Spectacle Theater is proud to present two early crime films by the prolific Spanish filmmaker, Jesús Franco. Hailed as “The King of Eurocult”, these two post-noir experiments display Franco’s rigorous style and deliberate pacing in a more contained and understated canvas, presented in a new HD digitization from the original camera negative.
Special thanks to AGFA and Severin Films.
DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES (LA MUERTE SILBA UN BLUES)
dir. Jesús Franco, 1962
Spain. 81 min.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
FRIDAY, APRIL 7 – 10 PM
MONDAY, APRIL 10 – 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 23 – 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26 – 10 PM
Set in New-Orleans but filmed in Spain, DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES was Jess Franco’s sixth feature film which served as an early love letter to jazz music (Jess cameos as a sax player and composes the score) and American film noir. Crammed with nightclubs and double-crossers, DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES is stitched together by a jazzy number called Blues del Tejado, performed as motif and entangled with pulpy violence and chiaroscuro cinematography.
This early crime film, which remains an oddity for Jess Franco-philes, is also notable as the first film to use the “Al Pereira” character who would later pop up in many Franco films over the following decade.
RIFIFI IN THE CITY (RIFIFI EN LA CIUDAD)
dir. Jesús Franco, 1963
Spain. 104 min.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
SUNDAY, APRIL 2 – 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, APRIL 8 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 18 – 10 PM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26 – 7:30 PM
RIFIFI IN THE CITY is a hybrid film-noir/pre-giallo thriller which functions as an indictment of political corruption. Franco’s poetic imagery is combined with a unique sense of melancholic moodiness making a proper companion piece to DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES while also sharing a nightclub named, The Stardust.
Starring Jean Servais, of Rififi fame, the film was lauded by Orson Welles who later hired Franco as an assistant on CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT. With its subtle blend of genres, RIFIFI IN THE CITY offers a nuanced stylistic exploration of kleptocracy and remains criminally unseen.