Jesús Franco
Biography
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.
Known For
Morpho
La maldición de Frankenstein
Insp. Ahmet
The Castle of Fu Manchu
Van Helsing's servant (uncredited)
Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht
Tino Celli
Der Teufel kam aus Akasava
Gonzales
Der Todesrächer von Soho
The Merchant
Vampire Blues
Himself
Antena Criminal: Making a Jess Franco Movie
Himself
Journey into Perversion
Inspector Tanner
Miss Muerte
(archive footage)
Falks Frauen
Self (archive footage)
Inferno Rosso. Joe D'Amato sulla via dell'eccesso
Dr. James Wong
Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell
Writer
Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden
Piano Player
Cartes sur table
Piano Player
El secreto del Dr. Orloff
Attila Tanner
Eugénie
Dr. Donen
Sie tötete in Ekstase
Jazz Musician (uncredited)
Paroxismus
Maria's Father (uncredited)
Frauengefängnis
Marcel
Embrasse-moi
Andy
La noche de los asesinos
Dr. Roberts
La Comtesse noire
Manolo
El siniestro doctor Orloff
Crosby / Drunk Man in Nightclub
Dr. M schlägt zu
J.W. Radek
Take-Away Spirit
Uncle Jess
Les gardiennes du pénitencier
Film Director
El sexo está loco
Guitar Player
Die sieben Männer der Sumuru
Memmet
Vampyros Lesbos
Al Pereira
Downtown - Die nackten Puppen der Unterwelt
Bill
Des diamants pour l'enfer
Mathis Vogel, aka Laforgue
L'Éventreur de Notre-Dame
Lucas
Sadomanía (El infierno de la pasión)
Dr. Wong
La Sombra del Judoka contra el Doctor Wong
Janos Radeck
Midnight Party
Miyagi
Kárate a muerte en Torremolinos
Man in Red Ritual Scene (uncredited)
De Sade 70
Sleeping Man
Célestine... bonne à tout faire
The Director
Al Pereira vs. the Alligator Ladies
La cripta de las condenadas
Director
Robinson und seine wilden Sklavinnen
Radeck's Assistant
Die Sklavinnen
Self
La última película de Jess Franco
Self
Orson Welles en el país de don Quijote
Inspecteur Hernandez
Le Journal intime d'une nymphomane
Self
A ritmo de Jess
Recepcionist
Macumba sexual
Himself
Llámale Jess
Doctor (uncredited)
Die Säge des Todes
Himself
Llámale Jess Redux
Himself
On the Threshold to Another World
Marquis de Sade: Justine
Don Venancio
El extraño viaje
Mr. Martin
Mondo cannibale
Tom
Una rajita para dos
Self
Cuadecuc, vampir
Les ébranlées
Blind Old Man
En busca del dragón dorado
Les emmerdeuses
Abductor
Sangre en mis zapatos
Sam Chesterfield
Los blues de la calle Pop (Aventuras de Felipe Malboro, volumen 8)
Professor Karame
La chica de los labios rojos
El abuelo, la condesa y Escarlata la traviesa
Voz
Los profundos sueños de Jennifer
Mathis Vogel
El sádico de Notre-Dame
Abilene's Contact Man
Küß mich, Monster
Dr. Seward
La fille au sexe brillant
Count
La noche de los sexos abiertos
Deine Zärtlichkeiten
The Blood of Fu Manchu
Jess Franco
Rossa Venezia
Lord Comfort (uncredited)
Los ojos del doctor Orloff
Himself
Revenge of the Alligator Ladies
Himself
Debris Documentar
Policeman
Flesh Eating Mothers
Ciego / Zoltan / Guitarrista
Lucky, el intrépido
Pete
Angel of Death 2: The Prison Island Massacre
See you later Cowabunga: La maldición del cenachero diabólico!
Psychiatrist (uncredited)
Mil sexos tiene la noche
Strange Guy
Justine
Doctor Callman
Camino solitario
Matón en cementerio de coches (voice) (uncredited)
Botas negras, látigo de cuero
Dr. Roberts (as Jess Franck)
Les nuits brûlantes de Linda
Extra (uncredited)
Around the World in Eighty Days
Esa cosa con plumas
Self
Tío Jess
Himself
Jesús Franco, manera de vivir
Himself
Drácula Barcelona
Napoleon Bolivard
Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica
Brunnen
Idoru
Martes de Carnaval
Official (uncredited)
Der heiße Tod
Self
Queridos monstruos
Self
Ban the Sadist Videos!
Himself (archive footage)
Soledad Miranda, una flor en el desierto
himself
Ataúdes de luz
Himself
Por la gracia de Luis
Dying Man (uncredited)
Vaya luna de miel
El misterio del castillo rojo
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
¡Zarpazos! Un viaje por el spanish horror
Boat Captain
La bahía esmeralda
Pianist (uncredited)
Cartes sur table
Himself
Jesús in Furs
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Sesión salvaje
Cyril Jefferson
La fille de Dracula
Dr. Milton Arcos (as Jess Franco)
Greta - Haus ohne Männer
Pianist (uncredited)
Gritos en la noche
Basilio
Une vierge chez les morts-vivants
Hommes de joie pour femmes vicieuses
The Miseries (uncredited)
Bahía blanca
Casino Piano Player (uncredited)
Residencia para espías
Saxofonista en Club de Nueva Orleans (uncredited)
La muerte silba un blues
Bernardo
Lilian (la virgen pervertida)
Padre del Dr. Weissman
Ellos robaron la picha de Hitler
Pianista (uncredited)
Ana dice sí
Self
Perversion Stories
Self
Bloody Jess
Self
Beloved Count
Graf Anastasio
Weiße Haut auf schwarzen Schenkeln
Man at John Somers'
X312 - Flight to Hell
Self - Archive footage
Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada 'S'
Demoniac
Self
The Bizarre World of Jess Franco
Self
Macumba sexual: Voodoo Jess
self
Jess' Women
Personal Info
Known For
Directing
Known Credits
126
Gender
Male
Birthday
1930-05-12
Place of Birth
Madrid, Spain
Also Known As
Clifford Brown