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The Magician (1973)

Young American woman, cycling through Spain without a lot of money, is prostituted out to a wealthy older man who is blind; she begins to spend time with him and eventually agrees to get married, but only so she can be closer to the millionaire’s handsome valet–who’s got his eye on the old man’s fortune. After a bungled opening, this Euro-trash melodrama actually becomes a rather tasty dish, helped by the Spanish locations and a decent cast. Fernando Rey and Gloria Grahame are both good, though it is Sue Lyon’s movie and she’s an intriguing presence, a lovely enigma. With her luscious white-blonde hair and dry resolve, Lyon at first doesn’t appear to take charge of this acting opportunity (she goes with the flow), but this non-approach works for the character, who may be either an opportunist or just your average tarot card-reading girl with a heart of gold. The low-end production is pretty much held together with tape, and the editing on the version I saw was just a notch above incompetent, but the narrative-heavy plot is an entertaining one.