriffs but now with red capes and huge black PVC collars that make them look like beetles. Sumuru herself works her way through an extensive wardrobe of exotic garments, ranging from a spectacular fishnet body stocking in which as a blonde she attempts to seduce the hero ("What kind of a space age sorceress are you?" he asks) to a green Peter Pan outfit with silver boots and a large 'S' on her chest that she wears for the finale. We see disappointingly little of the fetching 18th Century trouser suit and wig worn by Maria Rohm for the carnival sequence; the less said about Richard Wyler's loud check jacket, the better.
Also involved is poor George Sanders, who actually manages to give a fairly lively performance as rival villain Masius, whose goons wear dark formal suits and homburgs.
Not quite as sleazy as Jess Franco's usual fare, it represents for him an excursion into James Bond territory amidst his usual welter of zooms and scantily clad females with sapphic inclinations and torture scenes borrowed from 'Barbarella'. Although as usual plainly shot on a shoestring, Rio's Museu de Arte Moderna has been brought in to give the production a carapace of Bond-style extravagance by providing an imposing backdrop as Sumuru's all-women city of Femina, from which she plans to launch her bid for global subjugation of the male sex.
Her army of gun-toting henchbabes, when not lined up dramatically for the camera, torturing victims wearing almost as little as they are, or using each other for target practice tend to scurry about aimlessly when actually called upon to deal with opposition. They wear a much sillier uniform here than in 'Sumuru', again with bare midriffs but now with red capes and huge black PVC collars that make them look like beetles. Sumuru herself works her way through an extensive wardrobe of exotic garments, ranging from a spectacular fishnet body stocking in which as a blonde she attempts to seduce the hero ("What kind of a space age sorceress are you?" he asks) to a green Peter Pan outfit with silver boots and a large 'S' on her chest that she wears for the finale. We see disappointingly little of the fetching 18th Century trouser suit and wig worn by Maria Rohm for the carnival sequence; the less said about Richard Wyler's loud check jacket, the better.
Also involved is poor George Sanders, who actually manages to give a fairly lively performance as rival villain Masius, whose goons wear dark formal suits and homburgs.
"Welcome to Rio, the jewel of South America, where you're always sure to find a friend."
brando64730 April 2016
I wonder if director Jesús Franco and screenwriter Harry Alan Towers thought they were making the next James Bond with FUTURE WOMEN. It's certainly got the feel of a half-baked 007 film but it's missing the charm, class, and skill. Unfortunately, the version I watched was a poor VHS transfer and the audio wasn't always the most clear but I think I got enough to know what's going on. Jeffrey Sutton (Richard Wyler) is some guy who happens to have $10 million and he's brought it to Rio de Janeiro. As soon as he arrives, he's on the radar of local crime boss Masius (George Sanders) who releases his goon squad to bring in the cash. Fleeing from Masius's men, Sutton boards the wrong plane and becomes the unwilling guest of Sumitra (Shirley Eaton) on her all-female island nation of Femina. Sumitra has brought him out to steal his $10 million and contribute it toward her war effort against the rest of the world but, surprise, he doesn't have it. Sutton was weaseling his way out to Femina from the start with false promises of big money so he could locate the missing Ulla (Marta Reves) and bring her home. But it won't be that easy. Sumitra and the nation of Femina are not fond of men, and none has ever escaped alive. And if he manages that, he's still got Masius waiting to snatch him on the mainland. It's a mission fraught with danger, smoke machines, and gratuitous nudity.
I suppose Sutton is our main character, even if we know absolutely nothing about him, where he comes from, who he is, or (until more than halfway through the movie) what his goal is. He's a dull character, embodying the smooth, ladies man persona of 007 but he's got no personality to go with it. He never reacts to danger with anything but a crappy line and a punch that never connects because fight choreography wasn't in the budget. No sense of danger means no suspense, so no one cares what happens. We don't meet Ulla until the halfway point so we don't even care whether she escapes or not, and once again we're not even sure where she's escaping to or who she is. You seeing a pattern? As the audience, we don't even have our bearings until 45 minutes into this 80 minute movie. I wasn't even paying full attention until about 10 minutes in when Sutton is strolling through Rio with his date and comes upon the craziest looking dude, wearing a black mask, black hat, and frizzy red wig. Sutton never reacts; he just offers his lighter to light the masked man's cigarette. Of course, this absurd masked man turns out to be one of Masius's masked goons and it becomes a fun foot chase where Sutton is judo choppin' goons into submission. This movie loves its judo chops almost as much as its smoke machines. I don't know where Sutton received his training but I'm assuming it's the same as Austin Powers.
But this movie is called FUTURE WOMEN (among other things). How are the "future" women? Hilarious. They're scantily-clad with capes and generally armed with assault rifles. They practice firing machine guns at each other in a courtyard. The entire nation of Femina might as well be a single, enormous, empty building because it's all we ever see of it. Large empty spaces with rows of women. If you find yourself a prisoner of Sumitra, you'll be imprisoned in giant plastic honeycomb cells with more smoke machines (these ones keep you too weak to escape). Sumitra is played by Shirley Eaton, who was famously painted gold for the iconic scene in GOLDFINGER. Now she's got a gold stash of her own. Sumitra's got a little stack of gold that she's stolen from previous visitors and she's very proud of it, having booby-trapped it to detonate the entire freakin' island if a man were to attempt to steal it. I'm sure that won't come into play at some point. Interesting point I discovered in reading into the background of this movie, Sumitra is based on the character of Sumuru from English author Sax Rohmer. Sax Rohmer's other famous creation: the legendary racial caricature Fu Manchu. When Fu Manchu controversy became a little too hot a topic, Rohmer created Sumuru as a new criminal mastermind. None of that seems to translate in FUTURE WOMEN but it's interesting to think this could've turned into a series of movies celebrating the evil Sumuru/Sumitra. That could've been fun if they knew how to write movies. Instead, we'll always have FUTURE WOMEN to remind us what could've been: uninteresting secret agent types doing battle with scantily-clad women in smoky warehouses.
FUN FACT: George Sanders was Mister Freeze in a two-episode arc of the 60's Batman TV series. Imagine how much cooler (no pun intended) this movie could've been if it were Mister Freeze versus Sumitra engaged in a brutal mob war.
I suppose Sutton is our main character, even if we know absolutely nothing about him, where he comes from, who he is, or (until more than halfway through the movie) what his goal is. He's a dull character, embodying the smooth, ladies man persona of 007 but he's got no personality to go with it. He never reacts to danger with anything but a crappy line and a punch that never connects because fight choreography wasn't in the budget. No sense of danger means no suspense, so no one cares what happens. We don't meet Ulla until the halfway point so we don't even care whether she escapes or not, and once again we're not even sure where she's escaping to or who she is. You seeing a pattern? As the audience, we don't even have our bearings until 45 minutes into this 80 minute movie. I wasn't even paying full attention until about 10 minutes in when Sutton is strolling through Rio with his date and comes upon the craziest looking dude, wearing a black mask, black hat, and frizzy red wig. Sutton never reacts; he just offers his lighter to light the masked man's cigarette. Of course, this absurd masked man turns out to be one of Masius's masked goons and it becomes a fun foot chase where Sutton is judo choppin' goons into submission. This movie loves its judo chops almost as much as its smoke machines. I don't know where Sutton received his training but I'm assuming it's the same as Austin Powers.
But this movie is called FUTURE WOMEN (among other things). How are the "future" women? Hilarious. They're scantily-clad with capes and generally armed with assault rifles. They practice firing machine guns at each other in a courtyard. The entire nation of Femina might as well be a single, enormous, empty building because it's all we ever see of it. Large empty spaces with rows of women. If you find yourself a prisoner of Sumitra, you'll be imprisoned in giant plastic honeycomb cells with more smoke machines (these ones keep you too weak to escape). Sumitra is played by Shirley Eaton, who was famously painted gold for the iconic scene in GOLDFINGER. Now she's got a gold stash of her own. Sumitra's got a little stack of gold that she's stolen from previous visitors and she's very proud of it, having booby-trapped it to detonate the entire freakin' island if a man were to attempt to steal it. I'm sure that won't come into play at some point. Interesting point I discovered in reading into the background of this movie, Sumitra is based on the character of Sumuru from English author Sax Rohmer. Sax Rohmer's other famous creation: the legendary racial caricature Fu Manchu. When Fu Manchu controversy became a little too hot a topic, Rohmer created Sumuru as a new criminal mastermind. None of that seems to translate in FUTURE WOMEN but it's interesting to think this could've turned into a series of movies celebrating the evil Sumuru/Sumitra. That could've been fun if they knew how to write movies. Instead, we'll always have FUTURE WOMEN to remind us what could've been: uninteresting secret agent types doing battle with scantily-clad women in smoky warehouses.
FUN FACT: George Sanders was Mister Freeze in a two-episode arc of the 60's Batman TV series. Imagine how much cooler (no pun intended) this movie could've been if it were Mister Freeze versus Sumitra engaged in a brutal mob war.
Kitschy, groovy late 60s spy-adventure with Richard Wyler and an army of hot feminazis
Wuchakk25 February 2018
RELEASED IN 1969 and directed by Jesús Franco, "The Girl from Rio" (aka "Rio 70") stars Richard Wyler as a handsome man on a mission in Rio who's caught between a mobster (George Sanders) & his heavies (Herbert Fleischmann) and a femme fatale (Shirley Eaton) who wants to rule the world with her army of machine gun-fortified feminazis.
This is the second part of a duology after "The Million Eyes of Sumuru" (1967), which I've never seen and you don't need to view to appreciate (or withstand) this one. "The Girl from Rio" is a tacky late 60's spy-adventure that combines elements of "That Man from Rio" (1964), Franco's "Kiss Me, Monster" (1969), "Invasion of the Bee Girls" (1973) and Bond flicks of the same period, albeit without the budget and compelling script.
If you have a taste for those types of movies you'll probably enjoy "Rio." Like "Kiss Me" and "Invasion" there's a lot of filler and the corresponding tedious sequences. A full 35 minutes of the runtime could've (and should've) been cut to make the movie more enthralling, but then it wouldn't be "feature length," which is why filmmakers add dull "filler" material.
What makes a movie like this worthwhile is the late 60's chic, the outlandish spy rudiments and the babes. Eaton, the gold-painted girl from "Goldfinger" (1965) leads the way on the latter front with capable assist from Marta Reves (Ulla), Beni Cardoso (Yana), Elisa Montés (Irene) and Maria Rohm (Lesley). In an interview Eaton said she wept on the plane home from Rio because filmmaking was so exhausting and she desperately wanted to be with her husband & children. It was understandably her last film.
THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hours & 34 minutes and was shot in (aduh) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with studio work done in Spain. WRITER: Harry Alan Towers.
GRADE: C
This is the second part of a duology after "The Million Eyes of Sumuru" (1967), which I've never seen and you don't need to view to appreciate (or withstand) this one. "The Girl from Rio" is a tacky late 60's spy-adventure that combines elements of "That Man from Rio" (1964), Franco's "Kiss Me, Monster" (1969), "Invasion of the Bee Girls" (1973) and Bond flicks of the same period, albeit without the budget and compelling script.
If you have a taste for those types of movies you'll probably enjoy "Rio." Like "Kiss Me" and "Invasion" there's a lot of filler and the corresponding tedious sequences. A full 35 minutes of the runtime could've (and should've) been cut to make the movie more enthralling, but then it wouldn't be "feature length," which is why filmmakers add dull "filler" material.
What makes a movie like this worthwhile is the late 60's chic, the outlandish spy rudiments and the babes. Eaton, the gold-painted girl from "Goldfinger" (1965) leads the way on the latter front with capable assist from Marta Reves (Ulla), Beni Cardoso (Yana), Elisa Montés (Irene) and Maria Rohm (Lesley). In an interview Eaton said she wept on the plane home from Rio because filmmaking was so exhausting and she desperately wanted to be with her husband & children. It was understandably her last film.
THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hours & 34 minutes and was shot in (aduh) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with studio work done in Spain. WRITER: Harry Alan Towers.
GRADE: C
Tiger changes her stripes.
texasgoalie27 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Most people write reviews about the protagonists, Sunanda, Masius or Jeff. I'm gonna focus on Masius's accountant Irene. We first meet her bringing Masius a telephone in a white hat a floral two piece bikini while swimming. That's some cajones, because 12v can shock you badly, if not in a movie. Next, she's wearing a lacey two piece. Then, this is her character change. After Marius fails to capture Jeff and they kidnap Lesley, the manicurist. She witnessed the murder of a henchman and the attempted drowning of Lesley, which she shows expressed shock and horror. The stage is set for her character evolution. Purple top hat and white jacket. After, Jeff's escape from Femina, we see her on a card table beating Marius beating him for a total of 1.5 million. Marius finally calls her Irene for maybe the first time in the movie. So, a weird scene happens that's she goes back to mugging Marius on the couch in what looks like a size 15 shirt and black underwear before they try to lure Sunanda into a trap at Carnevale. After the trap fails and Ulla and Irene are captured, she wearing and red trimmed flamenco dress. Jeff and Marius attack Sunanda. Marius gets killed. Irene is wearing the orange jumpsuit dress, stripe shirt and fluorescent yellow hat. Very 60s in terms of fashion. Jeff saves all the girls and escapes.
I hope Elisa Ruiz Penella had fun. At the very least, I, had fun.
I hope Elisa Ruiz Penella had fun. At the very least, I, had fun.
Actually worse than I thought it was going to be.
ofpsmith17 January 2020
I had heard of Jesus Franco before through James Rolfe's review of the three Dracula vs. Frankenstein films (one of which he directed). I watched this film as a Rifftrax and I didn't expect it to be that good to begin with but The Girl From Rio is worse than the low budget trash I was expecting. The plot, assuming one could call it that, concerns a secret agent Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler) who travels to Rio de Janeiro to do something concerning this war between a goofy British mobster Masius (George Sanders) and Sumuru (Shirley Eaton) who leads Femina, a city (supposedly in Brazil but we don't actually know) made up only of women who seek to dominate the world. If that sounds like a really bad story, don't worry because it is. Femina, which is made out to be a super city, seemingly consists of an office building and an airfield. None of the acting is really that good and like I said, there's barely any plot. It's pretty much all filler. In fact when the plot is invoked we don't know why we're supposed to care. You feel that they forgot to fill you in on what you were supposed to know. We hardly know anyone's motivation. In addition the film is fairly boring as well. I didn't expect quality cinema but I at least expected to be entertained. But with all the filler in place of plot that The Girl From Rio has I found that difficult. Watch the Rifftrax. This film has no redeeming qualities otherwise.
Weird, wonderful, silly fun
I_Ailurophile18 April 2022
I may be mistaken, but it seems fairly clear that in watching 1969's 'The girl from Rio,' there is not such narrative connectivity as to make it necessary to watch this in association with other titles adapted from the same source material. This, and presumably any Sumuru feature, can be appreciated on its own without engaging with another related film. That may in fact be preferable, for unless one is wholly enamored with the niche genre of campy "spy-fi," or so determined to achieve completion as to seek out every such movie - then amidst all else in the wide world of cinema, just one rendition seems enough. This is above all on account of the unrelenting kitsch that so heavily characterizes the production: apart from noteworthy feminist themes underlying the premise (female empowerment; destroying patriarchy - distinctly offset by the clear authoritarianism of "Femina"), the picture is saturated, dripping with an (over)abundance of ham-handed flourishes. To be sure, 'The girl from Rio' has no pretenses of being something it's not, and every last iota is only intended for silly fun. Nonetheless, the jazzed up stylization fills every corner - dialogue, characters, narrative, scene writing, costume design, hair and makeup, props, effects, direction, music, and of course, acting. It is, in fact, a good time! But, my, what a ride.
Nothing in this picture is accidental. I can't say I'm familiar with everyone involved, but Jess Franco's is certainly a name that's known to me, and for all the pizzazz that dominates the screen, he demonstrates all the skill we know he possesses, and has shown elsewhere. He has a keen eye for arranging and orchestrating shots and scenes, and a nigh-whimsical practiced hand for guiding his cast and overseeing the production. These are very well suited for a nonsensical romp of such highfalutin tomfoolery as much as for a tongue-in-cheek horror flick like 'Vampyros lesbos,' or even more serious fare. The cinematography looks great, meanwhile, as does the editing, and the sound design is solid. Overt as the flavors are in Daniel J. White's score, all the same I quite enjoy the bombastic chords and their undeniably fun slant. So it is, too, for all those aspects that on the surface are so unquestionably cheesy - it's all by design, and I earnestly enjoy the work put in, including the contributions of the cast as they so enthusiastically lean into the absurdity. Even as the story feels like a thin, loose excuse to play up nudity, sensuality, and every possibly provocative or stimulating element, I can't say it isn't sufficiently complete and coherent - though it is at once also indifferent to being so, accentuated by the lack of concrete exposition or explanation at any time of the full circumstances of the scenario.
What we have, then, is an outlandish, chintzy, rather carefree and free-wheeling slice of purposeful balderdash that carries airs of, say, James Bond spy thrillers, but with an utmost emphasis on far-fetched pomposity. This holds true even as some particulars were conceived and realized on such an apparently shoestring budget that it's not hard to imagine, for example, that a stiff breeze could have knocked over some set pieces. Yet through it all, 'The girl from Rio' is unexpectedly entertaining, and honestly looks good, for what it is (and is notably better than some sincere productions playing in the same space, including some of Eon's 007 features). It would take a rather open-minded viewer to best appreciate it, I think, or one who is especially attuned to the second-tier B-movie approach it adopts toward... well, everything. A film for broad general audiences this is not. For anyone ready and willing to engage with the ridiculousness, though - what more can I say, except that this is roundly amusing from start to finish.
I can scarcely even think of any specific criticism to level, because all the most garish and over the top facets herein are themselves conscious inclusions, and all that's left is for one to decide whether or not this matches their tastes. The one abject critique that does come to mind is simply that the film regrettably feels overlong. It seems almost as though one entire plot is set to resolve at the conclusion of the first hour - yet then another begins, for the last third of the length. As fine as it all looks and sounds, there's a sense that the second thread isn't given an opportunity to be all it could have been, and the picture overall seems overfull. It's an unfortunate lack of totally mindful writing that most restricts the potential before us. However, even with that in mind, the movie remains such a weird blast from beginning to end, hitting just the right spot between "smart" and "tawdry," that I can forgive the indelicacies. Far from essential, 'The girl from Rio' is still a terrifically frivolous, irreverent title, and it's hard not to walk away bearing a cheeky smile. Though definitely not for everyone, I'm pleased to say this actually earns my recommendation as a wild, peculiar slice of sci-fi thriller bluster. Cheers!
Nothing in this picture is accidental. I can't say I'm familiar with everyone involved, but Jess Franco's is certainly a name that's known to me, and for all the pizzazz that dominates the screen, he demonstrates all the skill we know he possesses, and has shown elsewhere. He has a keen eye for arranging and orchestrating shots and scenes, and a nigh-whimsical practiced hand for guiding his cast and overseeing the production. These are very well suited for a nonsensical romp of such highfalutin tomfoolery as much as for a tongue-in-cheek horror flick like 'Vampyros lesbos,' or even more serious fare. The cinematography looks great, meanwhile, as does the editing, and the sound design is solid. Overt as the flavors are in Daniel J. White's score, all the same I quite enjoy the bombastic chords and their undeniably fun slant. So it is, too, for all those aspects that on the surface are so unquestionably cheesy - it's all by design, and I earnestly enjoy the work put in, including the contributions of the cast as they so enthusiastically lean into the absurdity. Even as the story feels like a thin, loose excuse to play up nudity, sensuality, and every possibly provocative or stimulating element, I can't say it isn't sufficiently complete and coherent - though it is at once also indifferent to being so, accentuated by the lack of concrete exposition or explanation at any time of the full circumstances of the scenario.
What we have, then, is an outlandish, chintzy, rather carefree and free-wheeling slice of purposeful balderdash that carries airs of, say, James Bond spy thrillers, but with an utmost emphasis on far-fetched pomposity. This holds true even as some particulars were conceived and realized on such an apparently shoestring budget that it's not hard to imagine, for example, that a stiff breeze could have knocked over some set pieces. Yet through it all, 'The girl from Rio' is unexpectedly entertaining, and honestly looks good, for what it is (and is notably better than some sincere productions playing in the same space, including some of Eon's 007 features). It would take a rather open-minded viewer to best appreciate it, I think, or one who is especially attuned to the second-tier B-movie approach it adopts toward... well, everything. A film for broad general audiences this is not. For anyone ready and willing to engage with the ridiculousness, though - what more can I say, except that this is roundly amusing from start to finish.
I can scarcely even think of any specific criticism to level, because all the most garish and over the top facets herein are themselves conscious inclusions, and all that's left is for one to decide whether or not this matches their tastes. The one abject critique that does come to mind is simply that the film regrettably feels overlong. It seems almost as though one entire plot is set to resolve at the conclusion of the first hour - yet then another begins, for the last third of the length. As fine as it all looks and sounds, there's a sense that the second thread isn't given an opportunity to be all it could have been, and the picture overall seems overfull. It's an unfortunate lack of totally mindful writing that most restricts the potential before us. However, even with that in mind, the movie remains such a weird blast from beginning to end, hitting just the right spot between "smart" and "tawdry," that I can forgive the indelicacies. Far from essential, 'The girl from Rio' is still a terrifically frivolous, irreverent title, and it's hard not to walk away bearing a cheeky smile. Though definitely not for everyone, I'm pleased to say this actually earns my recommendation as a wild, peculiar slice of sci-fi thriller bluster. Cheers!
Stay away from it!
fitzharraldo10 October 2000
Now this is a real turkey by the overrated director Franco, who gave us such classics as "Las Vampiras/Vampyros Lesbos". Yes, I think that bad films can be great fun. I adore the hilarious howlers of Doris Wishman, Dwain Esper and Ed Wood jr., but this one proved to be too much for me. It is the first film I rated 1. Where should I start? The screenplay is idiotic to the utmost. The dialogue is unbelievably bad. The directing seems to be nonexistent. The best music cue (used repeatedly in this film) was taken directly from the movie "Der Hexer" (1964). And it's BORING! Poor Shirley Eaton and George Sanders! In one shot Sanders reads a Popeye comic while his henchman torture a girl (this aspect is probably the intellectual highlight of this movie). The only thing that baffled me was that Franco promptly showed female nudity whenever I thought the movie would gain from it - this is real directing skill! Still, I'm afraid that a movie in which actors pretend to shoot with machine guns by shaking them is not really worthwhile.
Woah...
BandSAboutMovies5 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Jess Franco, come on down. Welcome back to B&S About Movies! I see that you're here today with The Girl From Rio, a sequel to The Million Eyes of Sumuru and based on Sax Rohmer's Sumuru character. You did have help on this one - it was written and produced by Harry Alan Towers, who collaborated with you on films like 99 Women, Venus in Furs, Marquis de Sade: Justine, Eugenie... The Story of Her Journey into Perversion, The Bloody Judge and Count Dracula. He also produced the White Fang film that Fulci directed and 1983's Fanny Hill, a movie that was my girlfriend for many years in the 1980's.
Let's take a break from you and discuss Towers, whose career started as the son of a theatrical agent who became a child actor. He began syndicating radio shows before producing films, including five Fu Manchu movies. In between all that, he ran a vice ring that implicated the United Nations, JFK, Peter Lawford and Stephen Ward, one of the central figures in the Profumo scandal.
But back to you, Mr. Franco. This movie, you did it all. You had women. You had violence. And you had pans in to the sun that lasted for over a minute in the place of any narrative. God bless you.
A co-production between West Germany, Spain and the United States, this movie is also known as The Seven Secrets of Sumuru, City Without Men, Sumuru Queen of Femina, Rio 70 and Future Women.
Secret agent Jeff Sutton shows up in Rio with millions of bucks and walks right into a war between British gangster Sir Masius (George Sanders, an actor so well known that The Kinks mentioned him in song) and Sumuru (Shirley Eaton, a sex symbol who was Jill Masterson in Goldfinger). This lady boss runs the secret world of Femina, gathering women ready to conquer the world. And when things get bad, she chooses death - don't worry, she makes it out alive - rather than giving up her power.
Let's take a break from you and discuss Towers, whose career started as the son of a theatrical agent who became a child actor. He began syndicating radio shows before producing films, including five Fu Manchu movies. In between all that, he ran a vice ring that implicated the United Nations, JFK, Peter Lawford and Stephen Ward, one of the central figures in the Profumo scandal.
But back to you, Mr. Franco. This movie, you did it all. You had women. You had violence. And you had pans in to the sun that lasted for over a minute in the place of any narrative. God bless you.
A co-production between West Germany, Spain and the United States, this movie is also known as The Seven Secrets of Sumuru, City Without Men, Sumuru Queen of Femina, Rio 70 and Future Women.
Secret agent Jeff Sutton shows up in Rio with millions of bucks and walks right into a war between British gangster Sir Masius (George Sanders, an actor so well known that The Kinks mentioned him in song) and Sumuru (Shirley Eaton, a sex symbol who was Jill Masterson in Goldfinger). This lady boss runs the secret world of Femina, gathering women ready to conquer the world. And when things get bad, she chooses death - don't worry, she makes it out alive - rather than giving up her power.
JUST A MANICURE
nogodnomasters24 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler)shows up in Rio with a suitcase with 10 million stolen dollars. The money is wanted by both a crime boss (George Sanders) and by Sumitra (Shirley Eaton)who is building a female army by kidnapping wealthy people and taking this money. These are your typical female army with exposed legs and a woman's usual 24 inch waist.
In one scene Jeff brings a gun to a knife fight, but then uses his fist. The film also has prisoners in glass cages, women being tortured, brief girl/girl action, and the worse soundtrack I have heard in a long time. There was a background buzz for much of the film, plus the music was horrible with terrible lyrics. The pink phone with the long extension cord that can be dragged through a swimming pool was funny. The film has a fair amount of camp value. Also known as "Rio 70" and "Future Women."
Parental Guide: No f-bombs. Sex, nudity (Maria Rohm, Beni Cardoso)
In one scene Jeff brings a gun to a knife fight, but then uses his fist. The film also has prisoners in glass cages, women being tortured, brief girl/girl action, and the worse soundtrack I have heard in a long time. There was a background buzz for much of the film, plus the music was horrible with terrible lyrics. The pink phone with the long extension cord that can be dragged through a swimming pool was funny. The film has a fair amount of camp value. Also known as "Rio 70" and "Future Women."
Parental Guide: No f-bombs. Sex, nudity (Maria Rohm, Beni Cardoso)
Space-Out James Bond Wannabe - Complete With Beautiful Women
Rainey-Dawn13 November 2016
This film is like it's trying to be a James Bond movie but a spaced-out version Bond. Plenty of eye-candy for the guys that just want to "space out" and see pretty girls in sci-fi costumes - and that's all this film really has going for it: lots of beautiful woman.
I couldn't get into the film at all, I watched the first 5 minutes of the movie then watched the rest in fast-forward. Mainly all I saw was pretty girls kissing and making love to bland looking men. I guess that is how Sumuru tries to take over the planet, having men seduced because that is all I really saw. It's not really a soft porn but just the indication of "making love" and lots of kissing. Really boring. I mean really, really boring to watch.
I acquired this from the Sci-Fi Invasion 50-Film Pack... and will add this one to my Garbage List of films. I didn't like it at all.
1/10
I couldn't get into the film at all, I watched the first 5 minutes of the movie then watched the rest in fast-forward. Mainly all I saw was pretty girls kissing and making love to bland looking men. I guess that is how Sumuru tries to take over the planet, having men seduced because that is all I really saw. It's not really a soft porn but just the indication of "making love" and lots of kissing. Really boring. I mean really, really boring to watch.
I acquired this from the Sci-Fi Invasion 50-Film Pack... and will add this one to my Garbage List of films. I didn't like it at all.
1/10
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