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Soledad Miranda |
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| Soledad Miranda was a Spanish actress prolific in the 1960s. Most famous today for her cult films with Jess Franco, her life was tragically cut short at the age of twenty-seven in a car accident in 1970. On July 9, 1943, a little girl was born in Seville, Spain, who would go on to become a cult star. Soledad Rendón Bueno was the first child of a Portuguese couple living in Spain. Although she was the niece of the famous star Paquita Rico, her family was poor, her father working in the fish industry. Young Miranda would, over the next several years, get five younger siblings - two brothers and three sisters. One day she told her parents she wanted to be a performer. They enrolled her in dance classes, where she learned many styles of flamenco. The girl Miranda showed exceptional innate talent, and not long after she started, at the young age of eight, she was selected to perform in the Galas Juveniles show at the San Fernando Theatre and in a booth at the Seville Fair. In addition to performing in her hometown as a professional flamenco dancer (and later, singer), she also worked in a company that toured a folkloric show throughout Andalusia. Though she enjoyed performing, it was not just for fun that she worked so hard for so many years. Her family needed money badly, so a great burden was put on Miranda to help support her loved ones. Miranda loved singing and dancing, but her ultimate aspiration was to become an actress. She wanted to take an artistic last name, so she wrote several choices on papers and tossed them in a hat. The one she drew out was Miranda. When only sixteen years old, she set out for Madrid, the capital of Spanish cinema. After her first screen test, she was told "Go home, girl, you are too fat." She was devastated, and indeed sulked back home to Seville. She began to lose weight, unfortunately with so much zeal that she endangered her health. But Miranda's spirits were not dashed forever, and she made a second try in Madrid, this time with an agent. Her screen test went well, though it was mostly her dancing talents that led to her first role, in 1960, in La bella Mimí ("The Beautiful Mimi"). She was hired as a dancer - the lead dancer, no less - in that musical. This was her first movie, though it was not released until 1963. Her first released movie was a glamorous musical comedy called La reina del Tabarín ("Queen of the Tabarin"). Its star was singer Mikaela Wood, whom Miranda had befriended and who helped her get the part. Even though she had a tiny, uncredited cameo role, the film proved important in her future career. The director of the film was Jess Franco - unknown, then, but by the late 1960s he was famous and when he cast Miranda in several of his films of that period, he breathed new life into her career and saved her from eternal obscurity. Miranda worked constantly throughout her decade-long career (except for a two-year maternity leave), averaging three films a year. Her next project in 1960 was Ursus (by Carlo Campogalliani), starring bodybuilder Ed Fury. In 1961 she was re-hired by José María Elorrieta, the director of La bella Mimí, this time for a much larger and more important role in the classic drama Canción de cuna ("Cradle Song"), which was one in a series of film adaptations of a famous sentimental novel. Whereas in her first movie with Elorrieta her dancing talent was shown off, here her singing was featured. This was her first major role, and it brought her a good deal of attention. However, Miranda had very little money and lived poorly. She did not want her parents to worry, so when she wrote to them she reported greater success. Yet within the next several years, her fortune improved so much that she was able to send money back home to her family on a monthly basis. In 1962, American producer Sidney Pink produced a historical film shot in Spain, The Castilian. Miranda auditioned for a role and Pink was duly impressed by both her beauty and her talent. She got the role, which was fairly small, but it put her in a film with such stars as Cesar Romero and Frankie Avalon. More importantly, meeting Pink led to a much greater role in the next film he produced in Spain, Pyro (aka "Wheel of Fire"), in 1963. Pyro was Miranda's first film in the horror genre, in which she went on to produce much of her greatest work. Sidney Pink secured some promotional interviews in American magazines for Soledad. In one, she said: "I hope that someday, people will say, 'That Soledad Miranda, she has something that makes the screen come alive.' It would make me very happy." In addition to these international productions, Miranda was also busy acting in Spanish films. The comedy Eva 63 put her name on the marquee with many top leading ladies of Spanish cinema and again gave her an opportunity to showcase her singing talents. In 1963 she also appeared in the Spanish films Cuatro bodas y pico ("Four Weddings and Tip"), Las hijas de Helena ("The Daughters of Helena"), and Bochorno ("Shame"). She was constantly in the tabloids because of her relationship with Manuel Benítez, the most famous bullfighter of the time (known as "El Cordobés"). They were only friends, but as a joke they were deliberately vague with the press, who reported them to be a couple, and then to be engaged. Years later Miranda admitted the deception was a mistake, but conceded that it did bring her some much-needed attention. She was recognized on the street, not necessarily for her acting career, but for being the "girlfriend" of El Cordobés. In 1964 Miranda made two films that she was very proud of: Playa de Formentor ("Beach of Formentor") and Los gatos negros ("The Black Cats"). The former required her to learn how to pilot a motorboat, which she did well. The latter was a musical comedy filmed in Portugal. At the same time a Portuguese version of the film was made, called A canção da Saudade ("The Song of the Homesickness"). While in Portugal, Miranda also appeared in a short travel documentary, Un día en Lisboa ("A Day in Lisbon"). A Portuguese man named José Manuel Simões was a co-producer of the musical, and also appeared in it and the travel documentary with Miranda. Though a romance did not bloom immediately, the couple would eventually get married. Another film Miranda made in 1964 was Fin de Semana ("Weekend"). In magazine interviews she said some of the films she'd made were quite silly and not worthwhile. Fin de Semana was probably one of those films she referred to, as in one sequence she had to dress as a cavewoman and be captured by a man in a gorilla suit. At this point Miranda, who had shown off her wonderful singing voice in several films, landed a record contract with the important label Belter. She recorded her first LP in 1964, singing in the yé-yé style. The record was a modest success and she made a second LP the next year, with similar songs, but including a Spanish version of "Chim Chim Cheree" from Mary Poppins. Also in 1964 she performed as a singer and dancer in a touring folkloric show. She said, "The song and dance help complete me in what I am interested in primarily: becoming a great actress." Miranda expressed her highest aspirations in a 1965 interview: to be hired to film in Hollywood or to become a singer as famous as The Beatles. Although neither of those things ever happened, the year 1965 did prove a turning point in Miranda's career. She got a new manager, Enrique Herreros, who had launched many stars. With the help of Herreros, Miranda won a role in a very important film in Spain: Currito de la Cruz ("Currito of the Cross"), directed by Rafael Gil. It was a story of bullfighting and love based on a famous novel, and though the novel had been filmed before, this was the first in color and the first with a modern setting. It was Miranda's first role as undisputed leading lady and she worked with Spanish stars like Francisco Rabal and Arturo Fernández. The role was intense, dramatic, and involved a wide range of emotions. Miranda did well in the film and it brought her a great deal of attention and praise. She was idolized by young apprentice bullfighters across Spain, and in fact, a group of them asked her to be their honorary godmother, which she cheerfully accepted. Miranda was immediately reunited with her costar from Currito de la Cruz, Arturo Fernández, in El sonido de la muerte ("Sound of Horror"), her second foray into the horror genre. Dealing with an invisible shrieking dinosaur that terrorizes a group of treasure hunters, the film also starred a young Ingrid Pitt. It was Pitt's very first film, and of course she went on to become one of the greatest horror stars of all time. Rounding out the year 1965 for Miranda was a comedy, La familia y uno más, which was a sequel to the tremendously successful Spanish film La gran familia. In the film, she played a character whose car constantly crashes with that of the star. In an interview, she revealed that she had become afraid of driving, as one of the stunt crashes was apparently too hard. Though the event seemed of little consequence at the time, it is eerie considering Miranda's death in a car crash five years later. Rafael Gil re-hired Miranda in 1966 for his film ¡Es mi hombre! ("He is My Man"), also based on a literary work - this time a play. The same year she won good roles in two international productions. The first, Sugar Colt, was a Spanish-Italian co-production, a spaghetti western starring Hunt Powers. Miranda was the leading lady and, though her role ended up being dubbed in most versions, she worked hard studying English for the production. That proved a good idea, for she was required to speak English in her next production, Cervantes (aka "The Young Rebel"), though for the English version her voice was again dubbed. Cervantes was a multi-country production with an American director and important stars like Horst Buchholz, Gina Lollobrigida, and José Ferrer. The film was based on the early life of the famous author Miguel de Cervantes, and Miranda played his second love interest in the film (after Gina Lollobrigida). Though she only plays in the latter part of the film, the role brought her a lot of attention as she was one of the few native Spaniards with an important role. Cervantes was a long production, during which Miranda got married (in real life, to José Manuel Simões). The wedding was kept a secret as she had learned her lesson with the "El Cordobés" gossip ordeal and wanted her private life to be kept private. Miranda got pregnant after she'd filmed most of her part, but in early 1967 she was called to film additional scenes. She was at the time eight months pregnant, and she had to film her death scene (where she is shot by an arrow). Indeed, about a month later, on April 7, 1967, she gave birth to a baby boy, Antonio, who was her pride and joy and her greatest triumph in life. Soledad liked cars and both parents wanted little Tony to become a racecar driver, like his father. Although by then, Miranda's husband had stopped racing and instead worked in the automotive industry. After Tony's birth Miranda completely retired from performing for nearly two years in order to be a good mother and wife. At the time, many thought her retirement was definitive. Yet she was an artist at heart, and though she cherished her domestic life, she missed performing. She was always hard on herself. She knew she had not yet received her greatest role. She was a consummate perfectionist professionally, and had worked tirelessly her entire career on improving her craft and her creative life (in addition to acting, singing, and dancing, she loved reading, writing poetry, drawing, and painting). In late 1968 an American film, 100 Rifles, was shot in Spain, starring Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch. The producers offered Miranda a role. She and her husband discussed the movie offer, coming to the decision that she could act again, but if that she had not truly triumphed within a year or two, she would retire forever. "It was then that I realized that, apart from my husband, my son and my home, my work always completed my happiness." In 100 Rifles, Miranda had her first role with nudity. She appeared topless in a lovers argument with Burt Reynolds. A Spanish reporter lucky enough to view the film in London, uncensored, remarked that Miranda's "charms" had nothing to envy of Raquel Welch's. In 100 Rifles, Miranda spoke English, and her real voice, with its heavy Spanish accent, was used in the final film. Miranda's return to performance was received enthusiastically by Spanish directors and producers, and in 1969 she had a great deal of work. She appeared in the comedies Estudio amueblado 2-P ("Furnished Studio 2-P"), Soltera y madre en la vida ("Unmarried and Mother in Life", starring Lina Morgan), and the made-for-TV musical Lola la piconera, starring Rocío Jurado. She had made her television debut that same year in TVE programs like Estudio 1 (an episode called "The Rats"), and the musical La última moda ("The Latest Fashion"). In 1970, Miranda's fate changed dramatically. Jess Franco remembered that Andalusian beauty who had graced his film La reina del Tabarín for a few seconds, and when his big international production Count Dracula was to be filmed in Spain, he gave Miranda a large role as Lucy Westenra, Dracula's famous victim. The film had immense stars such as Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski; Spanish press declared Miranda the most beautiful vampire of all time. Simultaneously an avant-garde documentary was made on the film, called Cuadecuc (aka "Vampir"). After Count Dracula, Franco initiated a multi-film collaboration with Miranda. First was a trio of erotic horror films: Les cauchemars naissent la nuit ("Nightmares Come at Night"), Sex Charade, and Eugénie (known in Italy as De Sade 2000). Shot outside of Spain, these films allowed Miranda to see the capitals of Europe and exposed her to much great cinema. There was a lot of nudity in these films, so Miranda adopted the screen name Susann Korda to protect her family's privacy. Franco immediately re-engaged Miranda for another trio of films: Vampyros Lesbos (aka Die Erbin des Dracula), Sie tötete in Ekstase ("She Killed in Ecstasy"), and El diablo que vino de Akasawa ("The Devil Came from Akasava"). She became very fulfilled and happy with her work in Franco's films, and told many friends that she was convinced that 1970 would be her biggest year. She had begun filming another Franco film based on the writings of Marquis de Sade, Juliette, and was looking forward to theatre performances she'd been hired for in Latin America. In August 1970 Miranda and her husband took a holiday in Portugal, a sort of second honeymoon. Jess Franco went to visit her there, to give her possibly the best news in her life: his producer Artur Brauner, who was quite impressed with Miranda, wanted to offer her a multi-year, multi-film contract that would make her one of the biggest stars in Europe. It looked like her dream to become known outside of Spain would soon come true. On the morning of August 18, Miranda left little Tony with his grandparents and her husband drove her to meet with Franco and sign the contract. On the Costa del Sol highway, near Estoril, a small truck pulled out in front of their car and her husband - a former professional racecar driver - was unable to avoid crashing into it. Their car was completely crushed. Though her husband only had minor injuries, Miranda received serious fractures to her skull and spine. She was rushed to a Lisbon hospital in a coma, but died a few hours later, never having regained consciousness. Her husband was devastated and couldn't imagine how to tell their son his mother had died. Everyone who knew her - Franco, her friends and family, and really all the artistic circles in Spain - was shocked by the news. Nearly every Spanish magazine put her on its cover to announce the tragic news. Despite her celebrity in Spain, for many years Soledad remained mostly unknown to the world, the doomed actress of Jess Franco’s cult hits, and only devout horror fans were aware of her. But now that many of her movies are on DVD, her legacy is spreading, and Soledad Miranda has posthumously become the celebrity she always wanted to be. Her dream of international fame came true, albeit after her death. Italian Posters
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