COPLAN FX 18 CASSE TOUT - Michel Magne - "FX-18 Superspy" (1965)

Welcome to Wrinkleproof Wednesday down in The Dungeon, and another installment of our ongoing Euro-Spy Series sponsored by The Cult Action team! Tonight's feature is a French action thriller titled "Coplan Fx-18 Casse Tout," and sometimes "Phantom FX-18," or "FX-18 Superspy!"

 "FX-18 Super Spy" is an interesting enough movie, and it has a lot of action and some cool locations, the only real problem is that for me it's not exactly an engaging film! On Eegah's Sleep-O-Meter, it gets a three! That means I only fell asleep three times while watching it! I do have a short attention span though, I will admit it!

Richard (The Strange Door) Wyler has the main role of FX-18, Francis Coplan! Coplan is an interesting character with some real history! There were  some 237 novels written about Francis Coplan as created by Paul Kenny, the nom de plume of Belgian authors Gaston Van den Panhuyse and Jean Libert, and his character first appeared in a film called "Action Immédiate" in 1957 as played by Henri Vidal! Coplan cropped up again in 1964 played by Ken Clark in "Agent Secret FX-18," then again in 1964 in "Coplan Prend Des Risques" as played by Dominique Paturel. Then there was this film also released as "Coplan FX-18 Strike Again" followed by "Mexican Slayride" in 1967, and "Coplan Saves His Skin" in 1968! Finally, in the late 80's and early 90's there was a French TV show called "Coplan!"

The music in this film was once again created by Maestro Michel Magne, and swings a lot harder than in "Fantômas Vs. Scotland Yard!"  Michel really got a chance to stretch out this time around! Here's what it sounds like when this gal is doing the va va voom!

Coplan gets a little testy when the service is too slow!!

Coplan is pretty slick, after he shoots the waiter, he rushes over and tells everyone that's it's going to be okay, because he is a Doctor, and then he disappears before any authorities show up!

These French film makers were either very tricky or nuts, or possibly both, to try a stunt like this!

 Valeria (For A Few Dollars Less) Ciangottini is Gelda, the agent with a weird hang-up for dolls! I really didn't get this part! She's gonna get it though!

Now this is an authentic looking gangster!!

"Let me ask you one more time! Where is Gelda?"

Coplan doesn't have a lot of time to do the hanky-panky, but when he does........

Coplan even encounters trouble when he's in the john!!

Jany (Hercules Against The Moon Men) Clair as Héléna Jordan is putting the squeeze on Coplan!

This is the scene they decided to use on the poster! In a hot pursuit, Coplan gets the front tire of his motorcycle shot, so he has to continue chasing them in the wheelie position only riding on the rear wheel, and he still manages to shoot them and not get shot!

This place in Turkey call Korem looks pretty damn interesting!

An actual cool cave that's not on Jupiter!!

WTF?! They've got a rocket in there!!?

"C'mon man, I haven't got all night, it's your move!!"

Snuffed out by a scoop shovel like he was getting eaten by Godzilla, Gil (Kiss Of Fire) Delamare as Shaimoun, Coplan's best buddy, sees the last light of night. Besides being an actor, Gil Delamare was also a stunt man, and during the filming of his next movie, "The Saint Lies in Wait," a mere seven months later, he did a dangerous stunt that was not completely in control, and the car he was driving broke the rear axle, ejecting the passengers and trapping Gil! Gil Delamare was dead at the age of 41!

BASKET CASE / Basket Case Productions - 1982

It's time to check out this nutty film from the mind of Frank Henenlotter about a young man who carries around a basket that contains his deformed Siamese-twin brother seeking vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will. Frank also brought us BRAIN DAMAGAE and FRANKENHOOKER.

Here's a screaming sound clip from this weird story, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our basket of chicken parts, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula!.. Here's... BASKET CASE!

We start with country bumpkin Duane Bradley renting a motel room in New York, he's there to take care of some business with his mysterious basket in hand, bottom still shows Duane dumping burgers into the basket as we hear gross chewing and slurping sounds coming from it.

The first doctor they visit ends up a bloody pulp on the floor!.. You're next?!!

After another murder, this time in Duane's room, the police show up but can find nothing. That's because our little fiend was safely hiding in the dang toilet!

As heard in the sound clip, Duane is drunk on his ass in a bar as he schmoozes with his buxom friend Casey from the hotel.

In a flashback we get to witness the messy removal of the thing from young Duane's side.

Casey is curious now and cannot resist opening the basket to see what the heck's inside.

The little critter ended up in Casey's room and tries to rape her. Casey runs out of the room screaming as the little creep makes its way back to Duane's room with trophy in hand!

Time for a visit to another doctor who was involved in the detaching surgery. Weird scene!

These two beauty queen nurses hear screaming coming from the room, they finally get inside to find the doctor in a bit of pain!

Then, it's Duane's girlfriend's turn to have a sexual encounter with the demonic little creep.

Duane has had it, his girlfriend's dead and he can't take the many demands of his half-bro any more. But, the little guy reaches out and grabs Duane's nuts in a death lock, causing them to fall out of the hotel room window!..

After a few minutes of this bizarre scene, the monster lets go and they both drop to the ground, ending this chapter in the trilogy. Better show up again on Wednesday when we'll have another Dungeon Fix just for you!

FANTÒMAS CONTRE SCOTLAND YARD - Michel Magne - "Whose Zooming Who" (1967)

Tonight's Saturday Night Special is the third and final film in the 1960's trilogy of Fantômas Films following "Fantômas," and "Fantômas Unleashed!"

 This last time out, it's "Fantômas Vs. Scotland Yard," and just like in the first two movies, the music was created by Michel Magne, and here's a small sample of what you're in for!

 The basic concept is that Fantômas is going to put the big squeeze on a bunch of rich Scots! His clever idea this time is that he's going to charge them a large tax to guarantee that they are not killed! Pretty good deal you gotta admit! So a whole bunch of people are going to converge on this Scottish castle, the home of the Lord and Lady Lord Edward MacRashley to try and figure out what they can do about it!

 The diabolical masked man Fantômas has been pretty busy stirring up lots of trouble again!

 Of course Jean Marais and Mylène Demongeot have their ongoing roles as Fandor and Hélèn, and Jean also plays the character of Fantômas! Don't get the idea that it's like Superman and Clark Kent, in these Fantômas movies it's just one actor playing more than one character! Mylène Demongeot is just cute as a button in a Hayley Mills or Tuesday Weld, or a young Britney Spears kind of way!

If the castle weren't haunted, there would be even less story! Lady MacRashley holds a seance to prove the point!

Le Commissaire Juve storms off from the seance and first sees a ghost, and then....

.........he finds a body hanging in his room!

Since Le Commissaire Juve is the leading authority on how to let Fantômas get away, he has been brought in from France to help in the investigation, and provide all the comedy relief! As in the other two films, Louis de Funès reprises his role as Le Commissaire!

These two enterprising gangsters are going to a mobster meeting where they are planning to rub out Fantômas and take over his tax scam for themselves!

Imagine their surprise when one of those gangsters turns out to be Fantômas himself!

Actually, you don't have to imagine it at all, because this is exactly what they looked like when the truth became known!

Here's a good shot of a couple of the Fantômas masks!

Now  Fantômas changes himself into Lord MacRashley himself, so he can work this whole circus from the inside out!

Fantômas couldn't possibly pull off all these stunts by himself without the dedication of his disciples!

Fantômas has a rocket stashed in the castle so he can get away just in the nick of time!

It's not going to be so easy this time buddy! They call in the Air Force, and quickly dispose of the rocket, and it's the end of the Fantômas legacy forever!

Oh, No, not so fast!! WTF!? Fantômas didn't really need to escape again, there's not going to be another sequel! While everybody was focused on the rocket, Fantômas just rides a bicycle out the back door, and is picked up by what's left of his henchmen!

For some unknown reason, all these Fantômas movies are ridiculously difficult to find, but if you really like goofy Euro crime comedies, this trio is worth searching for, but Good luck, you're most likely going to need it!