Eugénie de Sade (1973): Jesús Franco’s Softcore Take on Eugénie de Franval

Jesús Franco shot this softcore film in 1970 and released it in 1973. It also goes by Eugénie and Eugenie Sex Happening. It takes the Marquis de Sade’s 1800 short story “Eugénie de Franval,” a tale of crime and incestuous power, and turns it into modern European sexploitation rather than hardcore or a strict period piece. This account stays with the adaptation and the production facts. It does not describe sex with a young character. The people on screen are adults.

Soledad Miranda plays Eugénie Radeck de Franval. Paul Muller plays Albert Radeck de Franval. Andrea Montchal plays Paul, Greta Schmidt plays Kitty, and Alice Arno appears as a photo model. Where the story uses a younger figure, the cast is still adult performers.

The film is often confused with Franco’s earlier Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1970), which adapts Philosophy in the Bedroom. This one comes from “Eugénie de Franval.” Both get casually called Eugenie, so the titles stick together in people’s heads. Stephen Thrower’s Murderous Passions (2015) is the usual further reading on Franco, Sade on screen, 1970s softcore Sade adaptations, and Soledad Miranda.