Kriminal

After escaping a hanging for stealing the British Royal Crown, mysterious super-thief Kriminal (Glenn Saxson) sets his sights on some jewels being taken from London to Istanbul. Everything goes smoothly until he subdues the courier (Helga Liné) and finds out her jewel box is empty. He figures out that the owners were looking to swindle the insurance company, so he heads to Turkey to blackmail them and also steal the real jewels if at all possible. Close on his heels is Inspector Milton (Andrea Bosic).

Oh man, Umberto Lenzi adapting a popular Italian comic character who dresses like a skeleton? Filmed widescreen in England and Istanbul? This has to rock, right? Uh, no. While watching this I realized around the one hour mark that I'd heard a lot of talk about diamonds, but very little actual action. It isn't until the 70 minute mark that the plan goes into effect and is laughable at best, relying on a bank actually letting a guy enter their safe deposit box vault with his head wrapped in bandages. What I was hoping would be in the vein of DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968) ended up being more along the lines of very dry Bond knockoff. One problem is there is very little action that one would expect. A car chase? Hell, a foot chase? Nope. The Kriminal costume is very cool, but he only wears it three times throughout the movie and never during actual robberies, just when he likes to creep up on women. This is the film's other major problem as Kriminal is a pretty mean character, even for an anti-hero. I figure the filmmakers want you to root for him, but it is hard when he slaps women around and tries to blow up his ex-wife. Saxson is handsome as the lead, looking a bit like Richard Harrison. He returned in the sequel THE MASK OF KRIMINAL (1968) a couple of years later.

Watchable entry in the super-criminal subgenre even if it is a far cry from Danger: Diabolik. This film begins with Kriminal escaping execution and quickly planning a diamond heist. Since the diamonds have already been stolen, Kriminal is essentially swindling criminals. This doesn't necessarily make him a good guy, what with trying to blow up his ex-wife who turned stool pigeon. Still, Kriminal has charm. . . and a nifty skeleton suit for nocturnal adventures. An all black suit might have been more practical for blending into the darkness but Kriminal is anything if stylish. The film itself could have used more style. Umberto Lenzi's direction is merely serviceable, lacking the thrills of some of the director's 70's crime movies. On the plus side, the film offers bright cinematography and appealing eye candy provided by Helga Line and Mary Arden (Blood and Black Lace).

Kriminal is not a film that stays long in the memory but offers a pleasant enough lazy afternoon viewing.

Umberto Lenzi is best known for his gory zombie flicks, Giallo's and Italian Cop movies; but there are a few gems from other genres dotted around his filmography, and Kriminal is definitely one of the best of them! The film is based on a comic book and follows the fortunes of a 'cartoon' criminal out to steal whatever he can. The obvious film to compare this to would be Mario Bava's pulp fiction thriller 'Diabolik', although this one is (slightly) more grounded in reality and while it doesn't have the comic book grandeur of Bava's later effort; all in all, I wouldn't hesitate to call Kriminal a better film. Glenn Saxson takes the lead role as 'Kriminal' - a notorious yet incognito thief who wears a skeleton suit and somehow manages to get the better of the police every time they try to stop him from stealing. The plot starts properly when an opportunity to steal a large amount of diamonds from a safe deposit box in Instanbul presents itself. Kriminal masterminds a plot to liberate the jewels; but first has to worm his way into several people's affections.

The film has a great comic book style and Umberto Lenzi effortlessly manages to give the film a real stylish verve that benefits the plot immensely. Glenn Saxson might not be a great actor, but he fits the bill as the title character and actually looks like he might be a drawing from a comic book himself! The film features Kriminal wearing a suit painted as a skeleton; although unfortunately this part of the film doesn't come off as being as cool as it could have been; but it does give the film an extra interesting element. There are plenty of characters to move the plot along, and while the plotting does get a little confusing at times; it's generally interesting enough. Lenzi manages some really beautiful locations and he definitely gets the best out of 'high society' in Istanbul. There are also a number of lovely ladies on display, which is always a bonus too! There's no real point to the film; but the ending is good enough and the film finishes in a 'fun' way. Overall, I'm not surprised that this isn't one of Lenzi's better known films - but it's certainly not a bad one and I highly recommend seeing it...if you can find it!

Fun caper which anticipated Mario Bava's DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968) - which I rewatched the very next day via Paramount's SE DVD - but isn't nearly as stylish! Glenn Saxson is a wooden lead (I should be watching him again soon in a Spaghetti Western, DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST [1966]), though Helga Line' - in a dual role! - is an attractive foil. Raymond Full's score is infectious and appropriately playful, while Angelo Lotti's pleasing cinematography takes in picture-postcard views of London, Madrid and Istanbul.

Still, even though Kriminal's skeletal costume may work on paper (the film originated as a comic-strip), it feels rather silly when displayed on the screen - and, ultimately, has been infrequently used! The film, however, creates some pretty exciting set-pieces (including the ruse of exchanged identity towards the end) and even concludes with a nice twist, opening the way for an eventual sequel - which arrived in the form of IL MARCHIO DI KRIMINAL (1968)...

Kriminal, a famous English thief, whose actual identity nobody knows, steals some diamonds of Lady Gold, a rich English woman. While he is leaving England by train, the police tries to capture him and he loses the diamonds jumping out of the train. After some hours walking he meets a beautiful woman who gets him a passage with her car. But she is a policewoman… This is a boring Italian film inspired to a famous comic strip called precisely "Kriminal". I think it is more interesting than the film although the film is rather faithful as for the characters and Kriminal's costume is the same of the comic strip.

Filmed in England and in Turkey it has a good soundtrack even if it is very similar to "Flashman" another Italian B action film. Among these kind of films it is worth remembering "Diabolik" that is the best in my opinion. Kriminal has original dialogues some in Italian and some in English then dubbed for the Italian market. By the way Glenn Saxon who plays Kriminal, is a Holland actor overall famous in Italy for some Italian westerns. In the role of a police superintendent we recognize Franco Fantasia who is a good Italian stuntman.