Female Vampire, Jess Franco, 1973
The Spanish actress took her film alias from a big-band singer her mentor, director Jess Franco, particularly admired. She outlived her namesake by about two years.
Michel Mourlet wrote that Charlton Heston’s presence in a film was sufficient to create beauty. Romay’s presence in a film was sufficient to create that atmosphere of perdition that Robert Benayoun pointed out as the key characteristic of “authentic sadistic cinema.”
I met her and Franco once, at a Chiller Theatre Expo, in 1999 I believe, and she was superbly down-to-earth and surprisingly shy, her poor English making her even more abashed by fans’ enthusiasms than she might have been. Seemed quite the trouper in any event. The great Tim Lucas has more, and better, here.
Beautiful frame grabs.
I saw the original Lina Romay doing a live-action cameo in a Droopy cartoon once (Señor Droopy) and was suitably startled.