Danger: Diabolik (1968)

International man of mystery Diabolik and his sensuous lover Eva Kant pull off heist after heist, all while European cops led by Inspector Ginko and envious mobsters led by Ralph Valmont are closing in on them.

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Angela Giussani (story), Luciana Giussani (story)

Stars:

John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Phillip Law	...	Diabolik
Marisa Mell	...	Eva Kant
Michel Piccoli	...	Inspector Ginko
Adolfo Celi	...	Ralph Valmont
Claudio Gora	...	Police Chief
Mario Donen	...	Sergeant Danek
Renzo Palmer	...	Mr. Hammond - Second Minister of the Interior
Caterina Boratto	...	Lady Clark
Lucia Modugno	...	Prostitute
Annie Gorassini	...	Rose
Carlo Croccolo	...	Lorry Driver
Lidia Biondi	...	Policewoman (as Lidia Biondi C.S.C.)
Andrea Bosic	...	Bank Manager
Federico Boido	...	Joe - Valmont's Henchman
Tiberio Mitri	...	Valmont's Henchman

Storyline

In psychedelic swinging 60s style, the dreaded thief (and killer) Diabolik wreaks havoc on a generic European country for his own financial gain and amusement. He shares an extravagant underground lair (and a giant bed of money) with his curvaceous, superficial girlfriend...who uses her awesome powers of wig-wearing to help Diabolik kill innocent people and steal billions from the government. Nonetheless, Diabolik is the "hero" of the film because he must face off against bumbling cops and revenge-seeking mafiosos.

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Plot Keywords:

death penalty | underground base | jaguar e type | crane the machine | crime syndicate | 

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Taglines:

He robs from the rich to give to the girls... ask Eva. She can't get a good night's sleep unless she's covered with... money!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Danger: Diabolik

Filming Locations:

Capri, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Marianne Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to John Phillip Law, the first choice for the role of Eva Kant was an unknown model from New York, who was a friend of Charlie Bluhdorn, the CEO of Gulf & Western, the conglomerate that owned Paramount Pictures (which had been contracted to distribute the film in the US); she was fired from the film shortly before shooting began. At the suggestion of Barbarella (1968) director Roger Vadim, Catherine Deneuve was cast and lasted for about a week, until Law, Mario Bava and Dino De Laurentiis decided that she was miscast. Bava was asked to recast Eva; after considering both Marilù Tolo and Marisa Mell, he eventually settled on Mell, although he would later cast Tolo as the female lead in Roy Colt & Winchester Jack (1970).

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Goofs

Obvious male diving stunt double for Eva.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sergeant Danek: All right, how we doing?
Police Officer: The last bag.
[flicks through a small pile of white paper the size of dollar bills]
Police Officer: All plain paper. Hm, very clever! You know, I wonder how security would feel if they knew they were guarding waste paper instead of ten million dollars?
[puts the remaining "bills" into the bag]
Police Officer: Well, seems to be it.

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Alternate Versions

The Region 1/NTSC DVD features English credits and an alternate English dub while many US VHS versions retain the Italian credits and a different English dub than the DVD. Both versions feature the voices of John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell and Terry-Thomas.

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Connections

Referenced in Rupan sansei: Pilot Film (1969)

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Soundtracks

Deep Down
(uncredited)
Music by Ennio Morricone
Performed by Maria Cristina Brancucci

User Reviews

Bad movie?!? Yeah right...More like terrific movie!

Unbelievable! The majority of comment-authors here on this site haven't got the slightest clue how far the brilliance of this film reaches...Here you have one of the coolest, most ingenious productions ever, and they're calling it "awful" and an ideal climax for the Mystery Science Theater?!? Aren't there any people left who appreciate sweet pop art? Or a healthy dose of delightful kitsch? Danger: Diabolik is a cult masterpiece and part of the greatest achievements of the brilliant director Mario Bava (or God, like I tend to call him). Bava easily is one of the most diverse directors who ever lived and delivered horror classics, solid thrillers, old-fashioned westerns and ... Danger Diabolik! A film that can't possibly be categorized entirely. Pivot figures are a young, vital couple of criminal masterminds. They steal from innocent people as well as from dangerous maffiosi, while killing innocent bystanders. Our funky couple single-handedly takes away billions that belong to the government, and then cheerfully retire in their underground lair in order to make love on top of a pile of money! It comes this far that the police cooperates with the entire gangster-network in order to finally arrest them...but our hero always is multiple steps ahead of them. Danger Diabolik introduces more kinky gadgets than 20 James Bond films ever could and the amount of creativity in just endless. The used scenery and experimental cinemathograpy mark this film with an undeniable cult-status that even impressed Mike Myers! Just compare this film with the Austin Powers trilogy!! Add to this a dazzling soundtrack and a ravishing siren (Marisa Mell) and you've got yourself an intolerably misunderstood cinema milestone. If you're a tiny bit open-minded and/or a bit less prejudiced on non-American films, you just HAVE TO see Danger: Diabolik.