Jesús Franco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jesús Franco
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Franco at the 2008 Fantastic'Arts festival, Gérardmer, France
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Jesús Franco Manera
12 May 1930 Madrid, Spain
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| Died | 2 April 2013 (aged 82) Málaga, Spain
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| Occupation | Director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, musician, composer, actor, editor |
| Years active | 1954–2013 |
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| Children | Caroline Riviere (stepdaughter from first marriage) |
Jesús Franco Manera (born May 12, 1930 – died April 2, 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor. He was known for directing many low-budget movies.
He had a very long career, from 1959 to 2013. During this time, he worked on about 173 feature films. He wrote, directed, produced, acted in, and even composed music for these movies. He worked in Spain and other countries like France, West Germany, Switzerland, and Portugal. In the 1960s, he also made films in Rio de Janeiro and Istanbul.
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About Jesús Franco
Jesús Franco was born in Madrid, Spain. His family had roots in Cuba and Mexico. He studied at film schools in Madrid and Paris.
He started his career in 1954 when he was 24 years old. He worked as an assistant director in the Spanish film industry. He did many jobs, like writing screenplays and composing music for films. He helped directors such as Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent and Juan Antonio Bardem.
After working on more than 20 films for other directors, he decided to direct his own movies. In 1959, he made some musicals and a crime drama called Red Lips.
Becoming a Horror Director
In 1960, Franco and two producer friends, Marius Lesoeur and Sergio Newman, watched a horror film called The Brides of Dracula. They decided to start making horror movies themselves.
His career really took off in 1962 with The Awful Dr. Orloff. This movie was shown in many places, including the United States and the UK. Franco wrote and directed Orloff, and he even helped with the music.
In the mid-1960s, he directed two more horror films. After that, he made several spy thrillers that were similar to the James Bond movies.
Later Career
Franco had some success in America with movies like Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden (1968) and 99 Women (1969). He also directed two films starring Christopher Lee in 1969: The Bloody Judge and Count Dracula.
However, most of his films were only shown in Europe. Many of them were never dubbed into English.
His Unique Style
Jesús Franco sometimes used different names for his work, which are called pseudonyms. Some of these were David Khune and Frank Hollmann. He loved jazz music and was a musician himself. Many of his fake names came from jazz musicians.
Franco was known for using a hand-held camera and zoom shots. He felt these techniques made his films look more realistic.
His biggest achievement was directing about 173 movies in his lifetime. He made films in many different styles, even though he often had very little money to make them.
His Passing
Jesús Franco had a serious stroke on March 27, 2013. He was taken to a hospital in Málaga, Spain. He passed away six days later, on April 2, at the age of 82.
See also
In Spanish: Jesús Franco para niños
