IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

With the success of the James Bond films Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963), movie studios around the world were on the lookout for an action hero with series potential.  As their answer to James Bond, France’s Gaumont Studios turned not to a popular literary hero, but instead to the fictional super-villain Fantômas, a character that first premiered in a series of 33 pulp novels from 1912 to 1913.  A successful trilogy of films resulted, ranging from 1964 to 1967.

To be more precise, the trilogy was successful in Europe.  The United States was a different story.  The first film in the series received a belated release in the United States two years after its French premiere and was more or less ignored by American moviegoers.  As a result, the sequels never received an American theatrical or home video release until now.  Happily, on April 30th, Kino Lorber Studio Classics will give American audiences their first look at the complete trilogy with the release of the Blu-ray set, Fantomas: Three Film Collection (Fantomas / Fantomas Unleashed / Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard).  I hope cult film fans take the opportunity to savor the pleasures of this long-unavailable action/crime/comedy trilogy, because it is an absolute blast.

Here’s an overview of what Fantômas newbies have in store:

FANTÔMAS (1964)

In Fantômas (1964), the first film in the series, a criminal mastermind has been carrying out a rash of jewel robberies around Paris, while taunting the over-matched police Commissaire Juve (Louis de Funès) by leaving a calling card with the signature “Fantômas.”  Journalist Jérôme Fandor (Jean Marais), doubts that a single criminal could have pulled off the robberies, so he publishes a phony interview with the supposedly imaginary mastermind, including faked photographs taken by his girlfriend Hélène (the lovely Mylène Demongeot).  Unfortunately for Fandor, Fantômas (also played by Marias) is all too real and is understandably outraged at being falsely represented in the newspaper article.  The super-villain, who wears a mask at all times to avoid detection, kidnaps the journalist and discredits him by very publicly staging another robbery while wearing a mask made of “imitation skin” to disguise himself as Fandor.  Can Fandor escape and unmask the slippery Fantômas?  Will Commissaire Juve get his man?  And will Hélène get her man?  They will certainly try, while enduring a number of chases and death-defying stunts that might even make 007 consider getting into another line of work.

While a series of silent film adaptations of Fantômas produced from 1913-1914 by Les Vampires director Louis Feuillade had been played completely straight, the Sixties series by director André Hunebelle injected comedy into the mix, mainly through the casting of stage and movie comedian Louis de Funès as Commissaire Juve.  In truth, de Funès was given little funny to say or do.  However, his training as a reactive comedian in stage farces was so strong, that he made the most of every expression and bit of physical business.  It is largely due to the fact that de Funès was so fun to watch that the Fantômas series of the Sixties succeeded.  I have to wonder if the decision to make the Commissaire more comedic had something to do with the popularity of The Pink Panther, which was released the year before the first film in this trilogy premiered.  While the character of Juve is portrayed as more competent than Clouseau, I could easily imagine the producers determining that they might double the chances of success if they appropriated elements from two popular films rather than one.

In addition to hiring de Funès when the more established comedian Bourvil was unavailable, the producers doubled down on the comedic elements of the film by camping up the criminal mastermind Fantômas.  The villain in Hunebelle’s films was given a blue, rubber mask (which made him look like a devious eraser) and a secret lair outfitted with nonsensical, scientific gadgets.  While the character in the Sixties films is still capable of torture and murder, it is impossible to take him seriously when his every entrance is scored with wailing organ music.  Fans of the original pulp novels and silent adaptations will likely be disgusted with the lightness with which the character is presented.  However, I found it all to be in good fun, with much the same atmosphere of the Patrick Macnee-led Avengers series.

Jean Marais, best remembered as the Prince/Beast in Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête, 1946), acquits himself well in the dual role of villain Fantômas and hero Fandor.  He is especially impressive in performing most of his own stunts, including some death-defying work atop a crane and dangling from a ladder below a moving helicopter.  It is hard to believe that the producers would let their star take such risks, but in the pre-CGI world, there is no mistaking that it really is Marais taking his life into his own hands.

It must be said that at the age of fifty (and looking it), Jean Marais is a bit long in the tooth to play the inexperienced journalist/romantic lead.  His hatchet-faced features are also too distinctive to make Fantômas’ non-Fandor disguises very believable.  Apart from the parts of the film where Louis de Funès portrays Fantômas in the disguise of Commissaire Juve, Fantômas’ disguises just look like Jean Marais with a putty nose and a false mustache.  It probably would have been better if Marais had only played Fantômas behind the blue mask and let other actors portray the disguised character, but now I’m probably taking the whole thing way too seriously myself.

Mylène Demongeot rounds out the main trio as Fandor’s faithful girlfriend Hélène.  She is lovely and engaging whenever she is on screen, but, unfortunately, she is underused in the first film.  At least, in a refreshing change of pace from most action films of the time, the female lead is allowed to come to the rescue of the male lead just as often as she is rescued herself.

While fans of the literary character of Fantômas may bemoan the comedic direction that Gaumont took with this series, the first film in the trilogy is a fast-paced, lively romp.  If I had any complaint, it was that the film simply comes to an end, rather than having a true ending.  However, since two sequels, with the same director and cast, immediately followed this initial outing, there was still plenty of running time left to bring the story to a suitable conclusion.

FANTÔMAS UNLEASHED (a.k.a. FANTÔMAS SE DÉCHAÎNE; 1964)

In my opinion, the first sequel is the best of the Fantômas series; and it features even greater ties to both James Bond and The Pink Panther.  Early in Fantômas Unleashed, Commissaire Juve (de Funès) mentions 007 directly, when discussing his inspiration for inventing a series of Q-Branch-like gadgets to use in his battles against Fantômas. Then, a later sequence in the film is set at a masquerade party, which seems to be a direct lift from Blake Edwards’ first Panther film. Fantômas Unleashed is an expertly blended cocktail of comedy and action. Even de Funès character is a perfect mixture of hero and comic relief. Commissaire Juve has the arrogance and bluster of Clouseau, but at the same time, he is actually good at his job; and his inventions, which are used for comedic effect when initially demonstrated, prove to be quite useful in the field. One other way in which this sequel excels over the original is that the beautiful and talented actress Mylène Demongeot, who plays Fandor’s girlfriend Hélène in all three films, figures more prominently in the plot, and the movie is better for her increased contribution.

FANTÔMAS VS. SCOTLAND YARD (a.k.a. FANTÔMAS CONTRE SCOTLAND YARD; 1967)

The Fantômas series came to an end with this entry, which sends Fandor, Juve, and Hélène to Scotland to foil the villain’s latest plot.  At this point, Louis de Funès was a bigger star than Jean Marais. As a result, Fantômas vs. Scotland Yard focuses too heavily on comedic misadventures, at the expense of the action.  This didn’t sit well with Marais, who had a healthy ego.  Marais’ dislike of de Funès becomes more apparent in this outing, to the extent that they are often filmed separately, even when they are supposed to be in the same room.  Unfortunately, the trilogy ends with a whimper, rather than a bang. Still, the “devious eraser” has a few more tricks up his sleeve in this outing.  Fantômas conducts a protection racket on a grand scale, extorting a tax from the rich and criminal classes in order not to murder them.  While the ingredients in the cocktail feel a bit off in this outing, if you are a completist like me, you’ll want to see the series through to the end.

Fantômas (1964): France/C-104m./Dir: André Hunebelle/Wr: Jean Halain, Pierre Foucaud, Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain/Cast: Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Jacques Dynam, Robert Dalban, Marie-Hélène Arnaud

Fantômas Unleashed (1965): France/C-99m./Dir: André Hunebelle/Wr: Jean Halain, Pierre Foucaud, Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain/Cast: Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Jacques Dynam, Robert Dalban, Albert Dagnant, Olivier de Funès

Fantômas vs. Scotland Yard (1967): France/C-101m./Dir: André Hunebelle/Wr: Jean Halain, Pierre Foucaud, Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain/Cast: Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Françoise Christophe, Jean-Roger Caussimon, Jacques Dynam, Robert Dalban

For Fans of: Fans of semi-comic actioners of the Sixties, such as Our Man Flint (1966), Modesty Blaise (1966), and Danger: Diabolik (1968) will likely enjoy director André Hunebelle’s Fantômas series.

Video: The Fantômas films have been released on Blu-ray in Europe multiple times, and even though most of those discs were Region Free, they did not all include English subtitles.  Happily, English-speaking audiences no longer have to worry about determining which release to purchase, because Kino Lorber Studion Classics will release the Blu-ray set Fantomas: Three Film Collection (Fantomas / Fantomas Unleashed / Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard) on April 30th.  The three films are presented on two discs — Fantômas (1964) with bonus content on the first disc and the sequels without extra features on the second disc.  The presentation of the films is sharp and free of debris, but some scenes look more colorful and sharper than others.  Having previously viewed the French Blu-ray releases, I can state that any variants in quality from scene to scene are inherent to the original films or to the state that the film elements are in today.  The picture quality on the Kino Lober discs is equivalent to the French Blu-ray releases, and they may, in fact, be a tad sharper.  Overall, it is an excellent presentation of the trilogy.

The first disc includes the following special features:

• A new audio commentary by film historian and self-proclaimed Fantômas fanatic Tim Lucas.  While only the first film contains a commentary, Lucas does an entertaining and thorough job of covering the entire series.  I recommend you give it a listen (after viewing the films to avoid any spoilers).
• Trailers for Fantomas, Fantomas Unleashed, Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard, OSS 117 Is Unleashed, OSS 117: Panic in Bangkok, and OSS 117: Mission For a Killer

Streaming: Amazon Prime has offered a streaming version of Fantômas (1964) in the past, but it is not available at the time this review was written.  If you live in the U.S., physical media is currently the only option if you want to view these films.

More to Explore: For more French James Bond-like action, Kino Lorber Studio Classics also released the box set OSS 117: Five Film Collection (OSS 117 Is Unleashed / OSS 117: Panic in Bangkok / OSS 117: Mission For a Killer / OSS 117: Mission to Tokyo / OSS 117: Double Agent), with five films from the French Bond knockoff series made in 1963 to 1968. If you are curious to see more of the work of Louis de Funès (and I’d recommend it), you will have to order French Region-Free discs, unless Kino Lorber decides to release more of his work stateside. I’d suggest starting with the film version of the stage farce Oscar (1967), which I reviewed previously here. Of course, you may also be curious about the five Fantomas films that were produced during the silent era.  They have been collected in a Blu-ray box set from Kino Lorber.

Trivia: While the leading actors and director returned for two sequels, it couldn’t have been the happiest of working conditions.  In her memoirs, Mylène Demongeot revealed that Jean Marais was jealous of Louis de Funès new-found fame (after starring in the popular comedy Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez) and that the aging lead was standoffish on the set.  There were plans (and even a completed script) for a fourth film, but Jean Marais was getting a bit too old to handle the required action scenes and he was fed up playing second fiddle to a comedian.

For more info: Antipodes Press has reprinted several of the original Fantômas novels, beginning with Fantomas: Being the First of the Series of the Fantomas Detective Tales (Volume 1) by Marcel Allain & Pierre Souvestre.  For more information on the Fantômas films, director, and stars, consult the excellent reference website filmsdefrance.com.