Fantômas

Jean Tulard ,in the FRench Guide Des Films ,is right when he wrote that the first third of the movie was absolutely brilliant .Then it slowly but inexorably loses steam,and ends in a way you could hope for a "Fantomas 2" -which never came ,although there are many other volumes .

If you have read Souvestre/Allain's book,you will never praise enough the first thirty minutes ,faithful like a dog to these absorbing pages .In his silent saga,Feuillade passed over in silence all that takes place in the castle of the Marquise De Langrune.A mysterious warning: someone is going to get killed tonight;if you stay together,all of you will die.The scene when the guests go up the stairs ,holding a candelabra ,looks like a funeral ,and climaxes the movie.

The worst thing in Feuillade' s screenplay is that it never tells us about Charles Rambert's past:his family has a history of ,say,mental illness.Feuillade made him Juve's friend journalist Fandor .One could expect from Paul Fejos that he would explain the reasons why Charles became Fandor (why he changed his name) why Juve made him his right-hand man (There's something of Luke Skywalker/Dark Vador :the scene in the bedroom between the son and the father).But all that follows the Gothic scenes in the manor is disappointing,and the movie is all in all a failure .

People interested in the Fantomas saga should try and see Chabrol's miniseries:Helmut Berger was ideally cast as Fantomas .And avoid the Jean Marais/Louis De Funès farces which have nothing to do with the genuine Fantomas.

I learned of this film's existence while browsing the Internet after watching Louis Feuillade's Silent serial of 1913-14 and coming upon a website dedicated to this arch criminal! Given director Fejos' involvement, I was obviously intrigued by this version; unfortunately, it turned up on Italian TV while I was in Hollywood late last year - but, thankfully, it didn't take me long to catch up with it after that (hopefully, two other very interesting films I missed out on during that period - Abel Gance's THE END OF THE WORLD [1930] and G. W. Pabst's DON QUIXOTE [1933] - will likewise be re-run shortly)!

Anyway, while essentially dated, the film is great fun throughout. Still, even if the 'old dark house'-style first half is said to be quite faithtful to Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre's very first "Fantomas" novel, the film is not really typical of the criminal mastermind's exploits - especially since he only appears on a couple of occasions in his trademark skin-tight black outfit, and we're left guessing as to his true identity until practically the very end! That first part (with a thunderstorm for backdrop, secret passageways galore and even a robbery/strangling) is nicely shot, however, and plays like a French variant on THE BAT WHISPERS (1930); the remainder involves an automobile race, a murder in an operating theater, a particularly animated fistfight (with the opponents using all the ultra-volatile props and furniture they can get their hands on!) and is capped by a car explosion which allows the titular character to escape (apparently, this was intended as a continuing series but, alas, it never materialized - perhaps it was Marcel Allain's disapproval of the film which put paid to the idea!).

Unfortunately, Jean Galland is nothing like the Fantomas of the Feuillade serial (hiding under multiple disguises throughout) or Andre' Hunebelle's 1960s triptych, featuring Jean Marais sporting a silver mask: his dapper true identity is a disappointment and, even though his regular nemesis Inspector Juve is on hand for most of the proceedings, they only share one scene together! The supporting cast includes Gaston Modot as a suspicious-looking butler and an impossibly young Georges Rigaud (this was the ageing Euro-Cult favorite's film debut) as a cad who eventually turns heroic.

Despite the fact that I possess an almost no ability to speak French and I watched this without subtitles, I quite enjoyed myself.

Starting in an old dark house where the story of Fantomas is recounted by one of the guests this movie shoots through the old dark house cliches before zipping off into other areas of crime drama. Fantomas, a hooded fiend is wanted by the police, who despite seemingly powerless to catch him make a valiant effort to do so. You'll forgive the lack of details, but as I said I was hampered by not speaking this films language.

Despite my lack of understanding, this is a beautiful movie and seems to be light years ahead of what was being done in Hollywood at the same time. There are camera moves, shots from interesting angles and technical wizardry that few directors were attempting here in the States. The acting is great. I may not have understood much of what was being said but I didn't need to, the performances told all I needed.

And best of all the mystery is pretty good too. Sure some of it comes off as bit silly, but its fun, which is all that matters.

7 out of 10. (Rating subject to finding this with subtitles)