The Bloody Judge (1970) Il trono di fuoco (original title)

Director:

Jesús Franco

Writers:

Jesús Franco (adaptation)
Enrico Colombo (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

May 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Horror will hold you helpless!

Plot Keywords:

Executioner | Witch Trial | Witch Hunt | Battle | Judge

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Judge Jeffries
Maria Schell	...	Mother Rosa
Leo Genn	...	Lord Wessex
Hans Hass Jr.	...	Harry Selton (as Hans Hass)
Maria Rohm	...	Mary Gray
Margaret Lee	...	Alicia Gray
Pietro Martellanza	...	Barnaby (as Peter Martell)
Howard Vernon	...	Jack Ketch
Milo Quesada	...	Satchel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Werner Abrolat	...	Inquisitor Matt (uncredited)
Giuliana Garavaglia	...	(uncredited)
Diana Lorys	...	Sally Gaunt (uncredited)
José Martínez Blanco	...	Steven Truro (uncredited)
José María Prada	...	Palafox (uncredited)
Vicente Roca	...	Chief Prosecutor (uncredited)
John Thompson	...	Jonathan Dickens (uncredited)
Serena Vergano	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Jesús Franco		(as J. Frank Manera)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Enrico Colombo		adaptation (as E. Colombo)
Jesús Franco		adaptation
Michael Haller
Harry Alan Towers		story (as Peter Welbeck)
Anthony Scott Veitch

Produced by
Arturo Marcos	....	producer
Harry Alan Towers	....	producer

Original Music by
Bruno Nicolai

Cinematography by
Manuel Merino

Film Editing by
Derek Parsons
Gertrud Petermann		(German version)

Art Direction by
Jack Taylor		(as George O. Brown)

Set Decoration by
Jack Taylor		(as George O'Brown)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alberto Chiarolla	....	assistant director (as Alberto Chianella)
John Thompson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Joyce Oxley	....	dubbing editor

Editorial Department
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist

Production Companies

• Fénix Cooperativa Cinematográfica
• Prodimex Film
• Terra-Filmkunst
• Towers of London (in association with)

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Astral Films (1972) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Constantin Film (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Arce Films
• Astro Distribution (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• GEE Video (video)
• Mediumrare Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD)
• Stomp Visual (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• UFA Video (1980) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (TV)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (video) (VOD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Video for Pleasure (VFP) (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Il trono di fuoco" - Liechtenstein (original title)
"Night of the Blood Monster" - USA
"Throne of the Blood Monster" - USA
"Trial of the Witches" - USA
"Witch Killer of Broadmoor" - USA
"Witches' Trial" - USA

Runtime:

Argentina:97 min | Spain:96 min | Sweden:94 min (banned version) | West Germany:82 min | USA:84 min

Country:

Liechtenstein | Italy | Spain | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Sweden:15 (Banned) | UK:18 (video rating) | USA:PG | Australia:MA | Australia:R (DVD rating) | New Zealand:R18 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Company:

Fénix Cooperativa Cinematográfica

Trivia:

Dennis Price was originally cast as Lord Wessex but withdrew at the last moment (he was replaced by Leo Genn). Some film posters and advertising material from the time credit Price as appearing in the movie.

Quotes:

Lord George Jeffreys:You are all condemned, for crimes against king and kingdom, to hang... to dangle until you are but dead, to be then cut down still alive, to have your entrails drawn out and thrust into your own mouths, to be further hanged, then quartered like the carcasses of beef you are. You number five hundred, but even if you were five thousand, the execution of this sentence would be just before God Almighty... and may He have mercy upon your souls.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cuadecuc, vampir (1971)

Let the business of the court commence!

O.K., it's no Witchfinder General (but then again, what is?), but Jess Franco's The Bloody Judge is a well-written, well-acted, well-made historical-horror hybrid in the tradition of it's obvious model, Rowland V. Lee's The Tower of London. Franco stalwart Howard Vernon delivers a delicious homage to Karloff's Mord the Executioner from that film, and Christopher Lee is excellent, if somewhat insecurely emphatic and earnest, as the cruel, narrow, and hypocritical Judge Jeffries. The score, by Bruno Nicolai, is majestic and memorable, and the film as a whole is vividly entertaining. Having seen this film over 25 years ago, on television, heavily edited, under the title Night of the Blood Monster, I was amazed at how much of it had lain dormant in my memory, ready to be jostled into consciousness. Whole scenes played out in my mind as I re-watched them on my wide screen TV.

There are a few people, including the otherwise estimable Glenn Erickson, of the hugely insightful and informative DVD Savant site, who have claimed, based on the evidence of this film, that Jess Franco could not have "directed" the legendary Battle of Shrewsbury in Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight. First, lets get a few facts straight. It is well documented that Franco shot the second unit on Chimes at Midnight, which included much of the battle scene. This means that Franco shot a lot of coverage of the battle, working from a general outline given by Welles. Later, Welles took the miles of footage into the editing room and, many months later, emerged with the shattering sequence that appears in his picture. Franco, obviously, had nothing to do with this editing process, and, as far as I can tell, has never claimed otherwise. To compare the battle scene in The Bloody Judge with Welles' magnificent achievement is grotesquely unfair, as I am sure that Franco was allowed minutes rather than months to assemble The Bloody Judge for exhibition. Given the strictures under which he was working, Franco, his cast, and his collaborators should be commended for having produced a film with such a high level of professionalism. Welles, that most populist of auteurs, who once stated that he would rather watch paint dry than sit through an Antonioni film, and who responded to energy, verve, iconoclasm, and enthusiasm, had seen and appreciated those qualities an early Franco effort, which eventually led to the offer to work on Chimes. If Franco was good enough for Welles, he should be good enough for us. The two are closer than you think...