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.
Movies
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein
Morpho
The Castle of Fu Manchu
Insp. Ahmet
Count Dracula
Van Helsing's servant (uncredited)
The Devil Came from Akasava
Tino Celli
The Corpse Packs His Bags
Gonzales
Vampire Blues
The Merchant
Antena Criminal: Making a Jess Franco Movie
Himself
The Diabolical Dr. Z
Inspector Tanner
Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell
Dr. James Wong
Succubus
Writer
She Killed in Ecstasy
Dr. Donen
Attack of the Robots
Piano Player
Dr. Orloff's Monster
Piano Player
Venus in Furs
Jazz Musician (uncredited)
Eugenie de Sade
Attila Tanner
Night of the Skull
Andy
Kiss Me Killer
Marcel
The Sinister Doctor Orloff
Manolo
Female Vampire
Dr. Roberts
Take-Away Spirit
J.W. Radek
Jailhouse Wardress
Uncle Jess
Sex Is Crazy
Film Director
The Girl from Rio
Guitar Player
The Hot Nights of Linda
Dr. Roberts (as Jess Franck)
Vampyros Lesbos
Memmet
Downtown
Al Pereira
Women Behind Bars
Bill
See you later Cowabunga: La maldición del cenachero diabólico!
Midnight Party
Janos Radeck
Death Karate in Torremolinos
Miyagi
Eugenie
Man in Red Ritual Scene (uncredited)
White Cannibal Queen
Mr. Martin
Al Pereira vs. the Alligator Ladies
The Director
Celestine
Sleeping Man
La cripta de las condenadas
Robinson and His Tempestuous Slaves
Director
Slaves
Radeck's Assistant
La última película de Jess Franco
Self
Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac
Inspecteur Hernandez
The Rhythm of Jess
Self
On the Threshold to Another World
Himself
Call Him Jess
Himself
Bloody Moon
Doctor (uncredited)
A Crack for Two
Tom
Les emmerdeuses
Dolls for Sale
Blood on My Shoes
Abductor
The Blues of Pop Street
Sam Chesterfield
Girl with the Red Lips
Professor Karame
El abuelo, la condesa y Escarlata la traviesa
Los profundos sueños de Jennifer
Voz
The Sadist of Notre Dame
Mathis Vogel
Macumba Sexual
Recepcionist
The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse
Crosby / Drunk Man in Nightclub
Strange Voyage
Don Venancio
Shining Sex
Dr. Seward
The Night Of Open Sex
Count
Red Venice
Jess Franco
Judoka Shadow versus Doctor Wong
Dr. Wong
The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff
Lord Comfort (uncredited)
Revenge of the Alligator Ladies
Himself
En busca del dragón dorado
Blind Old Man
Debris Documentar
Himself
Lucky, the Inscrutable
Ciego / Zoltan / Guitarrista
Night Has a Thousand Desires
Psychiatrist (uncredited)
Angel of Death 2: The Prison Island Massacre
Pete
Justine and the Whip
Strange Guy
Sadomania
Lucas
Camino solitario
Doctor Callman
Black Boots, Leather Whip
Matón en cementerio de coches (voice) (uncredited)
Exorcism
Mathis Vogel, aka Laforgue (as Jess Frank)
Barbed Wire Dolls
Maria's Father (uncredited)
Call Me Jess Redux
Himself
Around the World in Eighty Days
Extra (uncredited)
Esa cosa con plumas
Tío Jess
Self
Jesús Franco, manera de vivir
Himself
Drácula Barcelona
Himself
Two Undercover Angels
Napoleon Bolivard
The Well
Idoru
Martes de Carnaval
99 Women
Official (uncredited)
Queridos monstruos
Self
Ban the Sadist Videos!
Self
Soledad Miranda, Flower in the Desert
Himself (archive footage)
Coffins of Light
himself
Por la gracia de Luis
Himself
What a Honeymoon
Dying Man (uncredited)
Clawing! A Journey Through the Spanish Horror
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
El misterio del castillo rojo
Esmeralda Bay
Boat Captain
Attack of the Robots
Pianist (uncredited)
Jesús in Furs
Himself
Wild Session
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Daughter of Dracula
Cyril Jefferson
The Awful Dr. Orlof
Pianist (uncredited)
A Virgin Among the Living Dead
Basilio
Ladies House of Pleasure
Greta, the Mad Butcher
Dr. Milton Arcos (as Jess Franco)
Bahia Blanca
The Miseries (uncredited)
Residence for Spies
Casino Piano Player (uncredited)
Death Whistles the Blues
Saxofonista en Club de Nueva Orleans (uncredited)
Ellos robaron la picha de Hitler
Padre del Dr. Weissman
Anna Said Yes
Pianista (uncredited)
Lilian, the Perverted Virgin
Bernardo
Beloved Count
Self
Bloody Jess
Self
Perversion Stories
Self
White Skin Black Thighs
Graf Anastasio
X312 - Flight to Hell
Man at John Somers'
Journey into Perversion
Himself
Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
Self
Vampir Cuadecuc
Self
Kiss Me Monster
Abilene's Contact Man
The Blood of Fu Manchu
Falks Frauen
(archive footage)
Inferno Rosso: Joe D'Amato on the Road of Excess
Self (archive footage)
Marquis de Sade: Justine
Your Caresses
Shows
Eurotika!
Self