L'invincibile Superman (1968)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Paolo Bianchini

Writers:

Julio Buchs (screenplay)
Julio Buchs (story)

Release Date:

26 January 1968 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

A masked wrestler/superhero goes up against a madman and his army of robots. |

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Kidnapping | Indian | Brainwashing | Castle

Cast

Giovanni Cianfriglia	...	Superargo (as Ken Wood)
Guy Madison	...	Prof. Wendland
Luisa Baratto	...	Gloria Devon (as Liz Barrett)
Diana Lorys
Aldo Sambrell
Tomás Blanco	...	Pao-Ki
Sergio Testori
Valerio Tordi
Aldo Bufi Landi
Valentino Macchi

Also Known As:

Il re dei criminali (Italy) (alternative title)
Superargo (UK)
Superargo and the Faceless Giants
Superargo e i giganti senza volto (Italy) (working title)
Superargo the Giant
Superargo, el gigante (Spain)
The King of Criminals

Runtime:

Italy:102 min | Spain:95 min | UK:87 min (video)

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:G | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Company:

G.V. Cinematografica

Movie Connections:

Edited into Operation: Secret Agents, Spies & Thighs (2007) (V)

Italian Santo fights robotized athletes

It's a shame when reviewers, like the other one reviewing this film here, can't provide you with anything but weak metaphors and banal banter.

Superargo is an ex-wrestler. He quit the sport in the first film, Superargo vs. Diabolicus, after accidentally killing an opponent. In this sequel, Superargo has altered his mask some but still keeps the bulletproof red tights.

He's also taken up studies in Eastern mysticism, with the aid of his new sidekick, Kamir (Aldo Sambrell who later went on to star in many Spaghetti Westerns and had the main role opposite Burt Reynolds in 'Navajo Joe' two years prior).

There had been a rash of crimes involving major athletes being accosted and kidnapped.Usually by a group of 'faceless giants.' The giants aren't faceless, just have stockings over their faces. And they aren't giants either. Actually most are shorter than Superargo.

The government calls Superargo in to find out who operates the robotic men and stop them. Things go awry and it plays out much like a spy film. In fact, the superhero genre in Italy in the late 60's was a direct descendant of the spy genre which petered out about '67 or '68 itself. See also The Fantastic Argoman and the previous Superargo film.

There are hokey bits of comic book indulgence, but as a film collector and fan, I enjoy Superargo and the Faceless Giants. I recommend seeing it, even if it's just once on late-night television.

Many find the movie boring, and while some parts do tend to drag on, such as the chase through the woods, it isn't nearly as bad as, say, everything Jerry Bruckheimer has made.