Naked ambition: Sylvia Krystel and the Emmanuelle story
Emmanuelle first appeared as the nom de plume of Marayat Rollet-Andriane, a French-Asian writer born in 1930s Bangkok. Her 1957 book The Joys of a Woman detailed the sexual exploits of Emmanuelle, the bored housewife of a French diplomat. Rollet-Andriane's book caused a sensation in France and it was banned by De Gaulle's government.
Emmanuelle's screen debut came in 1969 with the Italian film Io, Emmanuelle starring Erika Blanc. The film was a flop and its director, Cesare Canevari, would later plumb new depths with the Nazi-exploitation classic Gestapo's Last Orgy.
Sylvia Kristel made the role her own with the 1973 release of Emmanuelle, directed by the French former interior designer, Just Jaeckin. De Gaulle's prudery long forgotten, the film played to packed houses in Paris.
Emmanuelle was also an international hit and has played to an estimated global audience of 300 million. Kristel says the true figure, if videos are taken into account, is closer to 650 million.
In France and the US the film was uncut, but British censors balked at scenes of masturbation and explicit sex. In the end, the scene in which Emmanuelle is raped as part of her "sexual education" was the only one to get the chop.
In France, posters advertising the film showed Emmanuelle sitting topless in a wicker chair, fingering a string of pearls. The caption read: "At last – a film that won't make you feel bad about feeling good". Emmanuelle's US marketers took a different tack. A trailer screamed: " Twelve million Frenchmen stood in line for it!"
In a scene where Emmanuelle climbs on top of her husband during a sex scene, a group of Japanese feminists at a Parisian cinema reportedly rose to their feet and applauded. Western feminists were less impressed.
Kristel sold her interest in Emmanuelle for $150,000, missing out on a share of the film's $26m domestic gross. She was paid just $6,000 for her starring role but negotiated a $100,000 contract for the sequel, Emmanuelle 2.
Kristel's last outing as Emmanuelle in Goodbye, Emmanuelle (1977) was only the beginning of the franchise, which has to date spawned more than 60 (mostly unlicensed) spin-offs. They include Emmanuelle Goes Japanese, Emmanuelle: A Hard Look and, out this year, The Inconfessable Orgies of Emmanuelle.
The 1978 spoof Carry on Emmannuelle (note the double "*") starred Kenneth Williams as the French ambassador to London. Having lost his libido after landing on a church spire during a parachute jump, his sex-starved wife, Emmannuelle Prevert, seduces a string of VIPs. Scandal ensues (but not hilarity).
The Indonesian actress Laura Gemser starred in Emanuelle Nera (Black Emanuelle), an Italian spin-off that itself spawned 10 more films, including Emanuelle in Hell and Emanuelle vs the Cannibals.