Frankly, I'm not much of a Santo fan, but I watched "Santo y Blue Demon contra el Dr Frankenstein" (1974) mainly to catch the lovely Angelica Chain in her movie debut. She looks great too, and even though her role is not large, she does dominate a couple of scenes.
Frankly, I found the well-rehearsed wrestling matches rather boring. In real life main events, something unexpected happens maybe once or twice, when one of the combatants muffs his cue, but that doesn't happen in the movies where even the ringside commentator is obviously reading from a pre-written script. One droll development for the movie-makers, however, was the way preview audience's enjoyed Agustin Meza de la Pena's performance as Professor Ruiz. Actually de la Pena (here making his on-camera debut) was the film's production manager who stepped into the role at short notice and there are actually a few inside jokes at his expense.
In the original script, Ruiz was Frankenstein sans drugs, and at the climax the good doctor changed back into his real Ruiz self. This ploy outraged preview audiences who'd grown to love the vague, bumbling professor so the transformation now ends with an abrupt cut before Ruiz can actually be recognized. (The Rise Above DVD rates 10/10).
Frankly, I found the well-rehearsed wrestling matches rather boring. In real life main events, something unexpected happens maybe once or twice, when one of the combatants muffs his cue, but that doesn't happen in the movies where even the ringside commentator is obviously reading from a pre-written script. One droll development for the movie-makers, however, was the way preview audience's enjoyed Agustin Meza de la Pena's performance as Professor Ruiz. Actually de la Pena (here making his on-camera debut) was the film's production manager who stepped into the role at short notice and there are actually a few inside jokes at his expense.
In the original script, Ruiz was Frankenstein sans drugs, and at the climax the good doctor changed back into his real Ruiz self. This ploy outraged preview audiences who'd grown to love the vague, bumbling professor so the transformation now ends with an abrupt cut before Ruiz can actually be recognized. (The Rise Above DVD rates 10/10).