The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus is a very early Jess Franco film. It comes from a phase in which he worked in black and white productions. It's about the legend of a long dead, sadistic 17th century Baron who rises from a swamp to kill women. Naturally, in the present day, a series of murders ensues in the vicinity of his castle.This one seemed to stand out for two reasons for me. Firstly, it was nice to see a Franco production sporting such lush black and white cinematography. It really adds a layer of class to proceedings and Franco is not always a director who you would associate with good taste! Secondly, and perhaps more typically of this director, it contained an S&M scene that must be the raciest soft-core sex scene I have seen from a film this old – its full-on topless nudity and kinkiness all the way here and that was rather fun to behold in a film of this vintage. Aside from these two differentiating factors this is a somewhat plodding and overlong murder-mystery that most probably falls under the bracket of the German Krimi sub-genre. It stars Franco regular actor Howard Vernon who once again stands head and shoulders above everybody else from a thespian perspective. All-in-all, an interesting if flawed early Franco.

There seems to be a world of difference between the dozen or so films that Spanish "bad boy" director Jess Franco made from 1960-'67 and the almost 180 (!) he has made since. Those early films--including such titles as "The Awful Dr. Orloff," "The Sadistic Baron von Klaus," "Dr. Orloff's Monster" and (especially) "The Diabolical Dr. Z"--feature truly gorgeous B&W photography, Gothic compositions, interesting and understandable story lines, high production values and a NONreliance on the ol' zoom lens. His latter works, a slapdash mixed bag at best, to my experience, are a whole different game. "Von Klaus," one of Franco's releases from 1962, shows him at a point where his creative powers were burning very strongly. In the film, a series of sex murders has begun to once again afflict the village of Holfen, as has been the case for the last 500 years. Centuries ago, Baron von Klaus had been discovered to be the maniac killer, and his spirit is said to sporadically inhabit the bodies of his descendants. So is the modern-day baron (played by Howard Vernon; Dr. Orloff himself) responsible, or possibly his nephew, a young pianist named Ludwig (Hugo Blanco, the titular star of 1964's "Dr. Orloff's Monster"), or is it perhaps someone else? That's what no-nonsense police inspector Borowsky (Georges Rollin) and a reporter from "Maidens and Murderers" magazine (Fernando Delgado) endeavor to find out, in Franco's very entertaining and impressive film. The picture boasts a handful of memorable and bravura sequences: Ludwig's fiancée's nighttime awakening to an ominously ticking clock; the midnight attack on bar owner Lida in her bedroom, and the subsequent chase, down cobblestoned streets, after the killer; the matter-of-fact revelation of the psycho's identity; and the startling rape and torture scene that comes near the film's end. This scene, replete with nudity, bondage, whipping and red-hot pokers, and accompanied by some bizarre musique concrete courtesy of Daniel White, must have been truly shocking back in '62, especially considering the fact that the film's previous murders are quite tame and bloodless by comparison. In all, a well-done if at times plodding horror outing, put way over the top by Franco's imaginative direction and exceptionally fine B&W cinematography. Francophiles who are only familiar with the director's later, cheezier efforts will certainly be stunned.

Too often is the prolific Spanish Exploitation-deity Jess Franco dismissed as a producer of nothing but sleazy trash. Fact is that the man's impressive repertoire of over 190 films, especially his earlier work, includes several creepy, elegant and downright brilliant films, such as "Gritos En La Noche" ("The Awful Dr. Orloff", 1962) and "Miss Muerte" ("The Diabolical Dr. Z.", 1966), just to name the two most outstanding examples. While "La Mano De Un Hombre Muerto" aka. "The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus" of 1962 is not nearly as great as the aforementioned two film, it is yet another good example for the stylish creepiness of Franco's early Horror films, and the man's well-deserved status as a pioneer of European Exploitation cinema."The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus" is set in a German village the residents of which are still haunted by its past. Once, their ancestors had suffered from the evil deeds of a sadistic Baron, who terrorized the area. When a young girl gets brutally murdered, the first suspect is the Baron's descendant (Howard Vernon), who happens to be the spitting image of his murderous ancestor...Franco creates a morbid and creepy atmosphere by employing the typically elegant black-and-white cinematography, eerie settings and macabre set-pieces of his early films. Most of the film is set in gloomy alleys, a dark forest, Gothic castles, tombs and other eerie places. Franco also delivers pioneering Sleaze - the film features female nudity as well as sadistic sexual perversions, which was not exactly the norm in 1962. Franco once again employs the great Howard Vernon, the most regular leading-man of his early films and a true master of sinister roles. The film drags a tiny bit in the middle, but the second half is truly intense. Overall, Franco's second Horror film is not as essential as the masterpiece "The Awful Dr. Orloff", which was released shortly before, but definitely a very good Horror film and early Euro-Exploitation effort that my fellow Franco-fans can not afford to miss. 7.5/10.

Every one knows Franco is off his rocker. But this film is from a period where it wasn't so abundantly clear from looking at the screen.For those that think Franco is a hack film maker with all the sleazy zooms of his later films, see this and you'll discover that he does that because he likes it, not because he doesn't know how to do anything else.This one is made very nicely. It's shot in black and white holds up very well today, comparing favourably with many other films from this era and genre. Plot wise it's a serial killer movie, but it has that real timeless feel and atmosphere that places it firmly in the horror category.The understated performance from Franco regular Howard Vernon is outstanding, but all the cast are great. I'm not sure what the original language is, probably Spanish, I've seen it in English and French and although they're both acceptable, it's a shame not to hear the real actors voices (although Vernon probably dubbed himself).It's also amazingly daring for 1962, in fact way too daring for its day and the dungeon scene was removed by bastard censors. But it's back now and it's great, if you like that sort of thing of course, which, as you're reading a review of a Franco film, you do. I love this film.