
Where Did Darth Vader’s Look Come From? A Jess Franco Film?
OK, here’s how this radical thought began: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was on TV, and earlier that week I happened to be watching this 1974 cult exploitation film by Jess Franco:

A Naked “Most Dangerous Game!”
The film is vintage Jess Franco: you know, his unique filming style includes a meandering camera, lots of b-roll with fast zooms and pans – and tons of nudity, sex and violence – mostly involving his wife, the legendary Actress Lina Romay!

The film is a “naked” retelling of the classic “most dangerous game” story – a wealthy couple who live on a deserted island invite beautiful women over – and then hunt them!
Of course, because it’s Franco, they are hunted naked – both the predator and the prey – the great Actress Alice Arno plays the Countess!

It’s a great example of Jess Franco filmmaking, and I encourage you to look for it – in fact, here is a link to a story I posted about a new blu-ray that includes two separate versions of the film, plus another Romay movie as a bonus!
https://johnrieber.com/2017/06/30/sexy-nature-the-notorious-francofriday-cut-of-countess-perverse-with-lina-romay/
Yes, a completely different cut of the film with even more Romay nudity, if that’s possible!
So how did this lead me to the original Darth Vader?

Don’t shake your head at me – there is a reason! First, here is a great summation of the origin of Darth Vader.
According the the terrific “Star Wars” website called “Force Material”:
The name ‘Darth Vader’ goes all the way back to George Lucas’ rough draft summary of The Star Wars, completed in May of 1974. In fact, elements of Vader can be found in four separate characters from that draft.
General Darth Vader, of the Royal Space Fleet, was a “tall, grim looking humanoid”. Lucas has indulged in a little bit of self-mythologising and revisionist history over the years, claiming that he always intended Vader to be Luke Skywalker’s father and that the name meant ‘Dark Father’.

At the time, Lucas said the name “sort of appeared in my head one day. I had lots of Darth this and Darth that, and Dark Lord of the Sith. The early name was actually Dark Water. Then I added lots of last names, Vaders and Wilsons and Smiths, and I just came up with the combination of Darth and Vader.”
I got this information from the “Force Material” website, and here is the link – terrific insight:
http://www.forcematerial.com/home/2016/12/01/the-origin-of-darth-vader-the-name
So, time to show you how this all came together….first, here is a shot of Vader again:

Now, look at this shot of the island house where the couple lives in “Countess Perverse”:

OK?
I mean, they show people walking up the stairs to the house over and over and over again – remember what I said about Franco’s tendency to meander a bit – but after the fifth time I saw an outline of Vader’s helmet!


In fact, even in the wide shots as a boat is moving closer to the island, you can see a Vader-esque shape in the house:

Whether Lucas ever saw this film or not, the resemblance is there in my opinion – and if not, so what? It’s just a post about my love of movies…in fact, I also posted the story of the origin of the Han Solo character – it was THIS GUY!

That’s right, George Lucas wanted to make “Flash Gordon” but couldn’t get the rights – so he created his own world instead – and that turned out pretty well for him, didn’t it?
See the whole story here:
https://johnrieber.com/2014/04/05/how-flash-gordon-created-star-wars-sam-jones-the-original-han-solo/
If Lina Romay is more to your liking, here is another great Franco film:

Franco’s “Night Has A Thousand Desires” features one of Romay’s best performances…check out the trailer here:
https://jrsploitation.com/2018/09/16/night-has-a-thousand-desires-lina-romays-cult-classic-jess-francos-sex-shocker/
Let me know if you agree that Lina Romay was stalked in Darth Vader’s helmet house!

Like this:
Like Loading...
Categories: 70's Films, Artsploitation, Books / Media, Camp Cult Classics, Classic Horror, Cult Classics, Euro-Sleaze, Exploitation Films, Grindhouse, JRsploitation, Lina Romay, Nudity, Sexploitation Films, Talent / Celebrites, Uncategorized
Tags: #francofriday, 70’s classic cult films, 70’s cult classic, 70’s cult classics, 70’s exploitation, 70’s exploitation movies, 70’s grindhouse classic, 70’s grindhouse movies, 70’s obscure cult films, 70’s sexploitation classics, 70’s sexploitation movies, 70’s xxx-rated films, 80’s classic cult films, 80’s cult classic, 80’s cult comedies, 80’s cult films, 99 Women, action films, action movies, Actress Lina Romay, Actress Olivia Munn, alice arno, alice arno movies, alice arno naked, All Hail The Queen, alternate banana version, banana scene, best 70’s cult films, best 70’s XXX films, best cult films, Best cult horror, best cult movie of all time, best cult movies, best european horror films, best exploitation movie ever, best jess franco movies, best movie comedies, best movie comedies of all time, best new sexploitation blurays, Best Picture nominee Star Wars, best Queen music, best Queen songs, best science fiction movies of all time, best sex thrillers, best Sexploitaiton Actress, best sexploitation, best sexploitation films, best star wars backstories, best star wars bloopers, best star wars trivia, best x-rated films, best xxx-rated movies, big budget science fiction films, blood and sex, bloody action, bloody action films, bloody eurosleaze, bloody films, bloody horror, bloody horror films, Books / Media, Christina Lindberg, Christina Lindberg nude, classic 70’s eurosleaze, classic 70’s movies, classic 70′s eurosleaze, classic camp thrilelrs, classic cult films, classic cult movies, classic euro-sleaze, classic eurosleaze, classic exploitation, classic exploitation movies, classic exploitation posters, classic grindhouse, classic grindhouse movies, classic movie scenes, classic Queen, classic Queen music, classic science fiction, classic science fiction books, classic sexploitation, classic sexploitation movies, classic x-rated films, comedies, comedy films, Comedy Movies, comedy Ted, counterculture, Countess Perverse, Countess Perverse film, cult 70’s movies, cult movies with lots of nudity, Director Jess Franco, Director Jess Franco death, dirty movies, entertainment, erotic cinema, erotic film in the 70’s, euro, euro-sleaze, european arthouse movies, european cinema, european erotica, european horror films, european pornography, european sex movies, European sexploitation, european thrillers, european x-rated films, eurosleaze x-rated, exploitation, exploitation films, exploitation movies, Extreme Cinema, Film Noir, Flash Gordon, Flash Gordon movie, Flash Gordon soundtrack, Foreign Films, french version, George Lucas, George Lucas Star Wars, great science fiction, great Star Wars trivia, grindhouse, grindhouse classics, grindhouse films, grindhouse movie theaters, grindhouse movies, Honoring Jess Franco, horror films, how to seduce a virgin, hunting humans, iconic movie dialogue, iconic movie music, iconic movies, iconic music, itlaian sex films, Jess Fraco dead, Jess Franco, Jess Franco death, Jess Franco has died, Jess Franco obituary, jess franco XXX movie, JJ Abrams Star Wars, Killer Queen, Lina Romay, Lina Romay banana scene, Lina Romay blu-ray, Lina Romay films, lina romay how to seduce a virgin, Lina Romay Lorna The Exorcist, Lina Romay movies, Lina Romay naked, Lina Romay nude, Lina Romay performances, Lina Romay XXX movie, lina romay xxx-rated, Linda Romay’s best movies, Lorna The Exorcist, Lorna The Exorcist classic cult film, Miing, Ming the Merciless, mondo macabre blurry releases, mondo macabre films, Mondo Macabro bluray movies, Mondon Macabro, most controversial films of all time, most erotic movies, most obscure movies, most obscure movies ever, movie trivia, movies, Naked Came The Stranger, new star wars movie, new star wars release date, nude Lina Romay films, obscure action movies, obscure movies, official star wars release date, origin of darth vader, origin of han solo, revenge movies, RIP JEss Franco, RIP Lina Romay, Sam Jones, science fiction, science fiction movies, Severin blu-ray, Severin classic blu-ray releases, Severin Films, sex cinema of the 70’s, sex kitten, Sex Kitten Christina Lindberg, sex kittens, sex-filled movies, sexploitation, sexploitation blurays, sexploitation films, sexploitation movies, sexy nature blu-ray, sexy nature blurry mondo macabre, Sexy Nature Lina Romay XXX-movie, sexy nature XXX movie, shocking movies, Sinner Nymphomaniac, sleazy grindhouse classic, sports movies, Star Wars, World’s best sexploitation movies, X-rated 70’s movies, x-rated cinema, X-rated cult classics, x-rated cult films, X-rated films, X-rated movies, xxx-rated erotic cinema
I can see where you are coming from with the house/helmet connection, John.
It’s a bit of a stretch for me though. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Any excuse to share a wacky Jess Franco film, Pete!
LikeLiked by 1 person