Favorite Franco Scenes/Moments: TIM LUCAS

Video Watchdog Tim Lucas has not only sent his Jess Franco 10 Best list but included some of his favorite moments/scenes from Franco's 50 year (and still running)career.* I am taking him up on his suggestion that we transition into offering our lists of Favorite Jess Franco scenes/moments. We will also continue to publish all submitted 10 Best lists in the future. One of the great things about blogging is that you can run multiple tracks in Real Time. Please email me your favorite Jess Franco scenes/moments and I will post them as a separate blog with an appropriate image or just click on COMMENT to enter them directly on the blog underneath an existing post.

[From Tim Lucas - Subject : Top 10 and Favorite Scenes]

MY TOP TEN

EUGENIE DE SADE
EUGENIE... THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION
AL OLTRO LADO DEL ESPEJO
LES POSEDEES DU DIABLE
LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN
THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z
VAMPYROS LESBOS
NIGHTMARES COME AT NIGHT
THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS
VENUS IN FURS

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS (just a few):

EUGENIE DE SADE: The shot of Soledad Miranda admiring her father (Paul Muller) at his book-signing party, ignoring Jess as he tries to speak to her (the closing shot of QUEEN CHRISTINA is NOTHING compared to this!); also the murder scenes -- the snuff photo session, the drinking game with the hitchhiker.

THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF: Howard Vernon placing the necklace around Maria Silva's neck, the light from the jewels illuminating his face for the first time.

BARBED WIRE DOLLS: Jess' "slow-motion" death -- his finest comic moment.

VENUS IN FURS: Dennis Price seduced to death by Maria Rohm.

THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z: Miss Death's dance performance.

LES POSEDEES DU DIABLE: I haven't seen the scene, but based on the still photo representation, the censored devil-dildo scene has got to be amazing.

THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS: Ludwig's big scene with the barmaid -- like seeing the floodgates topple as a new era in erotic horror arrives.

ANTENA CRIMINAL: MAKING A JESS FRANCO MOVIE: There's a wonderful scene in this Brian Horrorwitz documentary about the filming of BLIND TARGET that shows Franco losing his patience with an actor, calling a break and sitting down to rest and have a cigarette, his hand still trembling from the outburst. Lina walks over, puts her arm around him and consoles him. As the camera holds on them, one can see in Jess all the frustration he must feel at times while pursuing his dream of continuing to work at all costs, and how Lina anchors and reassures him. The whole story of the Franco/Romay relationship is somehow captured here, and it's a beautiful and privileged thing to see. [Tim Lucas]


Thanks for your lists and suggestions, Tim. That's quite a well-chosen Favorite Franco Moments selection and most of those would make my own list. To avoid redundancy I'll have to brainstorm before submitting my favorite moments.

*I date Jess Franco's directing career from 1954, when he effectively co-directed (and co-scripted) EL COYOTE and LA JUSTICIA DEL COYOTE with Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent at Union Films Studio, Madrid. Franco was hired to assist Marchent but the workload and tight schedule was such that Franco directed some scenes while Marchent handled others. Both features were shot simultaneously utilizing the same actors and sets, a strategy which Franco would standardize beginning with his frenetic early 1970s period.[RM]