Crypt of the Dead - Jesus Franco

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Jesus Franco

Born 12 May, 1930
Madrid
Spain

Birthname: Jesús Franco Manera

Jesus Franco directed his first full-length movie in 1959, a comedy called "Tenemos 18 años". His first commercial success came with the horror/thriller "The Awful Dr. Orlof" (1962). He also got to assist one of his favourite directors, Orson Welles on "Chimes at Midnight" (1965). Throughout the 60's he worked all over Europe, creating films like "Succubus", an erotic horror movie considered by many to be of his greatest achievements. This got him the attention of international producer "Harry Alan Towers", which wanted him to direct two "Fu Manchu" movies: "The Blood of Fu Manchu" (1968) and "The Castle of Fu Manchu" (1969). More Franco-Towers productions followed, like "99 Women" (1968), "Venus in Furs" (1969) and "Count Dracula" (1969). Franco's two "De Sade" movies: "Justine" (1969) and "Eugenie" (1970) were also Franco-Towers productions. Franco and Towers ended up making 9 movies together. In the 70s Franco made several provocative and taboo-breaking movies such as "Vampyros Lesbos" (1971) and "Love Letters of a Portugese Nun" (1976) in addition to several "WIP"(Women in Prison) movies, which gave him big problems with censorship. Franco's wife, actress "Lina Romay" starred in numerous Franco films (often of a erotic nature) like "Exorcism" (1974) and "Doriana Grey" (1976). In the 80's he directed movies like sleazy "Sadomanía" (1981), "Linda" (1981) and "Faceless" (1988). In the 90's he's done movies like "Killer Barbys" (1996), "Incubus" (2002) and "Don Quixote" (1992) which was originally an Orson Welles project that he never got a chance to finish.

In his career, Jess Franco has directed more then 180 movies (an average of 4 movies each year), and at the age of 74, he's still going strong. He's currently working on a movie called "Cries in the Night". Not many directors can show to this kind of productivity. He's tried just about every genre out there, but he's best known for his horror and exploitation movies.

My oppinion
Jesus Franco is one of my all time favourite directors. I've always been a fan of exploitation and euro-sleaze, and in those genres, Franco is the maestro (Together with Jean Rollin)! His movies are intriguing, often dreamlike and extreme. Movies like "Sadomanía" and "Eugenie" is proof of that. Franco's problem is that he's never been trusted with a big budget. The largest budget movie he's ever worked with was "Justine". In an interview, Franco said that this movie would be a lot better if he could have decided who would play the lead role, but inexperienced actress Romina Power ended up getting the role against Franco's wishes. I have to admit though, that many of his movies are less then good to put it mildly, but what can one expect when spitting out 4 movies a year with virtually no budget?! Another thing I like about Jesus Franco is that he's not afraid to speak his mind. If there's someone or something he doesn't like, he states it clearly!
I'm very pleased that many of his movies have been released on DVD in their uncut form over the years, and more are coming.

Filmography
Providing a complete filmography of Franco's work is a very difficult task, as he's been working under LOTS of aliases. Here you'll find most of his more known movies. I don't guarantee that I'm 100% correct when it comes to if titles are on DVD or not. I might have missed a few releases.. In most cases, I've chosen to use the English language title as the "main" title with some exceptions.

Nr	Year	Title	Screenshots	Link
1	1959	Tenemos 18 años aka We Are 18 Years Old		IMDB
2	1962	Awful Dr. Orlof, The aka Gritos en la noche aka Cries in the Night aka Demon Doctor, The aka Diabolical Dr. Satan, The	Screenshots	IMDB
3	1962	Sadistic Baron Von Klaus, The aka Mano de un hombre muerto, La		IMDB
4	1964	Secret of Dr. Orloff, The aka Secreto del Dr. Orloff, El aka Brides of Dr. Jekyll aka Dr. Jekyll's Mistresses aka Dr. Orloff's Monster		IMDB
5	1966	Attack of the Robots aka Cartas boca arriba	Screenshots	IMDB
6	1966	Diabolical Dr. Z aka Miss Muerte aka Miss Death (1966) aka Miss Death and Dr. Z in the Grip of the Maniac		IMDB
7	1967	Lucky, the Inscrutable aka Lucky, el intrépido aka Agente speciale L.K.		IMDB
8	1968	Succubus aka Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden aka Necromicron	Screenshots	IMDB
9	1968	Blood of Fu Manchu, The aka Against All Odds aka Fu Manchu and the Keys of Death aka Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death aka Fu Manchu's Kiss of Death aka Kiss and Kill aka Kiss of Death	Screenshots	IMDB
10	1969	Girl from Rio, The aka Sieben Männer der Sumuru, Die aka Future Woman aka Future Women aka Mothers of America aka Rio 70 aka River 70 aka Seven Secrets of Sumuru, The	Screenshots	IMDB
11	1969	99 Women aka 99 mujeres aka Hot Death, The aka Island of Despair aka Isle of Lost Women aka Prostitutes in Prison aka Sex im Frauengefängnis	Screenshots	IMDB
12	1969	Sadisterótica aka Caso de las dos bellezas, El aka Case of the Two Beauties, The aka Red Lips aka Sadist Erotica aka Two Undercover Angels aka Wolf - Horror pervers, Der		IMDB
13	1969	Marquis de Sade: Justine aka Justine aka Deadly Sanctuary aka Justine and Juliet	Screenshots	IMDB
14	1969	Castle of Fu Manchu, The aka Folterkammer des Dr. Fu Man Chu, Die aka Assignment Istanbul aka Fu Manchu's Castle aka Torture Chamber of Fu Manchu, The	Screenshots	IMDB
15	1969	Castle of the Doomed aka Bésame monstruo aka Kiss Me, Monster		IMDB
16	1969	Venus in Furs aka Paroxismus aka Black Angel aka Jess Franco's Venus in Furs		IMDB
17	1970	Bloody Judge, The aka Trono di fuoco, Il aka Hexentöter von Blackmoor, Der aka Night of the Blood Monster aka Throne of the Blood Monster aka Trial of the Witches aka Witch Killer of Broadmoor aka Witches' Trial	Screenshots	IMDB
18	1970	Count Dracula aka Conde Drácula, El aka Bram Stoker's Count Dracula aka Dracula 71 aka Nights of Dracula, The		IMDB
19	1970	Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion aka Eugenie aka Isla de la muerte, La aka De Sade 70 aka Philosophy in the Boudoir (1970) aka Wildkatze, Die	Screenshots	IMDB
19	1970	Sex Charade aka Labyrinthe du sexe, Le		IMDB
20	1970	Nightmares Come at Night aka Cauchemars naissent la nuit, Les		IMDB
21	1971	Devil Came from Akasava, The aka Teufel kam aus Akasava, Der		IMDB
22	1971	Vampyros Lesbos aka Vampiras, Las aka Heiress of Dracula, The aka Heritage of Dracula, The aka Lesbian Vampires aka Lesbian Vampires: The Heiress of Dracula aka Sign of the Vampire, The aka Strange Adventure of Jonathan Harker, The aka Vampire Women, The aka Vampyros Lesbos: Die Erbin des Dracula	Screenshots	IMDB
23	1971	X312 - Flight to Hell aka X312 - Flug zur Hölle		IMDB
24	1971	She Killed in Ecstasy aka Sie tötete in Ekstase		IMDB
25	1971	Virgin Report aka Jungfrauen-Report		IMDB
26	1972	Robinson and His Tempestuous Slaves aka Robinson und seine wilden Sklavinnen aka Sexy Darlings, The		IMDB
27	1972	Corpse Packs His Bags, The aka Muerto hace las maletas, El		IMDB
28	1972	Dracula Vs. Dr. Frankenstein aka Drácula contra Frankenstein aka Dracula Against Frankenstein aka Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein aka Screaming Dead		IMDB
29	1972	Venganza del doctor Mabuse, La aka Dr. M schlägt zu		IMDB
30	1972	Daughter of Dracula aka Fille de Dracula, La		IMDB
31	1972	Curse of Frankenstein, The aka Expériences érotiques de Frankenstein, Les aka Erotic Adventures of Frankenstein, The aka Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, The		IMDB
32	1972	Dolls for Sale aka Ebranlées, Les aka Maison du vice aka Vibrating Girls		IMDB
33	1972	Les Démons aka Sex Demons, The aka Demons, The aka She-Demons	Screenshots	IMDB
34	1973	Diary of a Nymphomaniac aka Diario íntimo de una ninfómana aka Sinner		IMDB
35	1973	Virgin Among the Living Dead, A aka Christina, princesse de l'érotisme aka Among the Living Dead aka Christine, Princess of Eroticism aka Zombi 4: A Virgin Among the Living	Screenshots	IMDB
36	1973	French Emanuelle aka Tendre et perverse Emanuelle aka Tender and Perverse Emanuelle		IMDB
37	1973	Lustful Amazons, The aka Maciste contre la reine des Amazones aka Amazon Golden Temple aka Yuka		IMDB
38	1973	Female Vampire aka Avaleuses, Les aka Bare Breasted Countess aka Black Countess, The aka Erotic Kill aka Insatiable Lust aka Jacula aka Last Thrill, The aka Loves of Irina, The aka Sicarius - the Midnight Party aka Yacula		IMDB
39	1974	Lovers of Devil's Island aka Quartier de femmes aka Amantes de la isla del diablo, Los		IMDB
40	1974	Celestine aka Célestine, bonne à tout faire aka Celestine an All Round Maid aka Celestine, Maid at Your Service aka Sexcapades of Celestine, The		IMDB
41	1974	Lorna, the Exorcist aka Possédées du diable, Les aka Exorcisme aka Possédées du démon, Les		IMDB
42	1974	Kiss Me Killer aka Embrasse-moi aka Tango au clair de lune		IMDB
43	1975	Obscene Mirror aka Miroir obscène, Le		IMDB
44	1975	Perverse Countess, The aka Croqueuses, Les		IMDB
45	1975	Shining Sex aka Fille au sexe brillant, La		IMDB
46	1975	Barbed Wire Dolls aka Frauengefängnis aka Caged Women aka Women's Penitentiary IV	Screenshots	IMDB
47	1975	Down Town aka Downtown - Die nackten Puppen der Unterwelt		IMDB
48	1975	Women Behind Bars aka Des diamants pour l'enfer		IMDB
49	1975	Lady porno aka Coccolona, La aka Midnight Party		IMDB
50	1976	Jack the Ripper aka Dirnenmörder von London, Der		IMDB
51	1976	Wild Desire aka Mädchen im Nachtverkehr		IMDB
52	1976	Suspiri aka Noche de los asesinos, La		IMDB
53	1976	Sexy Sisters aka Teuflischen Schwestern, Die aka Devilish Sisters, The	Screenshots	IMDB
54	1976	Doriana Grey aka Marquise von Sade, Die		IMDB
55	1976	Swedish Nympho Slaves aka Sklavinnen, Die		IMDB
56	1977	Ilsa, the Wicked Warden aka Greta - Haus ohne Männer aka Greta the Torturer aka Greta, the Mad Butcher aka Greta, the Sadist aka Ilsa: Absolute Power aka Wanda, the Wicked Warden	Screenshots	IMDB
57	1977	Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun aka Liebesbriefe der portugiesischen Nonne, Die aka Love Letters From a Portuguese Nun		IMDB
58	1977	Blue Rita aka Frauenhaus, Das aka Cabaret des filles perverses, Le		IMDB
59	1977	Love Camp aka Frauen im Liebeslager	Screenshots	IMDB
60	1977	Voodoo Passion aka Ruf der blonden Göttin, Der aka Porno Shock	Screenshots	IMDB
61	1977	Women Without Innocence aka Frauen ohne Unschuld		IMDB
62	1977	Women In Cellblock 9 aka Frauen für Zellenblock 9 aka Tropical Inferno		IMDB
63	1978	Je brûle de partout aka Dossiers mineures aka Rapt de nymphettes		IMDB
64	1979	Exorcisms aka Sádico de Notre-Dame, El aka Chains and Black Leather aka Demoniac aka Exorcism and Black Masses aka Exorcisme aka Ripper of Notre Dame, The aka Sadist of Notre Dame, The aka Sexorcismes		IMDB
65	1980	Sexo Cannibal aka Cacciatore di uomini, Il aka Devil Hunter aka Man Hunter, The aka Mandingo Manhunter		IMDB
66	1981	Bloody Moon aka Säge des Todes, Die		IMDB
67	1981	Sadomanía aka Sadomania - Hölle der Lust aka Hellhole Women	Screenshots	IMDB
68	1981	Linda aka Captive Women aka Naked Super Witches of the Rio Amore aka Orgy of the Nymphomaniacs aka Story of Linda, The		IMDB
69	1981	Mondo cannibale aka Sexo caníbal aka Barbarian Goddess aka Cannibals aka White Cannibal Queen		IMDB
70	1981	Pick-Up Girls aka Chica de las bragas transparentes, La		IMDB
71	1982	Revenge in the House of Usher aka Neurosis aka Revolt of the House of Usher aka Zombie 5		IMDB
72	1982	Emmanuelle Exposed aka Orgías inconfesables de Emmanuelle, Las aka Emmanuelle Forever		IMDB
73	1983	Oasis of the Zombies aka Tumba de los muertos vivientes, La aka Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies aka Grave of the Living Dead aka Oasis of the Living Dead, The aka Treasure of the Living Dead, The	Screenshots	IMDB
74	1983	Treasure of the White Goddess, The aka Tesoro de la diosa blanca, El aka Diamonds of Kilimandjaro aka Mondo cannibale IV		IMDB
75	1983	Cries of Pleasure aka Gemidos de placer		IMDB
76	1983	Alone Against Terror aka Sola ante el terror		IMDB
77	1983	Blood On My Shoes aka Sangre en mis zapatos		IMDB
78	1984	Night of 1,000 Sexes aka Mil sexos tiene la noche		IMDB
79	1984	Is Cobra a Spy? aka ¿Cuánto cobra un espía?		IMDB
80	1984	Sinister Dr. Orloff, The aka Siniestro doctor Orloff, El aka Experimentos macabros		IMDB
81	1984	Lillian, the Perverted Virgin aka Lilian (la virgen pervertida)		IMDB
92	1986	Lulu's Talking Ass aka Ojete de Lulú, El	Screenshots	IMDB
92	1986	Entre pitos anda el juego (XXX)	Screenshots	IMDB
83	1987	Slave of Crime aka Esclavas del crimen		IMDB
84	1988	Faceless aka Depredadores de la noche, Los aka Prédateurs de la nuit, Les	Screenshots	IMDB
85	1988	Dark Mission (Operación cocaína) aka Dark Mission (Les fleurs du mal) aka Dark Mission: Evil Flowers		IMDB
86	1989	Fall of the Eagles aka Chute des aigles, La		IMDB
87	1989	Esmeralda Bay aka Bahía esmeralda, La		IMDB
88	1992	Don Quixote aka Don Quijote de Orson Welles		IMDB
89	1996	Killer Barbys aka Killer Barbies, The		IMDB
90	1998	Tender Flesh aka Carne fresca		IMDB
91	1998	Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula aka 8 Legs to Love You		IMDB
92	1998	Lust for Frankenstein		IMDB
93	1999	Vampire Blues		IMDB
94	1999	Red Silk		IMDB
95	1999	Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell		IMDB
96	1999	Broken Dolls		IMDB
97	2000	Helter Skelter		IMDB
98	2000	Blind Target aka Obietivo a ciégas		IMDB
99	2001	Vampire Junction		IMDB
100	2002	Incubus aka Jess Franco's Incubus		IMDB
101	2002	Killer Barbys vs. Dracula aka Killer Barbys contra Dracula aka Killer Barbys vs. Dracula		IMDB
102	2004	Snakewoman		IMDB
102	2005	Flores de Perversión (XXX)		IMDB
102	2005	Flores de la Pasión (XXX)	Screenshots	IMDB

YES* - Is released on DVD, but might be in a foreign language (unsubbed/undubbed) or it might be hard to track down/out of print.

YES** - On DVDr

Other Jesus Franco resources
IMDB (Biograpy, Filmography, ++)
Mondo Erotico(News, Filmography, ++) Very nice site!
Film Threat(Interview with Jess Franco)
The Official Jess Franco Collection (Franco Releases, other info)
DVD Aficionado (List of released Franco DVD's)

Sources
IMDB
Mondo Erotico
Film Threat
Linear Notes on Anchor Bay's "Eugenie" DVD
Jess Franco Talent Bios on Blue Underground's "The Blood of Fu Manchu" DVD