Mondo Cannibale
| White Cannibal Queen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jesús Franco |
| Produced by |
Marius Lesoeur Franco Prosperi |
| Written by | Jesús Franco |
| Starring |
Al Cliver Sabrina Siani Olivier Mathot Pamela Stanford Antonio Mayans Lina Romay Anouchka |
| Music by | Roberto Pregadio |
| Cinematography |
Luis Colombo Juan Soler |
| Distributed by | Blue Underground |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Mondo Cannibale / Cannibal World (also known as The Cannibals, Die Blonde Gottin (The Blonde Goddess), White Cannibal Queen, A Woman for the Cannibals and Barbarian Goddess) is a 1980 cannibal film by prolific Spanish exploitation director Jesús Franco which starred a 17-year-old Sabrina Siani. It is one of two cannibal films directed by Franco starring Al Cliver, the other being Devil Hunter (aka Man Hunter, aka Sexo Canibal).
Franco's original shooting title for the film was Rio Salvaje/ Savage River, but it was changed to Mondo Cannibale before its release. While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic.
Mondo Cannibale is considered even by Franco himself to be the worst cannibal film ever made, due to its slow pacing, bad acting, terrible special effects and awful camera work. An uncut DVD was released by Blue Underground. The DVD features an interview with Jesús Franco and the French theatrical trailer.
Franco said in the interview that he only did the two cannibal films for the money, and said that he had no idea why anyone would want to watch such films. He said that Sabrina Siani was the worst actress he ever worked with in his life (second only to Romina Power) and that Siani's only good quality was her "delectable derrière", which he shows off to good effect in this film. The film also starred child actress Anouchka (Lesoeur), who was the producer's daughter and appeared in several of his Eurocine productions around this time.
The film shares footage with the 1980 film Cannibal Terror. Both films share locations, cast members, and even dubbing actors. The 2 films appear to have been shot either back-to-back or simultaneously. Some connections between them are:
- Franco wrote the screenplays for both films, but only directed Mondo Cannibale.
- Sabrina Siani is the eponymous White Cannibal Queen of Mondo Cannibale, and also appears (as a fully clothed adult) in a bar scene in Cannibal Terror.
- Several members of the dancing cannibal tribe in their village appear in both films, and several actual shots appear in both films.
- One actor with a very distinctive face and large Mick Jagger type of mouth is seen in Cannibal Terror in no less than three roles (he plays 2 cannibals and a border guard) and is also quite visible as one of the cannibals devouring Al Cliver's wife in Mondo Cannibale.
- Franco regular Pamela Stanford plays Manuella in Cannibal Terror, and has the brief role of the unfortunate Mrs. Taylor in Mondo Cannibale.
- The actor who plays Roberto in Cannibal Terror is the captain of the boat at the beginning of Mondo Cannibale.
- Olivier Mathot and Antonio Mayans have starring roles in both films.
Plot
The film follows a father's attempt to rescue his teenage daughter from a tribe of man-eating primitives who (unknown to him) have made her their queen.