HONEYMOON/VIAJE DE NOVIOS: EL HOTEL DE LA LUIGES; ELLS FONT TOUT; CLAIRE

ELLES FONT TOUT (1978), one of three quickie semi-hardcore features made for Robert De Nesle in the year of his death, is not a favorite of mine and I find Franco's 1983 remake HOTEL DE LAS LUIGES (Golden Films Internacional) easier to take, it is preferable to the rather frenetically staged 1978 "comedy" assembly, which is nonetheless a minor curio for fans of both European Trash Cinema and Jess Franco. Nothing is more tedious than an unfunny comedy. The fact that once again a Franco 1980s Golden Films Internacional remake is as interesting and sometimes superior to the orignal confirms Franco's creative persistence rather than a lack of new ideas since what's good about HOTEL DE LAS LUIGES is that it's smarter, funnier and more stylistically layered than ELLES FONT TOUT. Considering the French adverts and this synopsis "Trois couples séjournent dans un hôtel et tous ont des problèmes sexuels. Un jour, une star du porno professionnel (Lina Romay) enseigne à tout le monde comment faire", one might expect a sophisticated and elegant display of epicurian erotica. The French do have a way with words. Fixated on visual slapstick and oral hardcore (Lina Romay literally sucks food out of the diners) this seems like a haphazardly staged orgy for gourmands only. Romay, as the randy porn star Nini, is pretty much the whole show. A key scene has her character sneaking into the bedroom of a sexually dysfunctional couple and performing oral sex on them as they sleep. This qualifies her as a succubus, referencing Franco's 1967 NECROMONICON aka Succubus, which signaled a paradigm shift in his filmography and work arena.

Filmed in Portugal, Cascais, Lisbon; Portugal (Stock shot travelling of the Bay, Estoril-Sol Hotel, and the Palácio Seixas); Boca do Inferno, Cascais; Lisbon, Portugal, according to the IMDB, in what appears to be a local hotel for interiors and some exterior stock shots. This seems to have had an unusually frenetic production, even for a filmmaker famous for frenetic productions. Some charm is exhibited by the always welcome Martine Flety (Blue Rita) and the charming sprite Touxa Beni (Eugenie in COCKTAIL SPECIAL), one of three films made back to back for ailing produced Robert De Nesle, who was to pass away in 1978, the year this, along with JE BRULE DE PARTOUT would form a desperate trilogy for the legendary moneyman. Franco, ever the salesman, visited De Nesle on his death bed, attempting to make a final deal for future productions. The producer of THE THREE FANTASTIC SUPERMEN, COPLAN Eurospy films and 1960s Peplums left this plane of existence on April 21, 1978.

First, a little known template for ELLES FONT TOUT was Leon Klimovsky's 1956 HONEYMOON/VIAJE DE NOVIOS, which Franco worked on as assistant director and co-wrote some of the musical score. The plot and main characters in that film were again used in ELLES FONT TOUT without credit to the Klimovsky film. Aurora de Alba (FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR) plays the Lina Romay role of a sexy singer who comes to a vacation spa in rural Spain where she flirts with several married men, making their wives jealous, and finally leaves with the couples reconciled. Filmed in candy colored hues, Franco wrote several songs de Alba performs, among them AMOR, AMOR, later to be heard in Franco's horror debut GRITOS EN LA NOCHE (1961). She also performs a Conga song which uses the word "Cucufate" repreatedly. Franco fans will recognize the word as the name of a devil cut in his wildly inventive 1980 sci-fi-sex epic, EL SEXO ESTA LOCO. Franco once again was employing his composing and directoral skills in different contexts. VIAJE DE NOVIOS is a mainstream production, an energetically directed and performed film (including future collaborator DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES protagonist Fernando Fernan Gomez in a key role) and is well worth seeking out. It should be noted that Cucufate is the name of Spanish Catholic saint.

I can verify the existence of an Italian version, QUEL CERTO SAPORE (That Certain Taste) of ELLES FONT TOUT, which would appear several years after the initial release of ELLES FONT TOUT. I had it in my Jess Franco collection for decades and had never gotten around to watching it. I finally fished it out of storage and it's a sub-par dupe, but watchable. In fact, this seems to be the only way to watch ELLES FONT TOUT, which despite a release of French video seems to presently have disappeared. The best shot in the film, and only stylish one, is the final shot of Lina's character, wearing an eye-catching sun hat, exiting the hotel, script in hand for "Sucking in the Rain", her upcoming porn film.

It should be added that there would be another Franco iteration of the Klimovsky film in Franco's 1983 remake of ELLE FONT TONT, the better resourced and staged Golden Films Internacional production El hotel de los ligues (1983), which has the exact same story and characters as ELLES FONT TOUT, only filmed in Spain this time, with Lina returning, in her Candy Coster wig, as the lead character. The main difference is that this version is softcore and doesn't include hardcore scenes as does EL FONT TOUT, it is also more stylishly photographed by Juan Soler Cozar and is a more effective sex comedy.

CLAIRE (1979): Three Jess Franco films and at least three Joe D'Amato hardcore films composited by D'Amato make up the Italian producer's second attempt to make a commercial product out of several Franco films. This is probably one of the most difficult to find of Franco-related films, with no known DVD release. Franco's 1978 Robert De Nesle funded hardcore ELLES FONT TOUT, which featured Lina Romay as a porno actress vacationing at an exclusive sex spa, was merged with footage shot by D'Amato featuring one of his favorite hardcore performers, Mark [PORNO HOLOCAUST] Shanon (aka Manlio Certosino). The pamphlet AKA Joe D'Amato (Italy, 1995) cites footage with B. Lahaie, but she is elusive to me in the blurry print which I referenced. I guess it would be Franco's JE BRULE DE PARTOUT (1978). In addition there is footage from COCKTAIL SPECIAL, and at least three D'Amato 1980s era hardcore features edited into the mix. That would be three Jess Franco's and three Joe D'Amatos for the price of one. Basically this composite is a mess of main interest to Franco and D'Amato collectors.

Note that even though she is prominently credited, Franco icon Pamela Stanford [aka Monique Delaunay] is not present in this print version. CLAIRE seems to have been put together circa 1979 but wasn't until several years later that it was released in Italy. The print referenced was a poor video dupe in Italian. Thanks to Nzoog for alerting me to the Franco connections in Klimovsky's HONEYMOON and finding a print for me to reference. CLAIRE runtime: [74m 30s] (C) Robert Monell, Update 11/5/2026

QUEEN OF THE TABARIN (1960)

EL FRANCONOMICON / I'M IN A JESS FRANCO STATE OF MIND Robert Monell & Alex Mendíbil Blog Alliance QUEEN OF THE TABARIN (1960)

Soledad Miranda, left, in her first Jess Franco film, the 1960 musical comedy starring her mentor Mikaela Wood, right. A very colorful, Spanish inflected genre piece. This is an absolutely delicious looking candy colored musical which was originally scheduled to be directed by the reliably workmanlike Leon Klimovsky, whom Franco worked with as a writer and assistant. The delightful mise en scene is entrancing from the opening shots, which are focused on the rooftops of a working class section of Madrid. It’s almost a cubist approach with pastel hues. The camera swoops down from an overhead angle on Mikaela Wood doing a whirling folk dance for the street people. As in so many of his films it begins in the midst of an erotic performance.

It’s a Universe away from the Gothic black and white nightmare world in the forthcoming GRITOS EN LA NOCHE (1961), where even the dancing girls seemed stifled by the imprisoning male gaze of Dr. Orloff (Howard Vernon). But there are no such malignant male gazes here, only gorgeous costumes, romantic intrigues and joyous songs. It’s easy to get lost in this gorgeous maze evoking the Hollywood musicals of Minnelli and Donen.The longer Spanish version must be seen to be appreciated by Jess Franco enthusiasts and those who claim Franco was a sloppy craftsman. It has an aesthetic density beyond his Freshman, Sophmore and Junior efforts. Each and every shot is stylized by the dutch camera angles, attention to visual details and a lush palette. At times we feel pulled into the visually elegant realms of Max Ophuls.

This would greatly benefit from a full 4k restoration. Music and cinema each have their own separate languages. One of the essential starting points in the Franco cirriculum. See the uncut Spanish version with English subtitles on YouTube. There is also a shorter French language version online.

(C) Robert Monell, 2026

Thanks to Robert Monell & Alex Mendíbil Blog Alliance Sade, Subliminal imagery, representation in the films of Alain Robbe-Grillet BELOW: L’Eden et apres (1970): I managed to capture this after several viewings. This shot lasts for less than one second of screen time and acts as a subliminal flash which doesn’t register immediately to the eye but is retained in the mind. The image is highly stylized, a depiction of a nude woman lying a bath of red liquid, signifying blood. The picture on the raised portion of the tub is of the lead actress, Catherine Jourdan.

The positioning of the pistol suggests that the woman has shot herself. But there is no realism here outside of what is arranged as a transgression. An aesthetic shock of flesh, red, white, like an abstract painting. The fact that it registers subliminally rather than as readable image completes the transgression. And it illustrates how Robbe-Grillet was an abstract painter in his writing and films. It’s also an example of the influence of Sade on his prose and cinema. When discussing Sade in cinema it’s difficult to minimize the filmography of Jess Franco. He returned to «The Divine Marquis» as an inspiration again and again, adapting his novel Justine (1791), his story Eugenie De Franval (1788); his epic «Dialogues» Philosophy in the Bedroom (1795) was filmed by Franco as EUGENIE, THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION, released in 1970, featuring Christopher Lee as the Sadean narrator Dolmance. I recently obtained N. A PRIS LES DES… an intriguing 1971 feature by novelist-filmmaker-theorist Alain Robbe-Grillet on Blu-ray. It was well worth viewing since the film is an experimental restructuring of his 1971 L’EDEN ET APRES (EDEN AND AFTER), which was also filmed in Bratislava and Tunisia with the same cast and a similar plot. But plot is not as important as image and soundtrack in ARG’s universe, where character and story are one or two dimensional pulp devices. All of his films have a pulp fiction quality which is very upfront and intentional. The Sadean imagery of women in cages is upfront as much as in Franco's WIP films.

ARG was a contemporary and kindred spirit to Jess Franco. Both were immersed in the literature, imagery and philosophy of the Marquis de Sade. Franco actually adapted several of his books, including JUSTINE, JULIETTE (unfinished), PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR and EUGENIE DE SADE, to name a few. ARG’s films are awash in Sadean imagery, in which sadomasochism is visualized and discussed throughout. Robbe-Grillet was also Sade obsessed to the point where he filmed one scene in SUCCESSIVE SLIDINGS OF PLEASURE in an French jailcell where Sade was detained in the early 19th century.

Robbe-Grillet’s name is mentioned during the word game in SUCCUBUS/NECRONOMICON (1967) and Franco’s VENUS IN FURS is a virtual remake of ARG’s debut feature, L’IMMORTELLE (1963). Both films feature a search for an elusive women who represents and delivers death to the man who finds her. N. A PRIS LE DES… and its template both feature a woman (Catherine Jourdain) who ends up imprisoned in a Tunisian torture complex, where women are kept in hanging cages by pirates with clandestine motives. Misogynist? Maybe. Is it Art? It depends on personal definitions. What is art to one person, may be mere pornography to others. Where does eroticism end and pornography begin? What Robbe-Grillet does as director is arrange is aesthetically endowed S&M tableaux in various sequences. The key question is: can eroticism be a subject and technique in Art? I think most would answer yes to that. Robbe-Grillet never worked in the hardcore sex mode, as did Jess Franco, but he did create a series of erotic conundrums in his books and films which transgress common definitions of taste and are pornographic to some. His film SUCCESSIVE SLIDINGS OF PLEASURE (1974) actually was the subject of criminal litigation in Italy and was banned there.ARG is mainly interested in presenting films and books as experiments in anti/non/multi linear-narrative and alternate literary/film forms. Conventional representation is critiqued, ridiculed and turned inside-out. Eroticism is often a portal to a dangerous type of personal/political freedom, although his films don’t deal with specific political matters, as do those of Jean-Luc Godard. It’s all a game, to enjoy, one which allows and encourages reader/viewer participation. The meaning is provided by the reader.viewer, as the narrator assures us in the last moments of N. A PRIS LE DES, a film which directly addresses the audience with respect and conspiratorial intimacy. N…. projects the film we are watching as a game of chance, and is a separate film from EDEN AND AFTER.

In 1975 I had the chance to see EDEN AND AFTER on a double bill presented with a Q&A by Robbe-Grillet. The second feature was the even more transgressive, SUCCESSIVE SLIDINGS OF PLEASURE, which is an eyeful for the first time viewer. I was somewhat shocked by the intensity of the sadomasochistic imagery in the latter, and it had trouble finding wide release in France or any release in North America at the time. Robbe-Grillet was teaching in New York at the time and was a charming host for these films, appearing bemused and answering questions politely and at length.

I had the chance to ask him about his frequent use of mirrors and mirror imagery in his films. He answered by mentioning that Marguerite Duras had just completed a film totally shot through a mirror (INDIA SONG, 1975). Jess Franco also seemed very obsessed with mirrors and reflective surfaces, as did Douglas Sirk did before them and as did Sirk's famous student Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who also made a Lili Marleen story a decade before Franco's underrated FALL OF THE EAGLES. Also consider looking into Jaques Lacan's concept of the "stade du miroir" in psychoanalysis in THE LANGUAGE OF THE SELF.

So, how does Jess Franco, generally considered a commercial hack with a penchant for arty pornography, fit into this dangerous game? Alain Robbe-Grillet's films are a unique melding of literary sophistication with pulp imagery from films, posters, police procedural crime novels, sadomasochist imagery found in specialized magazines. Franco's films are sometimes credited as being based on "David Khunne" novels which never existed. Perhaps they were from a synopsis of several pages which are elevated to novel status. (2026, Robert Monell)

Franco In Oz – An overview of Jess Franco movies released theatrically on and VHS in Australia.

 

REVISED AND EXPANDED

*A guide to Australian classification ratings has been provided at the end of this article.

Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s when drive-ins, cinemas of a more ‘disreputable’ nature, and revolutionary video stores dotted the Australian landscape, it was not uncommon for willing (and unwilling) audiences to encounter a film by the one and only Jess Franco. Yes, Tio Jess’s movies made their way to the land Down Under, but typical of the conservative and unpredictable nature of the Australian censorship board, they would certainly not be welcomed with open arms. Some titles were heavily censored or outright banned, whilst others were surprisingly released uncut, considering their content (such as Linda, which features the then 14-year old Katja Bienert in several nude and sexual scenes). It’s surreal trying to imagine what the clientele of the local drive-in in Sunshine (a working-class, industrial suburb of Melbourne where I grew up) would have made of Barbed Wire Dolls which played there in a heavily cut version under the title Caged Women in 1981. The films of Jess Franco are an intriguing inclusion of Australia’s moviegoing history, advertised with often wonderfully lurid poster, newspaper and video cover art. During my research, I’ve attempted to list every Franco film which either screened theatrically or received a video, DVD or Blu-Ray release in Australia, along with running time, censorship information, and daybill/cover art.

 

Barbed Wire Dolls/Caged Women

In September 1976, an 82 minute print of Caged Women was banned for reasons of 'indecency’ and ‘excessive violence'. Despite an appeal to the Review Board in October 1976, the ban remained firmly in place. No doubt the Australian censors were unimpressed with the explicit scenes of female masturbation, sexualised violence and incest and rape themes (not to mention a lit cigarette used as a sex toy).

In November 1977, Blake Films were awarded an R-rating after whittling Caged Women down to 73 minutes. This print was released theatrically. Note the overzealous censor who took offense to Lina Romay’s and Martine Stedil’s bare breasts in the daybill poster, painting (clumsily rendered) white ‘bras’ over them!

 

Bloody Moon

Released on video (Video Classics, 82 minutes) with an R-rating in 1982. Believed to be uncut.

 

White Cannibal Queen/Cannibals

Released on video (Day Connection, 87 minutes) with an R-rating in 1985. Believed to be uncut.

 

Celestine, Maid at Your Service/The Sexcapades of Celestine

According to the Australian Classification database, an 103 minute print of The Sexcapades of Celestine, submitted by Jim Wilson Cinema was awarded an R-rating in March 1975. It was later released on video (K & C Video) in 1982, also rated R – I am unsure whether this tape is uncut.

 

Diary of a Nymphomaniac/Diary of a Nympho

A 91 minute print submitted by Seven Keys Films was awarded an R-rating in August 1974 and released theatrically.

 

Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein

An 84 minute print submitted by Filmways was granted a now defunct ‘NRC’ (Not Recommended for Children) rating in 1974 and released theatrically; today this would be the equivalent of an M rating.

The Erotic Experiences of Frankenstein

A 73 minute print submitted by Natan Scheinwald Productions was censored by just over 1 minute to remove ‘excessive violence’. Judging by this print’s running time, it appears that it was the ‘unclothed/hot’ version of the film. It is most probable that the Australian censors objected to a scene where a man and woman are tied back to back naked and both whipped by Frankenstein’s monster. The man eventually collapses and is impaled on spikes.

 

Esmeralda Bay

Released on video (Video Box Office, 106 minutes) with an M-rating in 1991. Believed to be uncut.

 

Eugenie... the Story of her Journey into Perversion

An 88 minute print submitted by Seven Keys Films was awarded an R-rating in April 1978 and released theatrically.

 

Exorcism

In October 1975, Global Film Distributors submitted a 95 minute print of Exorcism to the Board, however it was banned for ‘indecency’ and ‘excessive violence’.

In February 1976, it was censored down to 91 minutes and awarded an R-rating. This version was released theatrically in Australia. The scenes most likely omitted or toned down for this release would have been those featuring sexualised/sadomasochistic violence towards a number of nude women, as well as the endless Black Mass orgy sequence.is some of Franco's best work, and believe me I've seen a lot

Faceless

Released on video (Virgin Vision, 95 minutes) with an R-rating in 1989. Believed to be uncut.  The video cover has ‘Banned in Queensland’ emblazoned on it, however this was most likely not banned there and just used as a sales tactic.

 

Female Vampire

In March 1980, Cosmopolitan Motion Pictures received an R-rating for a censored 80 minute print under the title The Bare Breasted Countess. To achieve this 2 minutes were removed for reasons of 'indecency’ and ‘excessive violence'.

Syme Home Video attempted to have a 90 minute tape released but this was banned. In September 1985, Platinum Video received an X-rating for an 88 minute tape. However it appears that this tape was never released for sale/hire.

Siren Entertainment were hoping to see a 98 minute tape of Female Vampire released, but unsurprisingly, with its combination of semi-hardcore sex and sexualised violence, was again refused classification. The sequence where Lina Romay’s character is whipped by a woman under instruction from a dominatrix caused the most objection from the censors. The dominatrix is then attacked by the two women and Romay performs oral sex on her, leading to her death. Excerpt from the OFLC upon viewing the film for classification in 1995: “This scene could be accommodated in an R classification, in the Board's opinion, but because it is included in a film that contains X rated visuals and 'no depiction of sexual violence, coercion or non-consent of any kind is permitted in this classification', the scene actually warrants Refuse classification.”

 

Ilsa, The Wicked Warden/Greta, The Mad Butcher

In October 1977, Blake Films had a 90 minute print of Greta, The Mad Butcher banned for reasons of 'indecency’ and ‘indecent violence'.

No doubt the censors would have heard of its more well-known alternative title Ilsa, The Wicked Warden and immediately frowned upon Greta, as the connected-by-star-only film Ilsa – She Wolf of the SS had already been point blank refused classification in 1975 and 1976 (and later in 1983). The smorgasbord of sleaze also wouldn’t have helped matters, notably the infamous “lick my culo” scene; Dyanne Thorne sticking pins into Lina Romay’s chest to create a ‘human pin cushion’; and the sadistic murder via plastic bag over head.

 

Jack the Ripper

In November 1977, 2 minutes was cut from a 91 minute print of Jack the Ripper submitted by Blake Films to achieve an R-rating. This 89 minute version was released theatrically.

 

Kiss Me Monster

Released on video (Siren Entertainment, 76 minutes) with an M-rating in 1995. Believed to be uncut.

 

Linda

Filmways omitted 2 seconds of medium level sex from Linda in order to obtain an R-rating in June 1982. An 85 minute theatrical release followed.

Subsequently, Filmways Home Video issued Linda on videotape in a print that ran 81 minutes. This was released in February 1984 with an R-rating. According to the now closed Mondo Erotico website, this was the longest print available worldwide on tape. However, Robert Monell has confirmed that both the Spanish and U.S. VHS releases (the latter titled Captive Women) are both uncut.

It is worth noting that the Board appeared to have been unaware that one of Linda’s leading actresses, Katja Bienert, was 14 years old at the time of filming and appears in a few full-frontal nude as well as sexual scenes. Usually in these circumstances, the film would be outright banned due to a minor being involved in such scenes.

 

Love Camp

After removing over 2 minutes of footage (due to ‘frequent, high and gratuitous violence’), Filmways had a 78 minute print of Love Camp passed with an R-rating in June 1981. A 70 minute, further censored version was later released by Filmways Home Video.

In October 1986, during the height of ‘Banned in Queensland’ mania, the Queensland Police successfully applied to have a 71 minute tape of Love Camp banned on the grounds of 'gratuitous sexual violence'.

 

Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun

In June 1980, an 88 minute print of Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, submitted under the German title of Die Liebesbriefe Einer Protugieschen Nonne, was banned by the Censorship Board due to ‘sexual violence’ (this would refer to the numerous tortures and rapes lead actress Susan Hemingway’s character endures).

Blake Films cut the print down to 85 minutes and re-submitted it. Following the removal of a further 25 seconds of footage, the film was awarded an R-rating in September 1980 and released theatrically.

As with the Australian releases of Linda and that film’s underage star, Katja Bienert, the Board seemed to be unaware that Susan Hemingway was a 15-year-old minor (normally circumstances which would result in an immediate ban).

 

99 Women/Ninety-Nine Women

In May 1973, a 90 minute print of 99 Women (under the title Ninety-Nine Women) submitted by CUC Films Australia was approved by the Censorship Board.

Released on video (K & C Video, 80 minutes) with an R-rating in the early 1980’s. Some nudity and sex has been cut. Interestingly, this tape contains a brief establishing shot at the 42 minute mark that was not on the U.S. tape.

 

 

Sadisterotica

Released on video (Siren Entertainment, 76 minutes) with an M-rating in 1995. Believed to be uncut.

 

Succubus

An 80 minute print submitted by Studio Films was awarded an R-rating in January 1973 and released theatrically.

It was released on video (IFM, 77 minutes) with an R-rating in 1989.

 

Swedish Nympho Slaves

According to the Australian Classification database, an apparently 86 minute print submitted by Filmways was awarded an R-rating in April 1981 and released theatrically.

 

Tender and Perverse Emanuelle

In September 1981, Tender and Perverse Emanuelle was passed with an R-rating and released theatrically by Filmways. In order to win the censors’ approval, almost 2 minutes of footage had to be removed.

The cuts were made to remove sex, which was described as being ‘infrequent, highly explicit and gratuitous’. Following the censorship, the sex was described as being ‘infrequent, medium-level explicit and gratuitous’. It’s pretty easy to guess what the main offending scene would have been – the title character masturbating a man’s erect penis.

 

Venus in Furs

An 86 minute print was banned in July 1970 due to ‘indecency’.

 

A Virgin Among the Living Dead

In April 1995, the OFLC banned a 77 minute videotape of A Virgin Among the Living Dead submitted by Siren Entertainment. An excerpt from the OFLC upon viewing the film for classification in 1995:

“In the board's opinion the film warrants refused for one scene of gratuitous sexual violence. At 65 minutes Christiana is attacked by her relatives, a woman and two men. They strip her and hold her down, standing on her arms and legs. One of the men pulls his trousers down with visuals of his naked buttocks as he lays on top of her naked body. He implicitly rapes her, thrusting for a prolonged period while she cries out "No, no ,no" shown in medium range with close up visuals of her hands clenching and unclenching. There is in the board's opinion no contextual justification for this scene. It is prolonged and detailed and as such warrants Refusal”.

Subsequently, Siren Entertainment cut A Virgin Among the Living Dead down to 75 minutes and were awarded an R-rating in August 1995.

 

Several Jess Franco films have been released in Australia on DVD, all presumably uncut (unfortunately I could not obtain the running time for most titles). These are:   

Blood of Fu Manchu (Stomp Visual). Rated M in October 2005 for ‘moderate violence, nudity and incidental coarse language’.

The Bloody Judge (Stomp Visual). Rated MA in October 2005 for ‘strong violence and nudity’.

The Castle of Fu Manchu (Stomp Visual). Rated M in October 2005 for ‘moderate violence’.

Eugenie De Sade (Force Entertainment, 87 minutes). Rated R in November 2003 for ‘strong sexual violence’.  

The Girl from Rio (Umbrella Entertainment, 108 minutes). Rated M in May 2010 for ‘sexualised nudity’.

Jack the Ripper (Big Sky Video). Rated R in July 2004 for ‘high level violence and sexual violence’.

99 Women (Umbrella Entertainment, 90 minutes). Rated MA in June 2007 for ‘strong sexual violence, strong sex scenes and sexual references and nudity’.

Vampyros Lesbos (Umbrella Entertainment). Rated R in April 2004 for ‘sexual references and nudity’.

Venus in Furs (Umbrella Entertainment). Rated R in 2005 for ‘adult themes’.

 

Just one Franco film has been released on Blu-Ray to date.

Vampiros Lesbos (Umbrella Entertainment). Rated R in 2015 for ‘sexual references and nudity’.

 

A few Franco films have also screened on Australian television. In the late 1990’s/early 2000’s, a dubbed, fullscreen 97 minute print of Count Dracula was aired regularly on Foxtel (Australia’s Pay-TV network). It was rated either M or MA.

The free-to-air SBS channel screened some titles on their ‘Cult Movie’ nights during the mid 1990s-early 2000s. These were all screened with English subtitles:

 The Awful Dr Orloff

Premiere screening circa 1995, rated either M or MA.

Dr Jekyll’s Mistresses

Premiere screening circa 1995, rated M for ‘violence, nudity and drug use’.

She Killed in Ecstasy

Premiere screening circa 2001, rated MA.

Vampyros Lesbos

Premiere screening circa 2001, rated MA.

Virgin Among the Living Dead

Premiere screening 1997, rated MA. This print contained the Jean Rollin zombie footage as well as optical censoring of nudity.

 

Classification guide for films in Australia

G – General. The content is very mild in impact. The G classification is suitable for everyone. G products may contain classifiable elements such as language and themes that are very mild in impact

PG – Parental Guidance. The content is mild in impact. The impact of PG classified films should be no higher than mild, but they may contain content that children find confusing or upsetting and may require the guidance of parents and guardians, such as language and themes that are mild in impact. It is not recommended for viewing by persons under 15 without guidance from parents or guardians.

M – Mature. The content is moderate in impact. Films classified M contain content of a moderate impact and are recommended for teenagers aged 15 years and over. Children under 15 may legally access this material because it is an advisory category. However, M classified films may include elements such as violence and nudity of moderate impact.

MA 15+ - Mature Accompanied.  The content is strong in impact. MA 15+ classified material contains strong content and is legally restricted to persons 15 years and over. It may contain classifiable elements such as sex scenes and drug use that are strong in impact. A person may be asked to show proof of their age before hiring or purchasing an MA 15+ film. Cinema staff may also request that the person show proof of their age before allowing them to watch an MA 15+ film. Children under the age of 15 may not legally watch, buy or hire MA 15+ classified material unless they are in the company of a parent or adult guardian. Children under 15 who go to the cinema to see an MA 15+ film must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian for the duration of the film. The parent or adult guardian must also purchase the movie ticket for the child.

R 18+ - Restricted. The content is high in impact R 18+ material is restricted to adults. Such material may contain classifiable elements such as sex scenes and drug use that are high in impact. Some material classified R18+ may be offensive to sections of the adult community. A person may be asked for proof of their age before purchasing, hiring or viewing R18+ films at a retail store or cinema.

X 18+ - Restricted. X 18+ films are restricted to adults. This classification is a special and legally restricted category which contains only sexually explicit content. That is, material which shows actual sexual intercourse and other sexual activity between consenting adults. X18+ films are only available for sale or hire in the ACT and the NT.

RC – Refused Classification.  Material that is Refused Classification is commonly referred to as being ‘banned’. Films that are classified RC cannot be sold, hired, advertised or legally imported in Australia. Material that is classified RC contains content that is very high in impact and falls outside generally accepted community standards

 

 

References:

Australian Classification Database

http://www.classification.gov.au/

Internet Movie Database

http://www.imdb.com/

Pre-Cert Video

http://www.pre-cert.co.uk/

Refused-Classification.com

http://www.refused-classification.com/

 

 

 

(C) Michelle Alexander 2026

KISS AND KILL: Fu Manchu and beyond representation: Part I

This post represents the 20th anniversary of this blog. When I started it in June. 2006 I had just relocated from an apartment in the city to a 125 year old house in a rural area. I had just finished a series of interviews with Jess Franco and wanted to have a place where I could regularly discuss his filmography, or rather my evolving perception of his massive output. I want to express my thanks and appreciation to my followers and their valuded feedback in the comments section. Hopefully we'll have another 20 years here if the internet still exists in the age of AI and I can make it to the age of 95.

The exotic universe of Fu Manchu holds a continuing fascination in the Franco multiverse. Wether it's the films, both Franco's and other director's approach to the character, or Franco's own deep dedication to representing the exoticism of that world, which spans a 50 year period, from 1967 to his 21st century digital period. But we have to loop back to his youthful obsession with the 1930s, 40s and 50s serials, films, magazines, novels and images based on the works of Sax Rohmer. The director himself speaks of his delight with that world and the formats in which is was presented to the public. He has talked about how happy he was while directing his first Fu Manchu film in late 1967 for producer Harry Alan Towers, who wrote the script for the project.* After the paradigm shift which the success of his 1967 NECRONOMICON (Succubus) had imposed on him he had found a way to become a commerical director making an entertainment for an international audience, rather than having to continue to make comprosed films within the barriers of Francisco Franco censorship which had imprisoned him for the first years of his career.

I remember seeing THE FACE OF FU MANCHU in a downtown movie theater in 1965. Colorful and action-packed to my 13 year old eyes, it impressed me on the big screen. It had been imported to America by SEVEN ARTS. It was a Harry Alan Towers-German co-production and the first of 5 films starring a famous UK actor as Fu Manchu which would be made over a period of 4 years. It was capably directed by Don Sharp. The mold had been set. For a variety of reasons by the time Franco got his hands of the directing reins the series ran out of some its commercial steam and exotic ambience. The were two export edits of this 4th iteration, THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU 93 minutes and KISS AND KILL, which was re-edited and shortened. I first saw this on a VHS tape circa 1989 via the 1988 American Video Corp. prerecord.

I actually perfer this reedited version which at least moves with a certain dispatch and doesn't seem to sag as much in the middle. The new opening scene commences with a high angle shot of the Brazilian jungle, which seems shot from an airplane and may be stock footage. It then proceeds to shots of Gotz George cutting his way with a machete through the thick jungle foilage.This seems more in the RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK universe with Harrison Ford cutting his way through the jungles. Inspired, consciously or unconsciously, by RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK for this 1988 video release or was the opening of that mega-hit, showing the hero cut his way through the thick jungle inspired by BLOOD....? I doubt it. Speilberg and George Lucas likely had better things to do..

This American Video 1988 VHS lists a 91 minute runtime on the back cover  (it's actually shorter than THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU version and plays much more efficiently with a new opening scene featuring Gotz George leading an expedition toward Fu Manchu's hidden jungle city, which actually looks more like a large cave. Credited to Peter Welbeck, producer Harry Alan Towers, this first Franco-Towers collaboration is somewhat more coherent, but less colorful than the Franco-Towers THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (1969).

The back copy on the Kiss and Kill VHS (Rated PG) reads like a promo for a 1970s kung fu epic: " The great Christopher Lee explodes in this kung-fu classic! Playing a Japanese (?!) mercenary, he's intent on righting  the evils that roam the land [actually, he's playing the Chinese super villain Fu Manchu!] He's in top form, fighting off his enemies with lots of sizzling high energy, high-kickin' action! As one of the most exciting films of its genre, KISS AND KILL will keep you on the edge of your seat!" But even trimmed by 10 or so minutes it's somewhat of a slog and won't keep anyone on the edge of their seat. And there is no high kicking kung fu fighting in any version which I've seen. Immediately beyond BLOOD.... lay two more Rohmer installations. And "installations" is an appropraiate term for THE GIRL FROM RIO and THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU. And there would be returns to Rohmerland in the 1980s. But first let's look at the sources of this pop culture madness.

*Franco himself mentions the Republic serial as a primary inspiration, noting that anything which elongated that unique atmosphere was delightful for him on the interview with him on the Blue Underground Blueray .