Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Strong and Moving!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Tender and Perverse Emmanuelle (1973) ** (out of 4) Jess Franco film about the investigation into the death of Emmanuelle (Alice Arno). While I think this was better than the American versions, the film overall is way too slow and boring. Franco, known for sleaze, actually focuses on the mystery aspect and there isn't too much sexuality, although there's a very steamy sex scene between Arno and Lina Romay. The film does contain a wonderful score by Daniel White and Romay, in her second film with Franco, shows that wonderful beauty and presence that would dominate future films.

This is not an official French "Emmanuelle" film, nor is it an unofficial "Emanuelle" ("Black Emanuelle") Italian copycat from the series created by Albertino Bitti and Joe D'Amato; it is a Franco film all the way with the title slapped on only as an afterthought. Unfortunately though, it's just not a very good Franco film. It's really a murder mystery where the main character, an unhappily married pianist (alternately called both Barbara and Emanuelle) is found dead at the bottom of a cliff at the very beginning of the movie--a victim of either suicide or murder--and it's up to her shrink (Jack Taylor) and sister-in-law (Lina Romay)to investigate.Truth be told, I was drawn to this movie by some tantalizing stills of Lina Romay wearing some very 70's-style sunglasses (and pretty much nothing else), the version I saw of this movie though was pretty skimpy on the nude scenes of both Romay and another equally beautiful Franco regular, Alice Arno. There were only some lesbian scenes between Romay and the more obscure lead actress who played "Barbara/Emanuelle", but they were pretty obscure in a different sense--I could barely make them out. I suspect this problem will be taken care of when, like pretty much the entire Franco back catalogue, this movie gets an official DVD release. A more permanent problem is that it simply does not have a very compelling plot and it seems to be a pretty lackluster effort by Franco and everyone else involved. It's better than the execrable WIP films Franco and Romay made right after, but definitely a step down from the interesting stuff Franco was doing in the late 60's and early 70's. See it if you've got a sunglasses (or Lina Romay) fetish, but for everyone else, watch it at your own peril.

*****Spoiler!*****Boy, this film is so unbelievable boring that I´m wondering how anybody could watch it longer than five minutes without falling into sleep! "Tender and perverse Emanuelle" is nothing but a usual 1970s soft sex movie with some scanty hardcore elements and an extremely thin thriller plot. Only the great psychedelic 1970s flair (Which was much better in "Vampyros Lesbos"!) and the typical Franco-cast featuring Lina Romay/Jack Taylor save this film from total disgrace! Don´t waste your precious time with stuff like this! And if you can´t sleep - try to count some sheep!

Emanuelle is a successful pianist that is kept imprisoned by her jealous husband. She's murdered and an investigation is engaged. Emanuelle's lover is suspected for the murder and is forced to find the murderer himself. It's a nice twist ending.This is actually a murder mystery with just a few sex scenes thrown in. As a triangle drama it's quite good with passion and hate, but as an Emanuelle flick it just doesn't deliver. I wouldn't say this is a typical Jess Franco flick. There are some scenes that give him away though, for example the scene at the bar with the red light and strange disco music and of course Lina Romay (Franco's wife) as Greta, Gordon's jealous and manipulating sister. There are some lesbian scenes that are pretty explicit. I'd give this one 6 out of 10. I'd recommend a Massaccesi Emanuelle flick instead, for example `Emanuelle and the White Slavetrade'.