Diario de Burgos
By R. Pérez Barredo
December 28, 2025
The two sensual divas of cinema have passed away in 2025.
We recover an article that reviews the moment in which they revolutionized the
city in 1971, during the filming in the Arlanza region of the film “Las
petroleras” (The Legend of Frenchie King)
[La Bardot, photographed by Fede inside a car in the center of Burgos. - Photo: Fede]
They were erotic myths. Beings of such exuberant
sensuality that, in that Spain still in black and white, they were forbidden
fruit, longing dreams, carnal goddesses. So her presence in Burgos that month
of June fifty years ago now caused quite a stir: it was not every day that
Brigitte Bardot or Claudia Cardiale could be seen walking along the Espolón.
The filming in Burgos of “Las petroleras”, which is
now half a century old*, altered the daily heartbeat of the people of Burgos
who are more fond of double cinema sessions. It was also the first time that
both celluloid divas worked together. There was such expectation before hisher
arrival that the local media devoted a lot of space in the previous days.
In some of these articles the pleasant character of the Italian and the surly character of the French were anticipated. Suffice it as an example some excerpts from the chronicle at the foot of the plane that they made to Cardinale: "She smiles at every moment and responds to everything"; "she did not hesitate to answer questions"; while Bardot said that she would arrive "giving silence as an answer and some baggage as usual". They were not wrong in their predictions. BB and CC stayed at the Landa Palace Hotel. Although the film was going to be called “Las petroleras”, its filming did not take place in the Las Loras region, where black gold had sprouted not too long ago, but in the Arlanza region (as an evocation of Arizona) and along the Santander-Mediterranean railway line.
All the chronicles of the time coincided in affirming the affable and friendly character of Claudia Cardinale, who taking advantage of a break in the filming took a stroll through the center of the city, where she shopped, and visited the Cathedral, whose beauty she admired. She ate at the Mesón El Cid, where the seasoned Fede portrayed her smiling. In one of the interviews, she gave during her stay in Burgos, she praised the beauty of the city. "It's beautiful. I really liked that great ride they have. I think they call it El Espolón. Also, the Cathedral, its monuments, the main square and those well-kept trees that they have".
Meanwhile, Bardot was in Salas' environment filming different scenes with other co-stars: the also beautiful Patty Shepard and Emma Cohen and with the male protagonist of the film, Michael Pollard. Around the train that was used for the scenes, Bardot was elusive at all times. It was true that, in her role as a bandit, she had to show herself masked up; but it was also true that in the moments of rest she did not make a single wink to the press photographers (or even to a television camera) or to the curious people who huddled at a prudent distance to admire the unparalleled beauty of the Frenchwoman. Her co-stars did not act like that, who allowed themselves to be photographed and even talked with writers and neighbors.
"All the artists participating in the film got out
of the wagon and had their lunch outdoors in the municipality of Cascajares to
relieve themselves from the strong prevailing heat; but B.B. endured all the
time inside the three and when she let himself be seen, somewhat at a distance,
she always appeared with her face covered by a large mask, in order to avoid
any photograph, even from a distance. All the other team vied in sympathy and
kindness, but Brigitte Bardot persisted in constituting the dissonant note in
this respect. Sorry. For her," this newspaper reported in one of its many
chronicles about the diva of those days.
But lo and behold, the next day when it was her turn to rest, the French beauty did the same thing that Claudia Cardinale had done days before: go out to tour Burgos in the company of her partner, a handsome man. It was quite a surprise. And so, it was made clear in the press: "Incredible. Brigitte Bardot allowed herself to be photographed yesterday in the Espolón and did not break the photographer's camera. The famous actress by exhibiting herself on the main promenade of the city, in use of her full rights to walk wherever she pleases, has undoubtedly wanted to show that she has no reason to hide her beautiful face, even when the demands of the filming of the film “Las petroleras” and her own will, moved her to appear disguised and with a mask. Should we agree, then, that B.B. is not as unattainable as it is said? Anyone dared to answer!" could be read in this newspaper.
The press highlighted that the actress walked barefoot, with sandals in her hand; that she visited the Cathedral and dined at the Ojeda. At some point the 'extravagant little Frenchwoman with long blonde hair', as she was called in some chronicles, felt overwhelmed by some admirers, exclaiming 'Fatigué!', on more than one occasion. It was no wonder that she ended up with the bun, since she suffered the occasional chase on foot and by car (at speeds that exceeded 120 kilometers per hour). Always escorted by an entourage of several people, in addition to the inseparable company of her heartthrob, she did not make a single concession. This earned her the enemy of many gazetteers, who turned their resentment and irony to punish such an arrogant attitude. It just so happened that during Bardot's stay, the Tivoli cinema premiered “And God Created Woman”, a film that created the erotic myth of Bardot both for the nudity and eroticism she emanated and for the promiscuity of the character she played (the film, from 1956, had been censored in Spain). Perhaps fearing a greater scandal, Bardot did not attend the premiere.
*This article was first published in June 2021
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