Review: The Bloody Judge

Set in England in the late 1600s (but shot in lovely Portugal), Christopher Lee stars as the brutal Judge Jeffries (a real historical figure), the tyrannical Lord Chancellor who dishes out the harshest and cruellest punishments and is obsessed with power. He sentences poor Alicia (Margaret Lee) to death for the crime of witchcraft, whilst also having an eye for her sister Mary (Maria Rohm, AKA Mrs. Harry Alan Towers). The latter is currently being courted by boring Harry (Hans Hess), the son of Lord Wessex (Leo Genn), who is the Earl of the region. Harry has gotten in league with a band of rebels hoping to put a stop to tyrannical rulers like Jeffries, though his more political father cautions him against doing anything rash. Howard Vernon and Milo Quesada play a couple of thorough nasties, the former an executioner, the latter is Judge Jeffries’ chief henchman.

 

One of several films the late, great Christopher Lee made for infamous Spanish-born exploitation director Jesus Franco and writer/producer Harry Alan Towers, wherein he claims past goodwill and friendly relations (probably with Mr. Towers) were used to swindle him into appearing in films surrounded by sexual content that wasn’t initially in the script. I’m not going to say whether I believe Mr. Lee had a legit gripe or not, but I will say that this 1970 film was neither the first nor last time Lee would work for Towers and/or Franco (the rather serious attempt “Count Dracula”, and the kinky “Eugenie” immediately spring to mind). I’ll also say that this is clearly one of Mr. Franco’s best films that I’ve seen, if not getting to the heights of the immortal “Vampyros Lesbos”.

 

Telling a rather similar tale to “Witchfinder General”, “Mark of the Devil”, “Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun”, and “The Sinful Nuns of St. Valentine”, this is another film about torture and cruelty under the guise of religious righteousness. It’s handsomely mounted, though from the films I’ve seen, that’s not exactly out of the ordinary for Franco. What is out of the ordinary here is the rock-solid cast he’s been afforded here, in addition to seemingly being afforded enough of a budget to film a couple of decent battle scenes. It results in the best-acted Franco film I’ve ever seen. In addition to Mr. Lee, we’ve got such respected names as Maria Schell and Leo Genn to go along with Franco regulars Margaret Lee (no relation), Maria Rohm, and Howard Vernon. It’s a pretty impressive line-up, though I was rather surprised to find Ms. Schell in such exploitation surrounds and Franco doesn’t give her a damn thing to do. It’s like she’s waiting in the wings for someone to call her onto the stage. Either that or she’s acting in her own film. Either way, the lovely veteran actress deserved better. Much better served are Misters Lee, Genn, and Vernon who steal their every scene, as well as an excellent turn by an actor named Milo Quesada. Particularly in the first third, Swiss-born character actor Vernon is especially outstanding as the sadistic, black-clad executioner. He takes quite a long absence in the middle of the film, but when on screen he’s brilliantly nasty. As for the grim-faced Lee, his Judge Jeffries is pure black-hearted ruthlessness from moment one. Jeffries has a little Count Richelieu in him, if you ask me but less lip-smacking evil and more humourless and cold-heartedness. It might be a tad shouty for some, but I appreciated Lee’s deadly serious, sinister turn here. Having said that, I get the feeling that he’s actually having a whale of a time playing the very angry, impatient and cruel Jeffries. Sharing top acting honours with Lee is probably Leo Genn. Cast as the film’s one righteous authority figure he’s in very fine form taking Lee’s Judge Jeffries head on. As for Mr. Quesada, once Vernon’s character exits for a long stretch, he’s on hand to carry on as the vile, disfigured Satchel.

 

The violence and torture, when we get it, is certainly nasty and brutal. However, it’s not on the extreme level of “Mark of the Devil”, which was completely uncompromising. You’re kind of surprised, because it’s the very naughty Jess Franco at the helm. Even from a sexual point of view, Franco isn’t at his naughtiest here. The closest we get is the very Franco-esque scene where Maria Rohm is forced to lick the blood-soaked body of another girl who doesn’t seem to rather mind it, if you know what I mean. It’s the kind of scene Franco fans come to his films for, and whatever you make of it…it sure is something. It’s also one of a couple of scenes not dubbed into English, spliced back into the film for its DVD release from the uncut version of the film. Note that Mr. Lee, although supposedly present for the scene, isn’t actually visibly present on camera during this particular scene whenever there’s any sex or nudity happening. So Lee might’ve actually had a legit gripe this time I think, naïve as he may have been.

 

Jess Franco making a rock-solid historical drama? It’s actually pretty damn true, though having already seen the similar (and better) “Witchfinder General” and “Mark of the Devil” the air of familiarity did get to me a tad. It’s also not as complex or graphic as those two films were. Still, it’s one of Franco’s more mainstream and accomplished films, with several fine performances. Definitely worth a look, though it won’t be to all tastes given the grim subject matter (and the director’s fondness for the zoom lens).

 

Rating: B-