Mexican wrestler blocks film`s release over nudity

Guadalajara: Mexican wrestler El Hijo del Santo has blocked the release of a 1960s film starring his father, wrestler Santo el Enmascarado de Plata, because he contends it harms his dad`s image.

The 1968 film "El vampiro y el sexo: Santo en el tesoro de Dracula" (The Vampire and Sex: Santo and Dracula`s Treasure) was to have been screened Tuesday at the Guadalajara International Film Festival. El Hijo del Santo says the film was re-edited and that his father had asked that the movie be shown in Mexico without scenes that feature scantily clad and topless women. Festival organisers decided to cancel the screening after receiving the request from El Hijo del Santo. "Because of his unhappiness, because of his anger and the request that the film not be shown, the film will not be shown. We`ll have to wait until the problems are dealt with," festival director Ivan Trujillo said. The film has scenes of topless women taking part in a vampire initiation ceremony that were not included in the version originally screened in Mexico but were seen in theaters in France and other European countries. Santo el Enmascarado de Plata and producer Guillermo Calderon had a "gentlemen`s agreement" to not show the racy scenes, the Calderon production company said. IANS