Franco made his feature directing debut with “We Are 18 Years Old” in 1959. His final film, “Al Pereira Vs The Alligator Women,” opened last month in Spain.
His other films include “Necronomicon,” (1967), “Count Dracula” (1969), “Vampyros Lesbos” (1970), “Dracula vs. Frankenstein” (1971), and “Oasis of the Zombies” (1983).
Franco was the second unit director on Orson Welles’ “Chimes at Midnight” and worked on an aborted “Treasure Island” film with Welles in 1964. He oversaw the poorly received assembly of Welles’ unfinished “Don Quixote” footage in 1992.
In an interview with HorrorGarage.com, Franco offered an unflattering summary of “Chimes.” He said, “The production of ‘Chimes at Midnight’ was a total mess, not because the film was too expensive, but because Orson lied with the budget and the film was 10 times more expensive. You can imagine…what a disaster.”
Franco was predeceased last year by his wife, Lina Romay.
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