The Seven Secrets of Sumuru (1969)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Franz Eichhorn (uncredited in German credits)
Bruno Leder (uncredited in Spanish credits)

Release Date:

14 March 1969 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Sumuru, the beautiful leader of the all-female kingdom of Femina, plans to use her women to take over the world. |

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Female Nudity | Sequel | Shower Scene | Number In Title

Cast

Shirley Eaton	...	Sumuru
Richard Wyler	...	Jeff Sutton
George Sanders	...	Sir Masius
Maria Rohm	...	Leslye
Herbert Fleischmann	...	Carl
Marta Reves	...	Ulla Rossini (as Martha Reves)
Elisa Montés	...	Irene (as Eliza Montes)
Walter Rilla	...	Ennio Rossini
Beni Cardoso	...	Yana Yuma (as Beny Cardoso)
Valentina Godoy	...	Amazon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Geraldo José Torres Camargo
Maria de Lourdes
Yuma Duarte
Cornélio dos Santos Farias
Alberto Land
Paulo Leitão
Elídio Nunes
Brunildes Fernandes Queiroz
Edson Freitas Silva

Also Known As:

The Girl from Rio (UK) (USA)
Die sieben Männer der Sumuru (West Germany)
Future Woman (USA) (bootleg title)
Future Women (USA)
La ciudad sin hombres (Spain)
Mothers of America (USA) (poster title)
Rio 70 (USA)
River 70

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

West Germany | Spain | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Ada Films

Goofs:

Continuity: After the assault helicopters land, three women guards are shot dead and drop onto the pavement outside of a building, as the invaders go inside of the building. When the invaders come back out out of the building, the bodies of the women are gone.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Operation: Secret Agents, Spies & Thighs (2007) (V)

That Wacky Femme Fatale From Rio

Take the secret agent / James Bond craze of the sixties, mix in some concepts from Sax Rohmer's female Fu Manchu femme fatale and stir in some absurdest twisted revisionism by director Franco - you have the man-hating lesbian Sumuru, or "The 7 Secrets of..." - better known as "The Girl From Rio" in the USA, recalling "That Man From Rio," which has nothing to do with this. Yes, this does take place in Brazil, we must give it that. Sumuru, or Sumitra as she's also referred to, is like an evil version of "Modesty Blaise," played here by actress Eaton with that familiar coy smile which most of us first became acquainted with in "Goldfinger." There are numerous close-up shots of her staring off camera, slowly opening her mouth, probably while watching something unpleasant (however, she is doubled in her key lesbian scene). She controls an entire army of female warriors, colorfully costumed, and rules a city called Femina or something (just outside Rio de Janeiro?). These concepts, which previously appeared in "The Million Eyes of Sumuru," sound terrific, but, despite some intriguing set design & visuals, it follows the same campy atmosphere of, for example, the very dated "Some Girls Do," which came out around the same time and which also featured a female army. At first glance, the sight of all these armed females, usually lined up in a row, catches one's interest, but, after 15 minutes or so, you realize there's nothing else there beyond just setting up the visual.

The plot follows what seems like a secret agent, a male, arriving in Brazil with 10 million dollars. He catches the attention of the local crime lord (Sanders, hamming it up as an elderly Bond-type villain), who sends dark-suited thugs in bowler hats to accost him. This sets everything up for a 3-way conflict between the agent, the crime lord and the mysterious Sumuru (the crime lord wants Sumuru's secrets). Sumuru also keeps various prisoners in glass cages - maybe that's one of the secrets. This sounds exciting but there are problems which go beyond just a slow pace; there are many shots which could have used a lot of tightening: one shot of an arriving airplane, for example, stays on the craft as it settles to a near stop, as if this had never been captured on film before. There's a similar approach to a typical sunset, as if there's something unusual about it. The fight scenes are very substandard, as if the filmmakers had to use the first takes. To add some production value, there's a scene of the real Rio carnival about midway through. I'm guessing there were various budget problems, especially evident in the climactic battle, where fake sound effects and smoke cover up a lot of bogus action, such as the lack of even real-looking guns - it calls to mind those times when kids use plastic guns and pretend bullets are being fired, falling over unconvincingly. There are touches of sadism, such as torturing a character to get answers, and female nudity, an early depiction of such after some restrictions were lifted. But, mostly, you'll be rolling your eyes. Hero:3 Villains:5 Femme Fatales:5 Henchmen:4 Fights:3 Stunts/Chases:3 Gadgets:4 Auto:4 Locations:6 Pace:3 overall:4