Episode 21: Jess Franco’s Red Lips with John Dickson

Chicago film programmer John Dickson, from the Oscarbate podcast and film collective, joined me for another wild discussion of Jess Franco’s spy/detective films. This time we’re talking about most of the movies in his Red Lips series, focusing on two female friends (and later, lovers), who are imaginative young strippers and/or cabaret performers who moonlight as private detectives, spies, vigilantes, Interpol informants, and so on. This episode covers Tio Jess’s debut film, We Are 18 Years Old (1959), which is the origin of the character types even if it isn’t officially in the series, plus Red Lips (1960), Two Undercover Angels (1969), Kiss Me Monster (1969), Les emmerdeuses (1976), and Two Female Spies with Flowered Panties (1980). And if you’re in NYC from July 12-16, John and Will from Oscarbate are presenting a slew of Franco screenings, including a marathon at Spectacle Theater, a double feature of the 4K restorations of Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy, Venus in Furs on 35mm, and Lorna: The Exorcist on 35mm. Find links to all the events and tickets here.