La faux magistrat (1914)
*** (out of 4)
The fifth and final entry in the Fantomas series, this chapter has Fantomas (Rene Navarre) working a scheme where he's going to sell some jewels for $250,000 but at the same time do a double-take and keep the jewels as well as the money. He winds up in a Brussels prison where Inspector Juve pretty much wants him to escape so that Fantomas can return home where Juve has a plan for him. This film film runs 70-minutes in its current state but there is some footage missing, which is explained during the introduction to the film and when a scene is missing we're given some text to explain what's going on. I'm not sure how much footage is actually missing but perhaps it gives a better reason for some of the events in this film. It didn't make too much sense for Juve to want Fantomas to escape from his jail sentence but there are several twist and turns but in the end they don't add up to too much. With that said, if you've said through the first four-plus hours then you'll certainly want to finish the series off here. The ending is actually pretty good as it adds a nice little punch and we get a terrific sequence inside a bell that appears as if it would have influenced some of Hitchcock's work from the early 40s. As you'd expect by now, both Navarre and Breon are fine in their roles and the supporting players are nice as well. At times the 70-minute running time seems a tad bit slow but things do start to pick up in the final ten-minutes or so once everyone's plans start to take place.
On the whole, this series contains some good movies but none of them are nearly close to greatness. All five are mildly entertaining but if you're not a major fan of silent cinema then it's doubtful these movies will change your opinion on them. I was a little surprised to see such a lack of style from director Feuillade but for the most part he told the stories well enough.
