Freddie Francis

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a wacky little vampire spoof called The Vampire Happening. aka Gebissen wird nur nachts









(The trailer is NSFW - there are breasts EVERYWHERE!)


 


I see that the Director on the film is Freddie Francis and I jump over to IMDB to see what other goofy movies this guy did. Now, mind you, I'm not a name person. Tell me your name and it takes me a few times to remember it. Artist brain. :) So, I didn't place Mr. Francis' name. Not until I saw his filmography.

WHOA!


Francis was NOT who I thought he was. This was no one shot, "boobie movie" Director with two films to his credit. He's one of the biggies in genre film direction in my book. Many of the 60s and 70s drive-in style horror nuggets I loved as a kid were directed by him. DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, NIGHTMARE, THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, GIRLY (what a fun, strange little film), TALES FROM THE CRYPT, THE CREEPING FLESH and TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS were all loved by me growing up. But, his direction wasn't the only stand out aspect of Mr. Freddie Francis.



Francis was a cinematographer as well. An Oscar winning one at that. He won for SONS AND LOVERS in 1961 and GLORY in 1990. His award list rolls on and includes several BAFTA nominations as well. He was also the Cinematographer on THE ELEPHANT MAN!

So...go figure! It turned out that Freddie Francis was one of my favorite directors and I didn't even know it! Take a look at some of his work when time allows. Just make up a big bowl of popcorn and take in some of his 60s and 70s goodness. They are a lot of fun!