Fantômas se déchaîne (1965)

When Professor Marchand, a famous scientist, mysteriously disappears, the commissioner, Juve, immediately suspects Fantomas.

Director:

André Hunebelle

Writers:

Pierre Souvestre (novels), Marcel Allain (novels),

Stars:

Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Marais	...	Fantômas / Fandor / Professeur Lefèvre
Louis de Funès	...	Commissaire Juve
Mylène Demongeot	...	Hélène
Jacques Dynam	...	Bertrand
Robert Dalban	...	Le rédacteur du 'Point du Jour'
Albert Dagnant	...	Professeur Marchard
Christian Toma	...	Inspecteur
Michel Duplaix	...	Un inspecteur
Olivier De Funès	...	Michou
Florence Blot	...	La dame
Robert Le Béal	...	Le ministre
Pietro Tordi	...	Le président de l'Assemblée
Henri Attal	...	Le garde de Fantômas (as Henri Atal)
Dominique Zardi	...	Homme de main
Jacques Marin	...	L'agent de police ferroviaire

Storyline

Quand le professeur Marchand, un célèbre scientifique, disparaît mystérieusement, le commissaire Juve soupçonne tout de suite Fantomas. Entre temps le journaliste Fandor se déguise en Léfèvre, assistant de Marchand, et il est enlevé par Fantomas. Mais également le commissaire Juve tombe dans le piège pendant que Fantomas, lui aussi, se déguise en Léfevre et ils se retrouvent tous à Rome à un congrès scientifique. Fantomas aura le dessus et les intéressés se retrouveront dans son antre, prisonniers et, semble-t-il, sans aucune possibilité d'échapper à leur destin, accompagnés par la musique d'un orgue joué par Fantomas.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | journalist | personality change | masquerade | big family | 

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Taglines:

Les Nouvelles Aventures de Fantomas

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 December 1965 (France)

Also Known As:

Fantomas Strikes Back

Filming Locations:

Paris Studios Cinéma, Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (SNEG), P.A.C., Da Ma Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The parachute sequence at the end of the movie was the first of its kind filmed in a big screen format. Photography was done in free fall by camera operator Jean-Jacques Dubourg. Interestingly enough, the opening sequence of the James Bond movie Moonraker is in many regards very similar to this scene, which is all the more worth mentioning as the De Funès / Marais Fantômas series is widely regarded as a Bond spoof.

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Goofs

The character (played by Jacques Dynam) of the main lieutenant of Comissaire Juve changes name between "Fantômas" (1964) - where he's called Michel, and "Fantômas se déchaîne" (1965) - where he's going by the first name Bertrand.

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Connections

Spoofed in Taxi 2 (2000)

User Reviews

FANTOMAS STRIKES BACK (Andre' Hunebelle, 1965) **1/2

This one is actually superior to the first installment in the series (see above): the plot revolves around a couple of scientists who have each been working on a brain-washing device(!) and who had been hoping to unite their forces in order to perfect it - which places it, more or less, into the realm of science fiction; needless to say, Fantomas sees this as a good way to bring about world-domination (with him as its ruler) and promptly kidnaps them!

The heroic reporter couple and the comic police duo are back on the criminal's trail; however, this time around it's not only Fantomas who takes up various disguises to carry out his nefarious schemes (though the mask worn by the actor is too obvious and won't fool any audience member!) but also the other Jean Marais and De Funes/Juve!; another novelty is the more personal nature of the relationship between the Mylene Demongeot character and Marais/Fantomas: at one point, she's herself kidnapped and one almost expects their relationship to be developed into something approximating to a parallel romance, but it's never taken that far and we're soon back to more familiar (and less challenging) ground!

The finale takes place in Fantomas' volcanic hide-out; interestingly, footage from Haroun Tazieff's LES RENDEZ-VOUS DU DIABLE (1958) - a documentary about volcanic eruptions - was interspersed into the actual film for authenticity's sake...before it reverts to fancy, with the master criminal's racing-car converted instantaneously into a jet and taking flight!!