Jesús Franco

Directing May 12, 1930 Apr 2, 2013 (aged 83) Madrid, Spain

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.

131 Acting Credits

226 Crew Credits

Jesús Franco

Acting

Around the World in 80 Days

Vampyros Lesbos

Count Dracula

Greta, the Mad Butcher

The Hot Nights of Linda

A Virgin Among the Living Dead

Bloody Moon

Female Vampire

Marquis de Sade: Justine

Barbed Wire Dolls

Venus in Furs

99 Women

Eugenie

The Castle of Fu Manchu

She Killed in Ecstasy

Strange Voyage

Sadomania

The Awful Dr. Orlof

Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac

Flesh-Eating Mothers

Eugenie de Sade

The Girl from Rio

Vampir Cuadecuc

The Diabolical Dr. Z

Crew

Chimes at Midnight

55 Days at Peking