Fantômas contre Scotland Yard

Well, I recall this one as sort of a Faydeau farce. The first two ('Fantomas' in 1964 and 'Fantomas Returns' the following year) were authentic French action adventure dramas created in direct competition to the 007 craze then sweeping France. They had James Bondish plots with a great deal of humour by Louis de Fumes. The final, Scotland Yard installment of this 1964-1966 trilogy was light on plot and heavy on comedy.

Still, the cinemascope color photography was stunning in all three films. And where else can one see a Scottish castle's tower suddenly turned into a rocket launch pad?

This is undoubtedly the least of the series (and is saved from a ** rating by a hair): Fantomas is back to his old tricks, deciding that the time has come to tax the higher echelon of society of a good chunk of their wealth (no doubt the common people would applaud his efforts) - but, by now, the formula had grown pretty tired and the comic relief, regrettably, had practically obscured the romantic couple's purposefulness!

Still, why the setting has been changed to Scotland (of all places) is unclear, especially since Scotland Yard only really comes into play at the very end! What we get, in fact, is a lot of old jokes about ostensibly haunted castles, disappearing corpses and frightened manservants - with Louis De Funes' Commissioner Juve in the thick of it! - which are better suited to a Bob Hope or Abbott & Costello vehicle rather than one concerning the exploits of an iconic criminal mastermind!!; there's even the traditional fox-hunt which Fantomas disrupts by throwing in his own dog (barely disguised in fox furs) as a decoy!

Finally, the master criminal exits by way of a shuttle fired through the castle tower: how he managed to get it inside unobserved (and keep it from being discovered by the owners and their numerous guests, including our intrepid heroes) is anybody's guess! Unfortunately, then, the series ends on a bit of a whimper but it's sheer fun nonetheless and, ultimately, that's what really matters...

The third of the series spends too much time and energy on Inspector Juve's more hysterical than usual performance being scared by fake ghosts in the style of the Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy. The great Jean Marais has little to do as does Mylene Demongeot who has a funny bit when she kicks Marais in the butt for flirting with a sexy older woman, wife of the Scottish castle's owner and Fantomas' target for blackmail. de Fumes crazed performances as Juve can be an energy-draining experience, more in this film than in the previous two films. Over 50 during the Fantomas cycle, Marais was in great condition and did his own stunts. Demongeot is gorgeous and comedic yet sultry. A better script, more spectacular, was needed to end the trilogy worthy of Marais.

This has intrigue in the Scottish castles and woodlands and some freaky sort of turnabouts.

No pun intended - especially when it comes to the catching the bad guy business. There is a twist towards the end - although I am not sure, if movie savvy audiences today would really be caught being surprised. The one thing you have to get over with, is how incredible ... let's call them gullible the people are who are after Fantomas! I would not really say he is that clever - maybe he is though, but they make it easy for him too.

But that is where the comedy comes from I guess. You have to suspend your disbelief and let Luis and the others work their magic. In the previous entry Luis even had a gadget. Almost Bond like .. even if that makes no sense, but it was fun to see. As impractical as his hands up thing was ... although: if he only was as clever as he was good at shooting ... I assume if someone would break down scenes of him holding the gun and shooting ... I'm certain they would not be too fond of his ... let's call it technique. Still this is the last entry ... for some reason. And maybe the conclusion works for you or it doesn't ... but it is what it is. And you can always go back and revisit the movie. Just suspend your disbelief before you do that.