Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914).
One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain alone after Souvestre's death. The character was also the basis of various film, television, and comic book adaptations. In the history of crime fiction, he represents a transition from Gothic novel villains of the 19th century to modern-day serial killers and supervillains. It was partly influenced by the Era of Attacks (1892–1894) and most especially by the figure of Ravachol.
The books and films were released in rapid succession, anticipating current production methods of Hollywood in two respects. First, the authors distributed the writing among themselves; their "working method was to draw up the general plot between them and then go off and write alternate chapters independently of each other, meeting up to tie the two halves of the story together in the final chapter". This approach allowed the authors to produce almost one novel per month. Second, the film rights to the books were immediately snapped up, ensuring that the film studio could produce sequels reliably.
The popular depiction of Fantômas as wearing a blue mask and black gloves and using technological devices did not originate in the novels, but is a result of the popularity of the trilogy of Fantômas films directed by André Hunebelle in the 1960s. The trilogy, which started in 1964 with Fantômas, departed considerably from the novels by giving the story a more comedic tone as preceded by the first two Pink Panther films, and by making Fantômas (played by Jean Marais) more of a James Bond enemy by likewise borrowing from the first two Bond films. Despite these discrepancies, the blue-masked Fantômas is arguably the one that is most easily remembered.
Overview
Fantômas is a criminal genius, ruthless and particularly elusive. As described by Schütt (2003) in her analysis of French crime fiction literature, Fantômas is the cause of almost any unsolved crime, a merciless criminal who can get away with his evil deeds by impersonating pretty much anyone. He is obsessively chased by inspector Juve, who is generally the only one able to identify Fantômas's tracks.
Fantômas was introduced a few years after Arsène Lupin, another well-known thief. Whereas Lupin draws the line at murder, Fantômas has no such qualms, and is shown as a sociopath who enjoys killing in a sadistic fashion.
He is totally ruthless, shows no mercy, and is loyal to none, not even his own children. He is a master of disguise, always appearing under an assumed identity, often that of a person whom he has murdered. Fantômas makes use of bizarre and improbable techniques in his crimes, such as plague-infested rats, giant snakes, and rooms that fill with sand.
Fantômas's background remains vague. He might be of British and/or French ancestry. He appears to have been born in 1867.
In the books, it is established that c. 1892, the man who later became Fantômas called himself Archduke Juan North and operated in the German principality of Hesse-Weimar. There he fathered a child, Vladimir, with an unidentified noblewoman. In circumstances unrevealed, he was arrested and sent to prison.
In 1895, Fantômas was in India. There, an unidentified European woman gave birth to a baby girl, Hélène, whose father might be Fantômas or an Indian prince who was Fantômas' acolyte. The girl was raised in South Africa.
In 1897, Fantômas was in the United States of America and Mexico. There, he ruined his then business partner, Etienne Rambert.
In 1899, he fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa under the name of Gurn. He fought in the Transvaal as an artillery sergeant under the command of Lord Roberts. He became aide-de-camp to Lord Edward Beltham of Scottwell Hill and fell in love with his younger wife, Lady Maud Beltham.
Upon their return to Europe, soon before the first novel begins (c. 1900), Gurn and Lady Beltham were surprised in their Paris love nest, Rue Levert, by her husband. Lord Beltham was about to shoot Maud when Gurn hit him with a hammer then strangled him.
Fantômas then impersonated Etienne Rambert and framed his son, Charles, for a murder he had committed. As Etienne, he persuaded Charles to go into hiding, but the young man was soon found out by French police detective Juve, who had become truly obsessed with the capture of Fantômas. Juve knew that Charles was innocent and gave him a new identity: journalist Jerôme Fandor, who is employed at the newspaper La Capitale. Juve later arrested Gurn and, at his trial, brought forward a convincing argument that Gurn and Fantômas were one and the same, though the evidence was too circumstantial to make a real case. On the eve of his execution, Gurn/Fantômas escaped from custody by being replaced by an actor who had modelled the appearance of his latest character after him and was executed in his place.
Lady Beltham remained constantly torn between her passion for the villain and her horror at his criminal schemes. She eventually committed suicide in 1910.
Fandor fell in love with Hélène and, despite Fantômas's repeated attempts to break them up, married her.
Fantômas's evil son, Vladimir, reappeared in 1911. Vladimir's girlfriend was murdered by Fantômas and Vladimir himself was eventually shot by Juve.
Characters Fantômas is a criminal genius, known by many nicknames, such as the "master of everything and everyone", the "torturer" or the "elusive", and whose face and true identity remain unknown. He is a ruthless criminal who will torture and kill to achieve his goals. Juve is an inspector in the Sûreté of Paris and the sworn archenemy of Fantômas, whom he pursues obsessively. The intelligent and stubborn Juve is completely devoted to capturing or killing Fantômas. Jérôme Fandor is a former victim of Fantômas and was originally named Charles Rambert until Fantômas killed his parents and framed him for the crime. Juve, the only one to understand his unjust accusation, provides him with the identity of journalist Fandor so as to save him from going to jail and to use his help in capturing the murderer. He falls in love with Hélène. Hélène is a beautiful daughter or stepdaughter of Fantômas, whom he protects jealously. She falls in love with J. Fandor, and is engaged to marry him, eventually helping her fiancé to fight the criminal. Lady Maud Beltham is the wife of Lord Beltham and the lover of Fantômas, towards whom she feels both passionate love and repulsion for his many heinous crimes. Bouzille is a streetwise tramp who often helps Juve and Fandor, and even Fantômas on occasion, and provides comic relief in the series. The Beadle is a thug and companion of Fantômas who earns his nickname after his custom of taking the money of passersby by smashing their heads against the pavement, and he is the most notorious of Fantômas' gang of Apaches. Mother Toulouche is an old woman who is a sort of leader among Fantômas' Apaches and is portrayed as an equally ruthless killer and thug.
Books By Allain and Souvestre 1. Fantômas (1911; transl. 1915; retransl. 1986) 2. Juve contre Fantômas (1911; transl. 1916 as The Exploits of Juve; retransl. 1987 as The Silent Executioner) 3. Le Mort qui Tue (1911; transl. 1917 as Messengers of Evil; retransl. 2008 as The Corpse who Kills) 4. L'Agent Secret (1911; transl. 1917 as A Nest of Spies) 5. Un Roi Prisonnier de Fantômas (1911; transl. 1918 as A Royal Prisoner) 6. Le Policier Apache (1911; transl. 1924 by Alfred Allinson as The Long Arm of Fantômas [UK title: The Limb of Satan]) 7. Le Pendu de Londres (1911; transl. 1920 as Slippery as Sin) 8. La Fille de Fantômas (1911; transl. 2006 by Mark P. Steele as The Daughter of Fantomas) () 9. Le Fiacre de Nuit (1911) 10. La Main Coupée (1911) 11. L'Arrestation de Fantômas (1912) 12. Le Magistrat Cambrioleur (1912) 13. La Livrée du Crime (1912) 14. La Mort de Juve (1912) 15. L'Evadée de Saint-Lazare (1912) 16. La Disparition de Fandor (1912) 17. Le Mariage de Fantômas (1912) 18. L'Assassin de Lady Beltham (1912) 19. La Guêpe Rouge (1912) 20. Les Souliers du Mort (1912) 21. Le Train Perdu (1912) 22. Les Amours d'un Prince (1912) 23. Le Bouquet Tragique (1912) 24. Le Jockey Masqué (1913) 25. Le Cercueil Vide (1913) 26. Le Faiseur de Reines (1913) 27. Le Cadavre Géant (1913) 28. Le Voleur d'Or (1913) 29. La Série Rouge (1913) 30. L'Hôtel du Crime (1913) 31. La Cravate de Chanvre (1913, transl. 2017 by Sheryl Curtis as The Death of Fantomas) 32. La Fin de Fantômas (1913, transl. 2017 by Sheryl Curtis as The Death of Fantomas)
By Allain 33. Fantômas est-il ressuscité? (1925; transl. 1925 by Alfred Allinson as The Lord of Terror) 34. Fantômas, Roi des Recéleurs (1926; transl. 1926 by Alfred Allinson as Juve in the Dock) 35. Fantômas en Danger (1926; transl. 1926 by Alfred Allinson as Fantômas Captured) 36. Fantômas prend sa Revanche (1926; transl. 1927 by Alfred Allinson as The Revenge of Fantômas) 37. Fantômas Attaque Fandor (1926; transl. 1928 by Alfred Allinson as Bulldog and Rats) 38. Si c'était Fantômas? (1933) 39. Oui, c'est Fantômas! (1934) 40. Fantômas Joue et Gagne (1935) 41. Fantômas Rencontre l'Amour (1946) 42. Fantômas Vole des Blondes (1948) 43. Fantômas Mène le Bal (1963)
Notes The original book covers by Gino Starace are often considered works of lurid genius in themselves. The first Fantômas book cover, showing a contemplative masked man dressed in evening dress and holding a dagger, boldly stepping over Paris, is so well known that it has become a visual cliché, but it is unclear whether this was the work of Starace. The novel The Yellow Document, or Fantômas of Berlin by Marcel Allain (1919), despite its title, is not a Fantômas novel. The last novel written by Allain was published as a newspaper serial, but never appeared in book form. During the 1980s, the first two novels of the series were published in revised English translations: Fantômas appeared in 1986 with an introduction by American poet John Ashbery; and Juve contre Fantômas appeared in 1987 under the title The Silent Executioner, with an introduction by American artist Edward Gorey.
Film and television
Silent film serials 1. Fantômas (1913) 2. Juve Contre Fantômas (1913) 3. Le Mort Qui Tue (1913) 4. Fantômas Contre Fantômas (1914) 5. Le Faux Magistrat (1914)
The silent film pioneer Louis Feuillade directed five Fantômas serials starring René Navarre as Fantômas, Bréon as Juve, Georges Melchior as Fandor, and Renée Carl as Lady Beltham. They are regarded as masterpieces of silent film. His later serial Les Vampires, which concerns the eponymous crime syndicate (and not actual vampires) is also reminiscent of the Fantômas series.
There was a 1920 20-episode American Fantômas serial directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Edward Roseman as Fantômas, which bore little resemblance to the French series. In it, Fantômas's nemesis is detective Fred Dixon, played by John Willard. It was partially released in France (12 episodes only) under the title Les Exploits de Diabolos (The Exploits of Diabolos). A novelization of this serial was written by David Lee White for Black Coat Press under the title Fantômas in America in 2007.
Other films
6. Fantômas (1932), directed by Paul Fejos, with Jean Galland as Fantômas. 7. Monsieur Fantômas (1937), directed by Ernst Moerman is a surrealist silent comedy short subject. 8. Fantômas (1946), directed by Jean Sacha, with Marcel Herrand as Fantomas. 9. Fantomas Against Fantomas (1949), directed by Robert Vernay, with Maurice Teynac as Fantomas.