The Nun and the Devil

The Nun and the Devil (Italian: Le Monache di Sant'Arcangelo) is a 1973 French-Italian erotic drama directed by Domenico Paolella. The story unfolds in the 16th century at the convent of Sant'Arcangelo near Naples, then under Spanish rule, where rivalries, intrigue and forbidden desires stir within the cloistered community. Anne Heywood and Ornella Muti head the cast, with Luc Merenda and Claudia Gravy also appearing. The opening titles claim the picture draws on genuine 16th-century records and a tale attributed to Stendhal; in reality the source is thought to be an anonymous Neapolitan chronicle that Stendhal himself had mined for his Chroniques italiennes. Released in Britain as Sisters of Satan and in the United States as The Nuns of Saint Archangel, it stands as a prominent entry in the nunsploitation cycle. Its box-office success prompted Paolella to revisit similar territory that same year with Story of a Cloistered Nun, starring Eleonora Giorgi.