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.