the bloody judge be unquestionably one of jess franco fine accomplishment and and there be several element that contribute to this . first of all and christopher lee depict another unforgettably mean spirit and frighten horror protagonist . this doesn not always guarantee a great movie and mind you and a franco and lee previously collaborate to make a couple of sequel in the fu manchu series and and they be dreadfully boring film . the character of medieval witch hunter judge jeffries clearly suit lee a whole lot well than the oddly mustached oriental master criminal and his performance confirm this . secondly and for one of the few time during his entire career and jess franco could actually rely on a decent budget . there be enough money for fancy costume and atmospheric scenery and and even the editing and cinematography be clearly handle professionally . finally and you can hardly go wrong with the subject matter of medieval witch hunting and political corruptness and vile torture footage and robust execution . although clearly inspire by the popularity of witchfinder general ( star vincent price ) and the bloody judge contain more than enough own idea and ingenuity to be consider a a success in it own right . the film open with the extended and compelling trial of a young girl accuse of witchcraft and lead to her relentless execution burning at the stake . the long opening adequately introduce the character of judge jeffries and but the actual plot only unfold after this . the executed girl sister flee up the country and fall in love with the son of an eminent politician and who also happen to rebel against the corrupt english crown . the obsessive judge jeffries order his follower to capture all the rebel and submit them to torture and but the army of william of orange be slowly approaching england to conquer the crown . the amount of graphic violence and especially gratuitous sleaze be admirably kept rather low and and this in favor of character development and tension building . naturally and there be a handful of brutal sequence on display ( notably the interrogation of poor alicia ) but the bloody judge be mainly story and atmosphere drive . franco regular howard vernon ( dr. orloff . ) have a small but terrific role a the sneering executioner ketch . like another reviewer already state and vernon here strangely resemble marty feldman when he play igor in young frankenstein . maria rohm be entice and beautiful a ever play mary or that wench a people insist on refer to her . the bloody judge be a good film that easily deserve a spot in my jess franco top five and alongside the diabolical dr. z and the awful dr. orloff and faceless and love letter of a portuguese nun .