Fantômas se déchaîne (1965)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

André Hunebelle

Writers:

Pierre Souvestre (novels) &
Marcel Allain (novels) ...

Release Date:

8 December 1965 (France)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy

Tagline:

Les Nouvelles Aventures de Fantomas

Plot:

Quand le professeur Marchand, un célèbre scientifique, disparaît mystérieusement, le commissaire Juve soupçonne tout de suite Fantomas...

Plot Keywords:

Taxi | Mask | Secret Headquarters | Journalist | News Photographer

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Fantômas contre Interpol (France) (working title)
Fantômas revient (France) (working title)
Fantomas Strikes Back
Fantomas minaccia il mondo (Italy)
The Vengeance of Fantomas

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (SNEG)

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Aniskin i Fantomas (1974) (TV)

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!!