Whilst having a good number of French films from 1932,I decided to search round online for anything that I've somehow missed (which has English subtitles.) Aware of the 1913 version, I was excited to stumble on a title with the character from 1932, which led to me entering Fantomas's house.
View on the film:
Housed the same year as James Whale's The Old Dark House, co-writer/(with Anne Mauclair) director Pal Fejos & cinematographer J. Peverell Marley key the opening 30 minutes as a chilly Old Dark House mystery, spanning expressionism-style high walls slotted round the house, and a excellent sound design filling the rooms with the noise of a rustling wind as Fantomas creeps round the abode. Stepping out of the house, Fejos pays ingenious tribute to the serial origins of the character, as Fantomas uses a recording a of what sounds like a Silent movie score to drown out the screams from his attempt at murder, and choppy, fast edits with sped-up film giving the fight scenes a delightfully pulp edge. Keeping Fantomas until the very end, Fejos and Mauclair's spin on Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain's creation with talks in the Old Dark House making the mysterious Fantomas sound mythical, leading to a frantic chase after Inspector Juve learns of a murder victim in the house,and tries to catch the Fantomas.
View on the film:
Housed the same year as James Whale's The Old Dark House, co-writer/(with Anne Mauclair) director Pal Fejos & cinematographer J. Peverell Marley key the opening 30 minutes as a chilly Old Dark House mystery, spanning expressionism-style high walls slotted round the house, and a excellent sound design filling the rooms with the noise of a rustling wind as Fantomas creeps round the abode. Stepping out of the house, Fejos pays ingenious tribute to the serial origins of the character, as Fantomas uses a recording a of what sounds like a Silent movie score to drown out the screams from his attempt at murder, and choppy, fast edits with sped-up film giving the fight scenes a delightfully pulp edge. Keeping Fantomas until the very end, Fejos and Mauclair's spin on Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain's creation with talks in the Old Dark House making the mysterious Fantomas sound mythical, leading to a frantic chase after Inspector Juve learns of a murder victim in the house,and tries to catch the Fantomas.