Born in Switzerland 84 years ago today, Paul Muller is the King of Eurogenre character actors with 100's of roles to his credit. An exceptionally fine actor and very nice man. I thank him for patiently attempting to answer all my annoying questions.
Here he is as the drug addicted stalker, strikingy framed by Mario Bava, in the template for all following Italian and Euro-horror, I VAMPIRI (1956). Note the similarity between this set-up and the scenes of Morpho abducting victims in Franco's 1961 GRITOS EN LA NOCHE. No wonder Mario Bava is one of the few Italian directors JF speaks well of.
Muller portrayed Dr. Seward in Jess Franco's COUNT DRACULA, but my favorite of his numerous roles for the director is the depraved and desperate Radeck, the father of Soledad Miranda's Eugenie in the 1970 film EUGENIE DE SADE.
Today he lives quietly in Italy and is still available for work.
(c) Robert Monell 2007
what questions??? you interviewed Paul Muller??? tell us more and where can we read it!
ReplyDeleteI did manage, with some difficulty, to locate and interview him some time ago. It awaits publication. Due to time constraints and his seeming dislike of the interview process, I only could ask him about his Jess Franco films and not his long, busy career with numerous other filmmakers.
ReplyDeleteI can add that due to his highly disciplined approach to acting he was not a happy camper on the sets of the JF films in which he appeared between 1968 and 1975. [RM]
ReplyDeletei really hope I can read this.. eventually!
ReplyDelete"I can add that due to his highly disciplined approach to acting he was not a happy camper on the sets of the JF films in which he appeared between 1968 and 1975."
ReplyDeleteI can imagine that he wasn't pleased to discover that two scenes that didn't seem to make sense together were in fact for two different films.
He remembers what happened. He figured it out.
ReplyDeleteAnd he's still angry about it!
ReplyDeleteso, did Franco really use Dietrich's money for the second movie shot concurrently??? I really hope to read this Muller interview someday
ReplyDelete"so, did Franco really use Dietrich's money for the second movie shot concurrently???"
ReplyDeleteI think he did that to produce DORIANA GREY when shooting another film for Dietrich. It seems to have been the normal practice for Eurocine but it appears to have surprised his other producers and actors.
Yes, he did this quite often during the 1970s with Eurocine and Dietrich money. I actually like WOMEN BEHIND BARS, the film made in secret, better than BARBED WIRE DOLLS, the film which he was hired to make by ED productions. I always prefer JF's lowest budgeted serie Z films over his bigger budgeted efforts.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Mueller! And he's still alive! Fantatsic!My favorite part is the dad in A Virgin Among The Living Dead. Especially when he is flaoting in the air with the noose around his neck. Franco told me that they got that shot by having Paul stand on the dolly chair. INSANE! So, when is the interview going to happen? And if he's available for work why hasn't Franco been putting him in his newer stuff?
ReplyDeleteThanks for that direct-from-JF info, Doug. I've always wondered how they got that shot. I'm collecting interviews with Franco related people, actors, etc. And when I get enough together something will happen. Muller was not happy working with JF and I think the feeling was mutual. But he gave excellent performances in those films.
ReplyDeleteI just read the news about your interview of Paul Muller and I am very pleased to learn that. He is one of my favourite actors and despite searching in the internet for years, I have not been able to find much information about him. Interesting to learn that he does not like his work with JF and that this is mutual. This would probably explain why JF hardly ever talks about Muller in interviews (although they did so many films together). Anyway, thanks for your efforts, I am really looking forward to reading the PM interview.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback. Hopefully I will be able to find a publisher for my interviews with actors who have worked with JF.
ReplyDelete