FANTÔMAS IN AMERICA
By David White 2007, Black Coat Press
www.blackcoatpress.com 16501 Ventura Blvd Ste 451 Encino CA 91436-2073 392 pages, Paperback, $24.95 Reviewed by David Kalat
In 1920, Fantômas migrated from his native France to America. Already the star of a series of dozens of best-selling pulp novels in France and the subject of Louis Feuillade’s defining screen accomplishment, it is a wonder Hollywood’s re- make compulsions hadn’t set in earlier. Director Edward Sedgwick, later to be best-known for his work on Buster Keaton’s worst MGM features, and star Edward Roseman (frequently misidentified as Boris Karloff, whom he indeed resembles) created 10 cliffhanger episodes, using a new scenario writ- ten by screenwriter George Eshenfelder. This se- rial then dropped off the face of the Earth forever, leaving behind some tantalizing stills and various frustrated Fantômas fans. As a film historian, I thought I would never find an instance where I was glad that a movie had been lost, but in the case of the 1920 FANTOMAS, its absence has inspired play- wright David White to create the most exciting thing to happen in the world of Fantômania since Claude Chabrol and Juan Luís Buñuel’s 1980 TV version.
Using the plot synopsis for the first five epi- sodes as a launching point, White has written a book that not only serves as a sort of noveliza- tion of the lost serial, but as a link between the original run of novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre and the later revival series written, after Souvestre’s death, by Allain solo. Using a modern sense of characterization and plot, clev- erly grafted onto the anarchic storytelling and delirious narrative voice of the originals, White gives homage to the entirety of the Fantômas canon, referencing everything from the 1960s pop art films to the Fantômastic visions in the paintings of Magritte. The book is more point- edly political in its themes than the originals, but in this way White’s story brings in hints of later versions of the Fantômas tale, such as the Mexican comic books and the Spanish language FANTOMAS VS THE MULTINATIONAL VAMPIRES. Yet these cross-references are subtle; the book is not simply for established fans but a fine introduction to the series for newcomers as well. The cover sports a thrilling rendition of the Lord of Terror as painted by graphic artist Denis Rodier (one of the illustrators behind THE DEATH OF SU- PERMAN), and the text is accompanied by stills and posters from the serial. This is a denser vol- ume than the Allain and Souvestre pulps, weav- ing in actual events of Jazz Age America into the plot points of the forgotten cliffhanger. The result is not just a ripping good yarn, but also a barbed critique of American society. Like the revivals of DOCTOR WHO or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, this is that rare breed of fannish wish fulfillment that shows proper respect for its source while updating it, and at times surpassing it.
50 YEARS OF GHOST MOVIES
By Staci Layne Wilson 2007, Running Free Press
www.staciwilson.com 150 pages, Softcover, $19.95 Reviewed by Brett Taylor
50 YEARS OF GHOST STORIES comes to us from Staci Layne Wilson, an animal lover (previous works include ANIMAL MOVIES GUIDE and a story in HORSE TALES FOR THE SOUL, VOL. 2.) and attractive red- head who isn’t shy about using her picture to pro- mote her books and letting it be known that she’s available for DVD commentaries. Unfortunately, there’s not enough substance here to make any- one want to hire her to do one. Most of the re- views are very brief and give the impression she
75
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
