Cervantes (film)


Cervantes is a highly fictionalized 1967 film Franco-Spanish-Italian international co-production biography of the early life of Miguel de Cervantes. Based on the 1937 novel A Man Called Cervantes by Bruno Frank, it was the first screen biography of the author. Directed by Vincent Sherman, and filmed in color, it stars Horst Buchholz as Cervantes; Gina Lollobrigida as a prostitute with whom he becomes involved; José Ferrer as Hassan Bey, the Turk who held Cervantes in captivity; Louis Jourdan as Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva; and Fernando Rey as King Philip II. Italian actor Tiziano Cortini who usually used the name "Lewis Jordan"" appeared under his own name to avoid confusion with Louis Jourdan. Enrique Alarcón did the production design.

Cast

Filming began in 1966, and the movie was released in several countries between 1967 and 1969.

Reception

Released in the U.S. as a B-movie, and retitled Young Rebel, the film went unnoticed at the box office and did not do well critically.