During the 1960s he was a house director for Hammer Productions, where he made Paranoiac (1963; an early starring vehicle for Oliver Reed), The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968).

At school, a piece he wrote about films of the future won him a scholarship to the North West London Polytechnic in Kentish Town.

Eventually, he was assigned as cameraman and director to the Army Kinematograph Service at Wembley Studios, where he worked on many training films.

About this, Francis said: "Most of the time I was with various film units within the service, so I got quite a bit of experience in all sorts of jobs, including being a cameraman and editing and generally being a jack of all trades."

Francis served as a cameraman on six of The Archers' productions: The Small Back Room, The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), Gone to Earth, The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Twice Upon a Time, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

The two also worked together on Knave of Hearts and three films directed by John Huston: Moulin Rouge, Beat the Devil, and Moby Dick.

Francis was given a chance to lead the second unit of Moby Dick and shortly after became a full director of photography on A Hill in Korea (1956), which was shot in Portugal.

He subsequently worked on such prestige British dramas such as Room at the Top (1959), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), Sons and Lovers (1960), and The Innocents (1961), which he regarded as one of the best films he shot.

Cinematographer John Bailey also praised his work saying, "Then I saw Sons and Lovers, and I was knocked out by the poetry and visual beauty of the film.

Most of the films he made for Amicus were anthologies, including Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965), Torture Garden (1967) and Tales from the Crypt (1972).

He directed the little-seen Son of Dracula (1974), starring Harry Nilsson in the title role and Ringo Starr as Merlin the Magician.

This was principally shot at Wembley Studios in Panavision, using Kodak's Plus X stock — the only monochrome emulsion that met Francis's standards and was available in sufficient quantities.

So Francis shows Merrick in varying degrees of shadow for the first half-hour — until a nurse stumbles upon him, at last fully illuminated by a skylight, and screams.

During the 1980s he twice more collaborated with Lynch, on the science fiction film Dune (1984) and the drama The Straight Story (1999), which was shot on location in Iowa in 23 days.

With his work on the American Civil War drama Glory (1989), directed by Edward Zwick, he earned his second Academy Award.

David E. Williams of American Cinematographer wrote: "..Francis and director Edward Zwick studied period stills by famed photographer Matthew Brady and others.

The stark black-and-white images suggested a realistic approach devoid of filtration or sepia tones, relying instead on the credibility of the locations and production design to simulate the era.

Photographically, Francis rendered Glory simply and honestly, with much of the intimate drama revealed in the light and shadow playing upon soldiers' faces".

Francis provided the cinematography for the critical favorite The Man in the Moon as well as Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear (both 1991).

Francis again sought to utilize deep focus in order to keep the audience anxiously searching the frame for the psychopathic Max Cady played by Robert De Niro.

"[12]Francis' final feature film as a director of photography was a reunion with David Lynch the small intimate drama The Straight Story (1999).