Jesús Franco
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Jesús "Jess" Franco (born Jesús Franco Manera; 12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. While never having found commercial success, Franco has nevertheless retained a small and faithful cult following with his sexually-charged horror films. He was very prolific during the 1960s through to the late 1980s; paying particularly homage to the writings of Marquis de Sade; especially works such as Philosophy in the Bedroom are quoted extensively; spreading Sade's philosophy to the masses in the late 20th century. Other literary influences have included Sax Rohmer, Robert Louis Stevenson and Richard Connell.
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Themes
Franco's themes often revolved around lesbian vampires, women in prison, surgical horror, sadomasochism, zombies and sexploitation (including several films based on the writings of the Marquis de Sade). IMDB lists 199 films directed by Franco. He also worked in other exploitation film genres, such as cannibal films, spy films, giallo, crime films, science fiction, jungle adventure, exorcist films, war movies, historical dramas and nunsploitation. His main claim to fame is that he has managed to write and direct close to 160 motion pictures in his lifetime, encompassing a wide swath of different genres, with practically no financial backing available to him.
Style
His movies often contain long, uninterrupted shots of nude women writhing uncontrollably on the floor or in bed (such as in Lorna, the Exorcist and La comtesse noire). He is also notorious for his use of hand-held camera and zoom shots, especially between 1968 and 1975.
Ensemble cast
He has frequently worked with actors genre Howard Vernon, Antonio Mayans, Paul Müller, Christopher Lee, Soledad Miranda, Lina Romay (his longtime companion) and Klaus Kinski. Most of his hardcore films starred his lifelong companion Lina Romay, who admitted in interviews to being an exhibitionist. Kinski is famous for his dislike of directors, but according to Franco, he never had any trouble working with him. Other actors he has worked with include Jack Taylor, Britt Nichols, Maria Rohm, Alice Arno, Janine Reynaud, Monica Swinn, Pamela Stanford, Luis Barboo and Katja Bienart.
Most popular films
Of his 180+ films, some of his most popular are; Gritos en la noche (1961), Miss Muerte (1965), Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden (1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), Justine (1968), The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), Count Dracula (1970), Vampyros Lesbos (1970), The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse (1970), Christina, princesse de l'érotisme (1971), Female Vampire (1973), Frauengefängnis (1975), Die Liebesbriefe einer Portugiesischen Nonne (1977), Oasis of the Zombies (1981), Esclavas del Crimen (1986), and Faceless (1988).
Pseudonyms
Franco has also worked under innumerable pseudonyms, including David Khune and Frank Hollmann. A big fan of jazz music (and a musician himself), many of his pseudonyms are taken from famous jazz musicians, such as Clifford Brown and James P. Johnson.
Franco's themes often revolved around lesbian vampires, women in prison, and sexual exploration (including several films based on the writings of Marquis de Sade). Franco also worked in other exploitation film genres, such as cannibal films and nunsploitation.
Further reading
- Tim Lucas, How to Read a Franco Film, in Video Watchdog n. 1 (1990)
- The book Immoral Tales: European Sex & Horror Movies 1956-1984 (1994) by Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs dedicates a chapter to him.
Filmography
Franco has made more than 180 films. Some of these include:
- The Awful Dr. Orloff (1961)
- Dr. Orloff's Monster (1964)
- The Diabolical Doctor Z (Miss Muerte, 1966)
- Succubus (Necronomicon, 1967)
- The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968)
- 99 Women (1969)
- Marquis de Sade's Justine (1969)
- The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969)
- Venus in Furs (1969)
- Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1970)
- The Bloody Judge (1970)
- Count Dracula (1970)
- Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
- She Killed in Ecstasy (1971)
- The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse (1971)
- A Virgin Among The Living Dead (1971)
- Dracula Vs Frankenstein (1972)
- The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (1972)
- The Demons (1972)
- Female Vampire (1973)
- Exorcism and Black Masses (1973)
- Lorna The Exorcist (1974)
- Barbed Wire Dolls (1975)
- Jack the Ripper (1976)
- Greta The Mad Butcher (1977)
- Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun (1977)
- Women in Cell Block 9 (1977)
- Mondo Cannibale (1980)
- Oasis of the Zombies (1981)
- Bloody Moon (1981)
- Revenge in the House of Usher (1982)
- Faceless (1988)
- Killer Barbys (1996)
In recent years, his films, Tender Flesh (1998), Lust for Frankenstein (1998),Vampire Blues (1999), Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell (1999) have come to be heartily embraced.
