Kriminal (1966)

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Originally hearing about the short lived Italian "Komic-book" sub-genre of films in connection with Mario Bava's Danger Diabolik and the at the time heavily cut Baba Yaga,I was surprised to find out,that unlike those one "issues",a comic book character called Kriminal had not one,but two movie adaptation's.Checking for details about the first adaptation,I was delighted to discover that the first movie was written and directed by the wonderful Umberto Lenzi,which led to me getting set to see Lenzi's superhero go on a thrilling adventure.The plot:Barely escaping from being hanged for stealing the queen of England's crown,Kriminal decides to taunt the police, by sending them the queens crown back as a "thank you" note for their sheer stupidity.Planning his next high-stakes heist,Kriminal decides that he will intercept a package of diamonds being taken to Istanbul.Working with Scotland Yard,the diamond company decide to take extra precautions in their creeping suspicions of Kriminal targeting the diamonds,by hiring two twin sisters ,(Inga and Trude) to lower the risk of Kriminal succeeding by causing confusion over who has the diamonds.Walking up to one of the sisters in disguise,Kriminal knocks out the sister and runs away with her suitcase.Expecting to find the diamonds inside,Kriminal instead finds out that the suitcase is completely empty.Furious at being out-played at his own games for the first time in his life,Kriminal starts to relies,that this heist is going to be the toughest he has ever done.View on the film:Using the last 30 minutes of the movie to solely focus on Kriminal (dashingly played by Glenn Sazson) himself,Umberto Lenzi and David Moreno's screenplay change's the film from being a "komic book" movie into becoming a rather enjoyable man on the run thriller,as Kriminal attempts to stay ahead of the gathering momentum police by crossing the boarders of Istanbul and Madrid in any way possible,which includes jumping around on top of a moving train!,in a excitingly done action set piece.Disopointingly,before the movie cuts to the chases,the first hour of Lenzi and Moreno's script becomes a tangled mess due to being filled with overly complex,underwritten back stabbings and betrayals,causing the excitement of Kriminal's heist to completely defuse.Prominantly using Romano Mussolini's lively Jazz Score,Umberto Lenzi leaves most of his fantastic scatter-shot directing style behind,to instead give the movie a much more artful art deco appearance,which along with making the beautiful Helga Line shimmer in her double role as twins Inga and Trude,also shows the Istanbul and Madrid locations in a cleverly done mix of wide,brightly lit action set pieces,and down to earth,fading art- deco,low-lit moments that show Kriminal trying to lay low,as he begins to wonder if he has finally met his match.

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.

"Kriminal" explodes immediately with awesome, mega-cool opening credits. They're half comic-book and half live-action, guided by a gloriously psychedelic and rhythmic tune. This is an anti-(super-)hero movie in the same vein as Mario Bava's "Danger: Diabolik", and that just happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. It's colorful, swinging, boisterous and just downright ecstatic! The plot is convoluted and you have to remain quite alert to keep up with all the plot twists. Glenn Saxson, who sometimes looks like he could be the twin brother of Franco Nero, plays the title role. He's a masked anti-hero who kills in the most incredible and imaginative ways. He seduces old horny women and subsequently boils them in their own saunas paid by they money they inherited after the suspicious death of their husbands. Kriminal is also a regular David Copperfield! He makes the best exits and I never saw someone vanish in the crowd without being noticed like he does. Last but not least, Kriminal wears the coolest outfit ever. He's dressed like a skeleton. That looks reasonably creepy and it glows in the dark, which comes in quite handy during his nocturnal escapades. Screw Batman and Spiderman, the Kriminal skeleton is the way to go! It's a bit of a shame that this film isn't more commonly known, because the outfit would make a terrific costume for kids to wear on Halloween. Speaking of which, I wouldn't be too surprised if Kriminal's outfit stood model for the character of Jack Skeleton in Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Too bad the outfit is criminally – pun intended – underused. Considering the time of release, the film is also stuffed with obligatory James Bond imitations, like sequences set inside casinos and villainous characters that resemble Ernst Blofeld. Luckily enough the script is solid and intelligent enough to stand alone as an independent success, full of action, humor and lewdness. Director Umberto Lenzi might be most commonly known for his repulsive cannibal flicks ("Cannibal Ferox", "Nightmare City") and excessively violent cop thrillers ("Almost Human", "Violent Naples"), but this rarely seen so- called crime caper is definitely worth seeking out.

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!