Jesús Franco
Jesús "Jess" Franco was a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England. Though he had some American box office success with Necronomicon, his first women-in-prison film Ninety-Nine Women, and his two Christopher Lee films, The Bloody Judge and Count Dracula, he never achieved wide commercial success. Franco moved from Spain to France in 1970 so that he could make more violent and sexual films, and it was at this point that his career began to go downhill commercially, as he turned to low-budget filmmaking with a heavier accent on adult-oriented films. Although he produced a few well-received, low budget horror films in the early 70's, many people in the industry considered him a porn director due to the huge number of X-rated adult films he began churning out. Franco returned to low-budget horror in a brief comeback period from 1980-1983, but after 1983, his career took a second downturn. With the exception of Faceless and Killer Barbies, his films after 1984 are quite disliked and obscure due to their incredibly low budgets. Franco has nevertheless retained a large cult following through the years with his sexually-charged horror films, some of which are regarded as masterpieces by his avid followers.
Photos
Films (241)
Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada “S”
2024 · Self - Archive footage
Inferno Rosso : Joe D'Amato
2021 · Self (archive footage)
Wild Session
2019 · Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Drácula Barcelona
2017 · Himself
Soledad Miranda, Flower in the Desert
2015 · Himself (archive footage)
Queridos monstruos
2014 · Self
Call Me Jess Redux
2014 · Himself
Clawing! A Journey Through the Spanish Horror
2014 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Falks Frauen
2014 · (archive footage)
Revenge of the Alligator Ladies
2013 · Himself, Director, Writer
La última película de Jess Franco
2013 · Self
The Rhythm of Jess
2013 · Self
Al Pereira vs. the Alligator Ladies
2013 · The Director, Director, Writer, Producer, Music, Editor
Los profundos sueños de Jennifer
2013 · Voz
Tío Jess
2012 · Self
La cripta de las condenadas: Parte II
2012 · Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
La cripta de las condenadas
2012 · Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Original Music Composer
Debris Documentar
2012 · Himself
Macumba sexual: Voodoo Jess
2010 · Self
Paula-Paula
2010 · Director, Director of Photography, Screenplay, Dialogue, Special Effects, Editor
Por la gracia de Luis
2009 · Himself
Idoru
2009
Take-Away Spirit
2009 · J.W. Radek, Additional Dialogue
Coffins of Light
2009 · himself
La crypte des femmes maudites
2008 · Director, Screenplay
Ellos robaron la picha de Hitler
2008 · Padre del Dr. Weissman
Vampyros Lesbos
2008 · Story
Jesús Franco, manera de vivir
2007 · Himself
Beloved Count
2007 · Self
Bloody Jess
2007 · Self
Lascivia
2007 · Director
Montes de Venus
2006 · Director
Snakewoman
2005 · Director, Writer, Original Music Composer
Ban the Sadist Videos!
2005 · Self
The Well
2005
Jesús in Furs
2005 · Himself
Jess' Women
2005 · self
See you later Cowabunga: La maldición del cenachero diabólico!
2004
On the Threshold to Another World
2003 · Himself
Death Karate in Torremolinos
2003 · Miyagi
Killer Barbys vs. Dracula
2002 · Director, Original Music Composer, Screenplay, Story
Perversion Stories
2002 · Self
Incubus
2002 · Director, Writer
Antena Criminal: Making a Jess Franco Movie
2002 · Himself
Journey into Perversion
2001 · Himself
Vampire Junction
2001 · Director, Writer, Original Music Composer
Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
2000 · Self
Call Him Jess
2000 · Himself
Blind Target
2000 · Director, Original Music Composer
Helter Skelter
2000 · Director, Writer, Original Music Composer
Vampire Blues
1999 · The Merchant, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell
1999 · Dr. James Wong, Writer, Director, Original Music Composer
Broken Dolls
1999 · Director, Writer
Red Silk
1999 · Screenplay, Director
Lust for Frankenstein
1998 · Director, Screenplay, Producer, Music
Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula
1998 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Producer
Tender Flesh
1997 · Director, Screenplay, Executive Producer, Original Music Composer
Vampire Killer Barbys
1996 · Director, Writer
Downtown Heat
1994 · Director, Screenplay, Producer
Jungle of Fear
1993 · Director, Executive Producer
Don Quichotte
1992 · Editor, Dialogue, Supervising Film Editor
El abuelo, la condesa y Escarlata la traviesa
1992 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Editor
A la poursuite de Barbara
1991 · Director
Mondo Weirdo
1990 · Thanks
Esmeralda Bay
1989 · Boat Captain, Director, Writer, Producer
Night of the Eagles
1989 · Director, Screenplay, Editor, Art Direction
Flesh-Eating Mothers
1988 · Policeman
Dark Mission: Flowers of Evil
1988 · Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
Esa cosa con plumas
1988
Faceless
1988 · Director, Writer
Slave of Crime
1987 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Editor
Trapped Women
1987 · Director, Screenplay, Editor
¡Biba la banda!
1987 · Costumer
Thong Girls
1987 · Director, Writer, Screenplay, Editor
Golden Temple Amazons
1986 · Director, Producer
Alone Against Terror
1986 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
Fury in the Tropics
1986 · Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Original Music Composer
Girl with the Red Lips
1986 · Professor Karame, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Director of Photography
The Last from Philippines
1986 · Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor, Story
Sida, la peste del siglo XX
1986 · Director, Screenplay, Editor
Angel of Death
1985 · Director, Screenplay
Dirty Game in Casablanca
1985 · Director, Producer
Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included
1985 · Rose Hotel's recepcionist (uncredited), Director, Screenplay, Producer, Music
Judoka Shadow versus Doctor Wong
1985 · Dr. Wong, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
White Jungle Slave
1985 · Director, Music
Bangkok, Date with Death
1985 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Editor
The Sexual Story of O
1984 · Director, Screenplay, Producer, Editor
The Sinister Doctor Orloff
1984 · Manolo, Director, Screenplay, Music
How Much Does a Spy Make?
1984 · Director, Writer, Producer
Night Has a Thousand Desires
1984 · Psychiatrist (uncredited), Director, Writer, Music, Director of Photography
Lonely Road
1984 · Doctor Callman, Director, Writer, Director of Photography
Bahia Blanca
1984 · The Miseries (uncredited), Writer, Screenplay, Story, Producer, Director
Macumba Sexual
1983 · Recepcionist, Director, Screenplay, Story, Music, Director of Photography
The Hotel of Love Affairs
1983 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Editor
Cries of Pleasure
1983 · Director, Writer, Editor, Art Direction
The House of Lost Women
1983 · Director, Screenplay, Editor
Diamonds of Kilimandjaro
1983 · Director, Screenplay, Producer, Director of Photography, Original Music Composer
Cecilia
1983 · Writer, Producer, Director
Revenge in the House of Usher
1983 · Director, Screenplay, Producer, Original Music Composer
The Night Of Open Sex
1983 · Count, Director, Novel, Adaptation, Music, Director of Photography
Black Boots, Leather Whip
1983 · Matón en cementerio de coches (voice) (uncredited), Editor, Director, Writer, Music
Blood on My Shoes
1983 · Abductor, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
The Blues of Pop Street
1983 · Sam Chesterfield, Director, Screenplay, Director of Photography, Original Music Composer
En busca del dragón dorado
1983 · Blind Old Man, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Editor
The Bizarre World of Jess Franco
1983 · Self
Voces de muerte
1983 · Director, Screenplay
Mansion of the Living Dead
1982 · Screenplay, Director of Photography, Director, Editor, Original Music Composer, Novel
Oasis of the Zombies
1982 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Editor
Lake of the Virgins
1982 · Director, Writer, Editor, Original Music Composer
The Inconfessable Orgies of Emmanuelle
1982 · Director, Screenplay, Editor
El huésped de la niebla
1982 · Director, Director of Photography, Original Music Composer
Pick-Up Girls
1981 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Editor
Jailhouse Wardress
1981 · Uncle Jess, Director
The Story of Linda
1981 · Director
Sexual Perversions of a Married Woman
1981 · Director, Writer, Music
Zombie Lake
1981 · Writer
The Girls of the Copacabana
1981 · Director, Screenplay, Story
Sadomania
1981 · Lucas, Director, Screenplay, Music, Editor
Bloody Moon
1981 · Doctor (uncredited), Director
Sex Is Crazy
1981 · Film Director, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
Devil Hunter
1980 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
Cannibal Terror
1980 · Writer
White Cannibal Queen
1980 · Mr. Martin, Director, Writer
Wicked Memoirs of Eugenie
1980 · Director, Writer
Two Female Spies with Flowered Panties
1980 · Director, Screenplay, Story, Original Music Composer
Erotic Symphony
1980 · Director, Writer
What a Honeymoon
1980 · Dying Man (uncredited), Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
Convoy of Girls
1979 · Director, Writer
The Sadist of Notre Dame
1979 · Mathis Vogel, Director, Writer
Burning Up Inside
1979 · Director, Writer
Obscene Desire
1978 · Music
Women in Cellblock 9
1978 · Director, Screenplay
Women Without Innocence
1978 · Director, Writer
Call of the Blonde Goddess
1977 · Director, Writer
Love Camp
1977 · Director
Sexy Sisters
1977 · Director
Blue Rita
1977 · Director, Writer
Slaves
1977 · Radeck's Assistant, Director
Kiss Me Killer
1977 · Marcel, Director, Writer
Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun
1977 · Director
Greta, the Mad Butcher
1977 · Dr. Milton Arcos (as Jess Franco), Director, Writer
Silence of the Grave
1976 · Director, Screenplay, Producer
Jack the Ripper
1976 · Director, Screenplay
Downtown
1976 · Al Pereira, Director, Writer, Director of Photography
The Troublemakers
1976 · Director, Screenplay
Ladies House of Pleasure
1976
Barbed Wire Dolls
1976 · Maria's Father (uncredited), Director, Writer, Director of Photography
Golden Jail
1976 · Director
Midnight Party
1976 · Janos Radeck, Director, Writer
Countess Perverse
1975 · Director, Writer
Exorcism
1975 · Mathis Vogel, aka Laforgue, Director, Screenplay
The Ticklish Ones
1975 · Director, Story
The Hot Nights of Linda
1975 · Dr. Roberts (as Jess Franck), Director, Screenplay, Story
Sexy Erotic Job
1975 · Director
A Virgin for St. Tropez
1975 · Director
Women Behind Bars
1975 · Bill, Director, Director of Photography, Editor
Lorna, the Exorcist
1974 · Doctor (uncredited), Director, Writer
Celestine
1974 · Sleeping Man, Director, Writer, Director of Photography
Night of the Skull
1974 · Andy, Director, Screenplay
The House of the Lost Dolls
1974 · Screenplay
How to Seduce a Virgin
1974 · Director, Writer
The Greedy Ones
1974 · Director, Screenplay
The Lustful Amazons
1974 · Director, Screenplay
Dolls for Sale
1973 · Director
A Virgin Among the Living Dead
1973 · Basilio, Director, Writer
Lovers of Devil's Island
1973 · Director, Screenplay, Story
The Other Side of the Mirror
1973 · Roger (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac
1973 · Inspecteur Hernandez, Director, Scenario Writer
Female Vampire
1973 · Dr. Roberts, Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Editor
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein
1973 · Morpho, Director, Screenplay, Story
Fifteen Year Old Captain
1973 · Director, Writer, Music
Eugenie de Sade
1973 · Attila Tanner, Director, Writer
The Demons
1973 · Director, Writer
Nightmares Come at Night
1973 · Director, Writer
The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff
1973 · Lord Comfort (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
Tender and Perverse Emmanuelle
1973 · Director, Writer
The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse
1972 · Crosby / Drunk Man in Nightclub, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
Daughter of Dracula
1972 · Cyril Jefferson, Director, Writer
Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein
1972 · Director, Story, Screenplay
The Corpse Packs His Bags
1972 · Gonzales, Director, Screenplay
Robinson and His Tempestuous Slaves
1972 · Director
Vampir Cuadecuc
1972 · Self
Virgin Report
1972 · Director
She Killed in Ecstasy
1971 · Dr. Donen, Director, Writer
X312 - Flight to Hell
1971 · Man at John Somers', Director, Screenplay
Vampyros Lesbos
1971 · Memmet, Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer, Special Effects Makeup Artist
The Devil Came from Akasava
1971 · Tino Celli, Director
Cuadrilátero
1970 · Music
Count Dracula
1970 · Van Helsing's servant (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
Eugenie... The Story of Her Journey into Perversion
1970 · Man in Red Ritual Scene (uncredited), Director
The Bloody Judge
1970 · Director, Adaptation
Your Caresses
1969
Venus in Furs
1969 · Jazz Musician (uncredited), Director, Writer, Story
The Castle of Fu Manchu
1969 · Insp. Ahmet, Director
Marquis de Sade: Justine
1969 · Director
Kiss Me Monster
1969 · Abilene's Contact Man (uncredited), Director, Idea, Screenplay
Two Undercover Angels
1969 · Napoleon Bolivard, Director, Screenplay
The Girl from Rio
1969 · Guitar Player, Director
99 Women
1969 · Official (uncredited), Story, Director, Screenplay
A Man, Eight Girls
1968 · Director
The Blood of Fu Manchu
1968 · Director, Story, Screenplay
Castle of the Creeping Flesh
1968 · Story
Succubus
1968 · Writer, Director
Residence for Spies
1968 · Casino Piano Player (uncredited), Director, Writer
Lucky, the Inscrutable
1967 · Ciego / Zoltan / Guitarrista, Director, Screenplay
The Diabolical Dr. Z
1966 · Inspector Tanner, Director, Screenplay
Attack of the Robots
1966 · Piano Player, Pianist (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
Chimes at Midnight
1965 · Second Unit Director, Second Unit
Dr. Orloff's Monster
1965 · Piano Player, Director, Screenplay, Dialogue
Rififi in the City
1964 · Director, Writer
Strange Voyage
1964 · Don Venancio
Death Whistles the Blues
1964 · Saxofonista en Club de Nueva Orleans (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
Jaguar
1963 · Director, Story
55 Days at Peking
1963 · Assistant Production Manager
Zorro the Avenger
1962 · Screenplay, Story
The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus
1962 · Director, Screenplay, Story
The Awful Dr. Orlof
1962 · Pianist (uncredited), Director, Story, Screenplay
Vampiresas 1930
1962 · Director, Screenplay
Queen of the Tabarin Club
1960 · Director, Dialogue
Ama Rosa
1960 · Writer
Red Lips
1960 · Director, Screenplay
Estampas guipuzcoanas número 2: Pío Baroja
1960 · Director
El destierro del Cid
1960 · Director
We Are 18 Years Old
1959 · Director, Writer, Original Music Composer
Oro español
1959 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
Las playas vacías
1959 · Director, Screenplay
Llegaron los franceses
1959 · Writer
Anna Said Yes
1958 · Pianista (uncredited), Delegated Producer
Historias de Madrid
1958 · Music, Assistant Director
Fulano y Mengano
1957 · Screenplay, Assistant Director
El hombre que viajaba despacito
1957 · Music, Assistant Director
The Tree from Spain
1957 · Director, Screenplay, Original Music Composer
The Mysterious Melody AKA Ce soir les souris dansent
1956 · Writer
Around the World in 80 Days
1956 · Extra (uncredited)
The Coyote's Justice
1956 · Screenstory, Screenplay, Dialogue, Adaptation, Lyricist, Assistant Director
Death of a Cyclist
1955 · Assistant Director
The Coyote
1955 · Adaptation, Dialogue, Lyricist, Screenplay, Assistant Director
Merry Christmas
1954 · Assistant Director
Comedians
1954 · Script Supervisor, Original Music Composer
El misterio del castillo rojo
· Director
Juliette
· Director
