PHENOMENALITY: (1,3) *uncanny,* (2) *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *irony*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *sociological*
Though the silent adaptations of FANTOMAS are lauded by many critics, the most accessible movies
featuring the master criminal are these three French productions of
the sixties. All were directed by Andre Hunubelle, and all star Jean Marais
as this version of Fantomas, who still assumes many disguises but now
wears an expressionless blue face-mask much of the time. Marais also
plays the role of the evildoer’s most formidable foe, the
journalist Fandor, while Mylene Demongeot plays his stalwart
girlfriend Helene and Louis de Funes plays a very comical version of
Inspector Juve.
A Wikipedia article assets that these
movies were greatly affected by the then-current craze for superspy
movies. There are dollops of Bondian content here and there, but on
the whole the scripts don’t attempt to emulate the linear
storylines of the Bond films. Though the trilogy places more emphasis
on swashbuckling action than the silent films did, Hunubelle appears
to be following the lead of Feuillade in showing the action evolving
in a haphazard manner. I spotted a few srory-elements borrowed from
the first “Fantomas” book—particularly the villain’s
aristocratic mistress Lady Beltham-- but I tend to doubt that any of
the films are direct adaptations.
The first book gives the reporter
Fandor a personal reason for pursuing the super-crook, from whom the
journalist takes his nom de plume. FANTOMAS dispenses with this
conceit. Fandor, having heard of the criminal’s depredations, and
to stir things up, files a phony interview with the fiend in his
newspaper. The enraged Fantomas captures Fandor, rather incredibly
railing at the journalist for abusing “the public trust,” and
promising to force Fandor into a career of crime, in part by
impersonating him. The first film starts off strong and shows
Fantomas using some low-level gimmicks like the Bond villains, but
falls apart with an overly long chase scene.
FANTOMAS STRIKES AGAIN is the closest
thing in the series to a Bond film, since it’s the only one where
the villain eschews his more limited operations and seeks to rule the
world. He plans to usurp control of a scientist’s research, which
can be applied to massive brainwashing of citizens, though the
mind-control angle gets far less emphasis than the villain’s tricky
masquerades. But there are far more Bondian gimmicks, in that
Fantomas has a secret hideout in a volcano and a car that turns into
a plane. Even goofy Juve gets in on the superspy action, using a
cigar with a gun in it to good effect.
FANTOMAS VS. SCOTLAND YARD finds the
villain returning to relatively penny-ante schemes, trying to force a
cabal of rich businessmen to pay him tribute. This leads Fandor,
Helene and Juve to rendezvous at a Scottish castle, where various
spooky things happen. I frankly couldn’t follow whether or not the
villain’s plans had been foiled by the time he made his inevitable
escape.
Unlike the first novel and the silent
film-series, all of which I’d class as subcombative dramas, the
film series proves a little harder to pin down. All three films
definitely fall into the combative mode, with Marais playing a very
two-fisted reporter, even if his blue-masked foe lets his pawns do
most of his fighting. Yet despite some impressive spectacles, the
film never seems all that invested in the adventure-aspects. Juve is
constantly played for baggy-pants comedy—which proves amusing in
small portions—but the trilogy is not primarily a comedy either,
and it’s certainly doesn’t have a dramatic angle. My finding,
then, is that Hubesmith is playing all of this high adventure with
the kind of arch, removed humor characteristic of the irony.
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