Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun

Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun is a 1977 West German-Swiss film directed by Jesús Franco and produced by Erwin Dietrich, loosely based on the Letters of a Portuguese Nun attributed to Mariana Alcoforado. It starred Susan Hemingway and William Berger. Franco co-wrote the screenplay with producer Dietrich. It tells the story of Maria, a girl in Inquisition-era Portugal, whom a priest sees cavorting with a boy. He orders her to become a nun as penance. In the convent Maria gets subjected to all sorts of torture and humiliation at the hands of the priest and the mother superior. The movie is part of a genre known as "nunsploitation". Cast Susan Hemingway: Maria Rosalea William Berger: Father Vicente Herbert Fux: Satan Ana Zanatti: Mother Alma, the grand priestess Aida Vargas: Juana, a nun (as Aida Kargas) Vítor Mendes: António Fernando Queiroz de Melo, the mayor Aida Gouveia: Antónia, a nun (as Isa Schneider) Herman José: Manuel Gonçalves, the prince (as Hermann Krippahl) José Viana: The Grand Inquisitor (as Jose Viana) Patricia Da Silva: Maria's mother Victor de Sousa: Inquisitor's aid Nicolau Breyner: Prince's aid Clara Marabuto: Josefina, a nun Esther Studer: nun at the ritual Dagmar Bürger: nun at the ritual