PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *sociological*
Some online commentators made connections between this film-- which seems to have appeared in Italian theaters ahead of the two better-known Superargo films-- and the Mexican wrestler films that had been around since the late fifties. To me it seems unlikely that European countries would bother translating such low-budget flicks for their respective audiences when they had so much home-made product to distribute. Moreover, it's not like the idea of "wrestler-as-superhero" was so innovative that several separate entities could never separately come up with it.
Speculations on the film's genesis are far more interesting than the film itself, which often feels like a condensed serial with even less continuity between its "chapters" than a real condensation. Unlike most luchadores, Goldface maintains a separate identity from his gold-masked persona, so his mask serves the same function seen in standard comic books. The story is driven by the activities of a master villain, the Cobra, who goes around blowing up buildings to make the owners pay extortion. The villain has neither a costume nor any special weapons, while even the hero at least makes use of an explosive toy plane during one escapade.
The Cobra also attempts to abduct the hot daughter of another manufacturer, thus setting up romantic encounters between Olga (Eva Mirandi) and her heroic savior (Robert Anthony). There's even a cute moment when Olga jumps in the ring with Goldface to pretend-wrestle him.
Other commentary has been made regarding Goldface's sidekick Kotar, a muscular, bare-chested African who likes to eat peanuts. (He does don a costume like Goldface's for a few minutes.) Kotar is almost surely derived from the sidekick Lothar in the comic strip MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN. which had remained popular in Europe long after losing ground in the U.S. I don't necessarily think it's automatically racist to portray a Black character as a big dumb brute; all races include real people who are, or appear to be, nothing but dumb brutes. Kotar is definitely a nothing character, not given the comparative dignity of his model. However, both characters shared one basic appeal: that of showing Black males in a physically dominant position, getting to beat up scores of White bad guys. In short, there's nothing to this one-shot beyond a few lively fight scenes.
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