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Fantmas (1964 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Fantmas' is a 1964 French comedy film starring Jean Marais as the arch villain Fantmas opposite Louis de Funs as the earnest but outclassed commissaire Paul Juve. In the film Juve teams up with journalist Fandor, also played by Marais, trying to catch Fantmas but never quite succeeding. It was France's answer, in 1964, to the James Bond phenomenon that swept the world at around the same time. It is the first film of a trilogy, and 'Fantmas' became extremely successful in Europe, the Soviet Union and Japan. It found success even in the United States, where fan websites exist to this day. Mylne Demongeot plays "Hlne Gurn", the girlfriend of "Jrme Fandor", Fantmas' arch enemy.
The general tone of the films is more light-hearted than the original 'Fantmas' novels. Commissaire Juve, as played by Louis de Funs, becomes a comedic character, much unlike his literary counterpart.
Plot
Fantmas is a man of many disguises. He uses 'maquillage' as a weapon. He can impersonate anyone using an array of masks and can create endless confusion by constantly changing his appearance. In the first episode of the series he is unhappy with Fandor, because of a fictitious interview the journalist wrote about him. He takes his revenge by abducting Fandor and threatening to kill him. He then uses his formidable makeup skills to commit a spectacular crime while disguised like Fandor. When commissaire Juve joins the chase, chameleon-like Fantmas promptly commits a crime wearing a mask looking like Juve. In the end Fandor, Juve and Fandor's girlfriend Hlne are all on the master criminal's trail, all to no avail as the man of a thousand masks finally manages to escape.
Cast
Release
The film was released in France on 4 November 1964 and in the United States on 5 April 1966.
The Fantmas trilogy
Reception
The film was the fifth most popular movie at the French box office in 1964. It had admissions of 4,492,419.
References
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