Kriminal (1966)

An unlikely cross between two of the hottest crime-fighters of the '60s – TV's Batman and cinema's James Bond – KRIMINAL is in fact a film based on a popular Italian comic strip. The twist is that our hero isn't a hero at all, instead a fully-fledged bad guy, a thief whose ideal pastime is to steal jewels and make tons of money from his criminal exploits. Along the way, there's time for plenty of romance a la Bond as Kriminal wanders around and takes advantage of a succession of beautiful women. It all sounds pretty good and, being made in the '60s, it's absolutely loaded with style in everything from the music to the fashions on display. But there's something detached and routine about this film that stopped me from enjoying it one bit.I'll admit that the genre of Italian spy movies left me somewhat cold. I didn't mind early Bond films – GOLDFINGER is a classic – but the slavish devotion of the countless rip-offs I found utterly boring. Now the Italian superhero movies of the late '60s – this was much more to my liking. Outlandish good guys like Argoman, Superargo and the Three Fantastic Supermen would bound around on screen and tackle waves of bad guys with knowing smirks and plenty of panache. I was hoping KRIMINAL would be like the latter films, but this is really a Bond-style movie masquerading as a superhero flick. It's an interesting precursor to Mario Bava's DANGER DIABOLIK but that's all.My biggest regret is that this film has virtually no action to recommend it – I can't remember our hero fist-fighting a single villain! He kills a few off but it's all very stately and routine. One of the biggest sells is that he dresses up in a cool skeleton outfit to commit his robberies, but even these admittedly fun scenes are few and far between (although the house climb is a highlight). Glenn Saxson is the Hungarian hero, and he's very Aryan and good-looking, but he's also without charisma and it doesn't help that his character is pretty vicious, unpleasant and self-motivated. Helga Line – who I ADORED in HORROR EXPRESS – plays a dual role and is fairly attractive in an icy way, while Ivano Staccioli is a suitably greasy villain-type. Best of all is Andrea Bosic, playing the Scotland Yard inspector hot on Kriminal's heels, who has an absolute ball in his comic relief supporting performance.The action shifts from London to Istanbul, with time for sightseeing on the way, but it's all very dated and routine. The film feels overlong and the ending is a damp squib – some nice train stunts but that's it. More action, less po-faced seriousness and KRIMINAL might have been good; as it is, the Turkish rip-off films featuring skeletal hero Kilink had the right idea purely because they were sillier. Umberto Lenzi is a fantastic cult director and he puts in good work here, but this is middling stuff. A sequel, THE MARK OF KRIMINAL, followed in 1968.

One of several Italian "costumed super-criminal" outings made in the mid-1960s (for a brief period, I think it was the third most popular film genre, after spy movies and spaghetti Westerns), "Kriminal" has good production values but a rather bland look - there is nothing distinctive about it, except maybe the title character's skeleton costume, which he wears very briefly. Kriminal may be good with his fists, a master of disguise, and a clever criminal planner, but he doesn't have much charisma or personality, except maybe for an obnoxious arrogance. The women are pretty but dreadfully underused. The film gets dull more often than it should. ** out of 4.

Watchable entry in the super-criminal subgenre even if it is a far cry from Danger: Diabolik. This film begins with Kriminal escaping execution and quickly planning a diamond heist. Since the diamonds have already been stolen, Kriminal is essentially swindling criminals. This doesn't necessarily make him a good guy, what with trying to blow up his ex-wife who turned stool pigeon. Still, Kriminal has charm. . . and a nifty skeleton suit for nocturnal adventures. An all black suit might have been more practical for blending into the darkness but Kriminal is anything if stylish. The film itself could have used more style. Umberto Lenzi's direction is merely serviceable, lacking the thrills of some of the director's 70's crime movies. On the plus side, the film offers bright cinematography and appealing eye candy provided by Helga Line and Mary Arden (Blood and Black Lace).Kriminal is not a film that stays long in the memory but offers a pleasant enough lazy afternoon viewing.

Umberto Lenzi is best known for his gory zombie flicks, Giallo's and Italian Cop movies; but there are a few gems from other genres dotted around his filmography, and Kriminal is definitely one of the best of them! The film is based on a comic book and follows the fortunes of a 'cartoon' criminal out to steal whatever he can. The obvious film to compare this to would be Mario Bava's pulp fiction thriller 'Diabolik', although this one is (slightly) more grounded in reality and while it doesn't have the comic book grandeur of Bava's later effort; all in all, I wouldn't hesitate to call Kriminal a better film. Glenn Saxson takes the lead role as 'Kriminal' - a notorious yet incognito thief who wears a skeleton suit and somehow manages to get the better of the police every time they try to stop him from stealing. The plot starts properly when an opportunity to steal a large amount of diamonds from a safe deposit box in Instanbul presents itself. Kriminal masterminds a plot to liberate the jewels; but first has to worm his way into several people's affections.The film has a great comic book style and Umberto Lenzi effortlessly manages to give the film a real stylish verve that benefits the plot immensely. Glenn Saxson might not be a great actor, but he fits the bill as the title character and actually looks like he might be a drawing from a comic book himself! The film features Kriminal wearing a suit painted as a skeleton; although unfortunately this part of the film doesn't come off as being as cool as it could have been; but it does give the film an extra interesting element. There are plenty of characters to move the plot along, and while the plotting does get a little confusing at times; it's generally interesting enough. Lenzi manages some really beautiful locations and he definitely gets the best out of 'high society' in Istanbul. There are also a number of lovely ladies on display, which is always a bonus too! There's no real point to the film; but the ending is good enough and the film finishes in a 'fun' way. Overall, I'm not surprised that this isn't one of Lenzi's better known films - but it's certainly not a bad one and I highly recommend seeing it...if you can find it!