''Cervantes'' is a highly fictionalized 1967 film Franco-Spanish-Italian

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

biography of the early life of

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

(1547–1616). Based on the 1937 novel ''A Man Called Cervantes'' by

Bruno Frank Bruno Frank (June 13, 1887 – June 20, 1945) was a German author, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and humanist. Biography Frank was born in Stuttgart. He studied law and philosophy in Munich, where he later worked as a dramatist and novelist u ...

, it was the first screen biography of the author. Directed by

Vincent Sherman Vincent Sherman (born Abraham Orovitz, July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006) was an American director and actor who worked in Hollywood. His movies include ''Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), ''Nora Prentiss'' (1947), and '' The Young Philadelphians'' (1959). ...

, and filmed in color, it stars

Horst Buchholz Horst Werner Buchholz (4 December 1933 – 3 March 2003) was a German actor who appeared in more than 60 feature films from 1951 to 2002. During his youth, he was sometimes called "the German James Dean". He is perhaps best known in English- ...

as Cervantes;

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...

as a prostitute with whom he becomes involved;

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

as Hassan Bey, the Turk who held Cervantes in captivity;

Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Lette ...

as Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva; and

Fernando Rey Fernando Casado Arambillet (La Coruña (Spain), 20 September 1917 – Madrid (Spain), 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, i ...

as King Philip II. Italian actor Tiziano Cortini who usually used the name "Lewis Jordan"" appeared under his own name to avoid confusion with Louis Jourdan.

Enrique Alarcón Enrique Alarcón Sánchez-Manjavacas (1917–1995) was a Spanish art director.Faulkner p.106 He worked on over two hundred films. Selected filmography * '' Eloisa Is Under an Almond Tree'' (1943) * '' The Phantom and Dona Juanita'' (1945) * ''L ...

did the

production design In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wor ...

Plot

Cast

as Giulia *

as Hassan Bey *

as Cardinal Acquaviva *

Francisco Rabal Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Raba ...

as Rodrigo Cervantes * Antonio Casas as Favio * Soledad Miranda as Nessa *

Ángel del Pozo Ángel del Pozo (born 14 July 1934) is a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1960. He retired in 1980, and from 1990 to 2008 he worked as a executive producer and public relations Public relations (PR) is the practi ...

as Don Juan de Austria *

Ricardo Palacios Ricardo López-Nuño Díez (2 March 1940 – 11 February 2015), better known as Ricardo Palacios, was a Spanish actor, film director and screenwriter. Born in Reinosa (Cantabria), Palacios graduated from the Official Film School in Madrid as ...

as Sancho *

Maurice de Canonge Maurice de Canonge (March 18, 1894 – January 10, 1979) was a French actor and film director.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.222 He is also sometimes known by the name Maurice Cannon. Selected filmography Director * ''Inspector Grey'' (1936) * ''Captain B ...

* Tiziano Cortini * José Nieto as Minister of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

* Andrés Mejuto as Cervantes' Father

Production

Filming began in 1966, and the movie was released in several countries between 1967 and 1969.

Reception

Released in the U.S. as a

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

, and retitled ''Young Rebel'', the film went unnoticed at the box office and did not do well critically.

External links

* 1967 films 1967 adventure films 1960s historical adventure films 1960s biographical films Spanish historical adventure films Spanish biographical films French historical adventure films French biographical films Italian historical adventure films Italian biographical films Films directed by Vincent Sherman Films set in the 16th century Films set in Spain Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Biographical films about writers Cultural depictions of Miguel de Cervantes Films shot in Almería English-language Spanish films English-language French films English-language Italian films Films set in the Ottoman Empire 1960s Italian films 1960s French films {{bio-film-stub