''Ms. Stiletto'' (), is a 1969 historical

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

, directed by Bruno Corbucci. The setting is the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

in the early 17th century, while Louis XIII is still underage. An Alsatian baron kills the family of a Duke and claims their Château for himself. The Duke's daughter is rescued by a gypsy tribal leader. Several years later, the girl has become a teenager and seeks

revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

Plot

Early 17th century, France. Eric von Nutter, a greedy Alsatian

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

raids

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

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 tribe nicknamed The Devils. Years later, Isabella is a beautiful and courageous teenage girl. By chance, she encounters François de Bassompierre 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 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 a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

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. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

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

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series by Renzo Barbieri, who created the character of Isabella, and Giorgio Cavedon, 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 1960s exploitation films 1960s teen 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 Cultural depictions of Louis XIII German films about revenge Italian films about revenge Films about nobility