The Champions of Justice (1971)

Five luchadores (Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, El Medico Asesino, La Sombra Vengadora, Tinieblas plus Black Shadow) face off against a mad scientist and his army of powerful wrestling midgets.

Director:

Federico Curiel

Writers:

Rogelio Agrasánchez (story), Rafael García Travesi (adaptation)

Stars:

Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras, El Médico Asesino

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Blue Demon	...	Blue Demon
Mil Máscaras	...	Mil Máscaras
El Médico Asesino	...	El Médico Asesino
Alejandro Cruz	...	Black Shadow (as Black Shadow)
Tinieblas	...	Tinieblas el Gigante (as Tinieblas el Gigante)
Sombra Vengadora	...	La Sombra Vengadora
David Silva	...	Dr. Marius Zarkoff / Mano Negra
Elsa Cárdenas	...	Elsa
Jorge Pinguino	...	Dwarf
Marisela Mateos	...	Miss Mexico
Martha Angelica	...	Miss Sonora
Betty Velázquez	...	Miss Nuevo León (as Bety Velazquez)
Maribel Fernández	...	Miss Jalisco
Yolanda Rigel	...	Miss Puebla (as Yolanda Riquel)
Margarito Alonso	...	Dwarf

Storyline

Five luchadores (Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, El Medico Asesino, La Sombra Vengadora, Tinieblas plus Black Shadow) face off against a mad scientist and his army of powerful wrestling midgets.

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Plot Keywords:

superhero | wrestling | masked wrestler | mad scientist | scientist | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Reaction & Review: The Champions of Justice (2011)

User Reviews

What the.....?!?!

I really like Mexico and its people. I visited the country several years ago and loved every minute of it. So, please do NOT assume I am anti-Mexican when I say "Oh, those wacky Mexicans"! This film is something no other country could or would make, but it also is a weird little film that you just have to see to believe.

First, some background. In Mexico, their wrestling ('Lucha Libre') is much faster and more physical that American pro wrestling. However, oddly, some of the biggest heroes of the sport are mask-wearing heroes! In fact, these men are national heroes of the magnitude few outside the country realize. So popular, in fact, that many luchador films have been made over the years starring such folk heroes as el Santo and Blue Demon. Oddly, in all these films, these heroic guys NEVER take off their masks. They eat, drink, shower, sleep and make out in masks--always staying in character. My assumption for them doing this was so they could easily replace each luchador if they asked for too much money or wanted to retire! Or, perhaps the guys making the films were just so embarrassed that they didn't want their friends to know who they really were!!

What I really like is this strange genre is that on their off time, these men mostly solve mysteries, fight injustice, take on monsters and, in this case, take on a mad scientist (Black Hand) and his mini-army of midget wrestlers!! Yes, I really said midget wrestlers in hoods and capes!!! However, these midgets are not ordinary midget wrestlers wearing hoods and capes!! No, using a weird machine, the scientist is able to imbue them with great strength and skill--such that the luchadores cannot easily defeat them. In fact, Blue Demon fights them with about a half dozen of his masked wrestling friends! I found myself laughing because watching these little wrestlers reminded me of Oompa Loompas!! Oh, and unless I forget, the Black Hand was also intent on kidnapping all the Mexican beauty contest winners (hmmm, perhaps he's got something there!).

Although the film was made in 1971, the music and style look a lot like a super-low budget 1960s American sci-fi film merged with a luchador film. I especially loved the underwater scene where you can see that the 'big fish' are just goldfish in an aquarium. And I must say that the film, though very bad and stupid, also had a certain cheesy charm. In other words, although few would see this as a great work of art, I could easily see guys sitting around watching this with their friends--laughing uproariously at the silliness of it all. Fun but amazingly stupid in every possible way.

By the way, although the Mexicans have a long and proud heritage with making terrible films, sadly they are way underrepresented on IMDb's Bottom 100 films list. While THE AZTEC MUMMY VERSUS THE HUMAN ROBOT is on the list, none of the luchador films made the list and MESA OF LOST WOMEN doesn't have quite enough votes to make the list! My advice see these films and vote--it's just not fair that there is a prejudice towards Anglo films on this hallowed list!

Details

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

21 January 1971 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

The Champions of Justice

Filming Locations:

Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematográfica Grovas, Producciones Fílmicas Agrasánchez S.A.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity)

Color:

Color