Fantomas (1964)

The best men of France - a brave journalist and an extremely energetic commissioner - attack the trail of a mysterious criminal mastermind.

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
Louis de Funès	...	Le commissaire Juve
Mylène Demongeot	...	Hélène
Jacques Dynam	...	L'inspecteur Bertrand
Robert Dalban	...	Le directeur du journal
Marie-Hélène Arnaud	...	Lady Beltham
Anne-Marie Peysson	...	La speakerine
Christian Toma	...	Un inspecteur
Michel Duplaix	...	Un inspecteur
Andrée Tainsy	...	L'habilleuse
Hugues Wanner
Henri Attal	...	Un garde du corps / Bodyguard
Jacques Berger
Pierre Collet	...	Un agent
Henri Guégan

Storyline

Criminal mastermind Fantômas, a man of a thousand faces, is unhappy with Fandor, a journalist who's written a fictive interview of him. He kidnaps Fandor, threatens to kill him, but first goes about ruining the journalist's reputation by committing a sensational crime in Fandor's guise. Hot on the trail is police Commissaire Juve, so Fantômas commits a crime looking like him. Soon, our intrepid heroes, Fandor and Juve, with the help of Fandor's girlfriend Hélène, are on the mastermind's trail, but who's in control?

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Plot Keywords:

champs elysee paris | paris france | title appears in writing | character appears on tv | jewelry exhibition | 

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Taglines:

Men Hunt Him Down - Women Look Him Up! Super-Thief ... Master Lover ... He's out to ransack the world!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

At a moment, you can see a police patrol riding bicycles. These patrols were named sparrows. The name come from the long mantle that protect them and the speed (faster than running). These patrols were recreated in the 2000's.

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Goofs

Supposedly Fantomas is wearing Fandor's mask, however he does not remove it completely to put on Juve's mask.

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Connections

Referenced in Gameballcz: SimCity - 1. díl - Jolandino poprsí odhaleno! (2013)

User Reviews

the French answer to James Bond - part 1

One must travel back to the 19-Sixties to appreciate 'Fantomas' to the full.

In those days English James Bond was taking off with his second or third film, creating a hype that is exceptional in film-history right up to this day. According to the customs back then, the French came up with 'Fantomas', providing a counter-weight that made considerable impact. However, in the long run James Bond has lived on while Fantomas is by now clear history.

Watching this film for the first time since 1965 or so, one must conclude that 'Fantomas' makes a comedy, as well as a clever persiflage of the contemporary James Bond (performed by Sean Connery). Shot with the techniques available back then, catching well-acted roles by prominent French actors and actresses of those years.

For those who were not around in 1965, I fear that 'Fantomas' has not much to offer. Knowledge about the mid-Sixties is necessary to understand this film to the full.

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 November 1964 (France)

Also Known As:

Fantomas

Filming Locations:

Chérence, Val-d'Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Atlas Consorziate (P.A.C.), Société Nouvelle des Établissements Gaumont (SNEG), P.C.M.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1