Roger Corman stepped in to direct several scenes in this graphic biopic that stars Keir Dullea as the notorious Marquis de Sade, who reflects on his disturbing formative years in a series of flashbacks. As a child, de Sade witnesses his uncle (John Huston) sexually abuse a servant girl, who's then ordered to whip de Sade as punishment for watching. Later, de Sade is tricked into marrying a woman who repulses him (Anna Massey).