Mandy Rice-Davies, born in 1944 in Llanelli, Wales, made her mark in the realm of cult cinema with her roles in On the Game (1974) and Black Venus (1983). Known for her striking presence and connection to the Profumo affair, she transitioned from modeling to acting, bringing a distinctive flair to her characters. In Nana, the True Key of Pleasure (1983), she further solidified her place in the genre, embodying the provocative spirit of the era. Rice-Davies' work continues to resonate within the landscape of exploitation and grindhouse films.
Black Venus
A struggling sculptor finds renewed inspiration in a mysterious Caribbean woman, but transforming her into the toast of Paris draws them into a world where beauty is admired, purchased, and exploited. Paris, 19th century rot. A collector revisits a brothel and finds Venus, a black prostitute posed in antebellum drag. Memory splinters into fantasy. Artist meets muse. Shame and hunger. Sapphic refuge with a wealthy woman. Violent expulsion. The gutter again. Spain calls with surf and hair-combing. The deranged sculptor follows. The film breathes exploitation but occasionally believes its own melancholy. Spanish actor Jose Antonio Ceinos stars as a down-and-out sculptor, whose inspiration returns with the strange appearance of a beautiful, mysterious black muse.
