''Ms. Stiletto'' ( it, Isabella, duchessa dei diavoli), is a 1969 film directed by

Bruno Corbucci Bruno Corbucci (23 October 1931 – 7 September 1996) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He was the younger brother of Sergio Corbucci, and wrote many of his films. He was born in Rome, where he also died. The vast majority o ...

Plot

Early 1600s, France. Eric von Nutter, a greedy Alsatian

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

raids

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

de Frissac's family estate Château Salins and kills his entire family except Isabella, his little daughter. Isabella is saved by Melicour, the head of a

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

tribe nicknamed The Devils. Years later, Isabella is a beautiful and courageous teenage girl. By chance, she encounters

François de Bassompierre François de Bassompierre (12 April 157912 October 1646) was a French courtier. The son of Christophe de Bassompierre (1547–1596), he was born at the castle of Haroué in Lorraine. He was descended from an old family which had for generations ...

and gets the opportunity to reclaim her title but Château Salins is now possessed by Von Nutter. France is going through political instability under the child king

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

and needs support from German princes. Therefore, Isabella is barred from possession of Château Salins by the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

and a young

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, Gilbert de Villancourt is assigned as a guardian to her. However, following a failed assassination attempt by a minion of Von Nutter, Isabella vows to avenge her family and take Château Salins back.

Cast

Background

''Ms. Stiletto'' is an adaptation of the ''

fumetto Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to ...

'' '' Isabella, duchessa dei diavoli'', a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series by

Renzo Barbieri Renzo Barbieri (10 March 1940 – 23 September 2007) was an author and editor of Italian comics as well as the founder of the publishing house Edifumetto. In 1980 he wrote ''Il Manuale del Playboy'' (Manual for Playboys), a textbook about wher ...

, who created the character of Isabella, and

Giorgio Cavedon Giorgio Cavedon (17 December 1930 – 2001) was an Italian publisher, cartoonist and screenwriter. Cavedon was most associated with his adult comics he wrote with Renzo Barbieri. His first comic, ''Isabella (comics), Isabella'' was Italy's firs ...

, who wrote the stories. The comic series became popular in Italy and was Italy's first openly erotic comic strip. The film was part of a minor trend of comic strip adaptations that emphasised mild sado-masochism and late 1960s fetish gear, which started with '' Danger: Diabolik'' and '' Barbarella''.

Release

''Ms. Stiletto'' was released in Italy in 1969. The film was released on home video in the United States under the title ''Ms. Stiletto'' in the mid 1980s. As of 2016, the film is only available in the United States through a VHS tape from the Force Video label. Italian film historian and critic described this tape as "badly cropped VHS" that is "sold at a very high price among collectors."

References

Footnotes

Sources

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External links

* {{Bruno Corbucci 1969 films 1960s historical adventure films Italian historical adventure films West German films 1960s Italian-language films Films directed by Bruno Corbucci Italian sexploitation films Films set in France Films set in the 1610s Italian swashbuckler films Films based on Italian comics Live-action films based on comics 1960s Italian films