He's a native legend.
A costumed crime-fighter lurking deep in the
African jungle.
The sworn enemy of pirates.
They say that he's 400 years old.
That he can't be killed.
That he's...
Turkish.
It's a Turkish "Ghost Who Walks" with your
American "Host Who Talks" on this episode
of Deja View.
For those who came in late, The Phantom is
a comic strip hero created in the 1930s.
He devotes his life in Africa to the destruction
of piracy, greed, and cruelty.
Every generation the mantle of the Phantom
is passed from father to son so that he always
appears to be the same man--
the legendary "Man Who Cannot Die."
His exploits have inspired a Hollywood film,
a movie serial, two TV pilots, and a couple
of animated series.
But those are just the legitimate entries.
He was also wildly popular in Turkey.
Dubbed "Kizil Maske" or "Red Mask," his strips
appeared in Turkish comic books as early as
1939--
sometimes in censored form, and occasionally
as traced bootlegs.
This popularity garnered him three separate
unauthorized film adaptations--two of these
in 1968 from competing companies.
Well-known heroes would frequently appear
in "dueling" adaptations, thanks to ready-made
fan bases and few copyright concerns.
And they weren't truly competing.
They made their money in rural areas, playing
second-tier theaters or open-air cinemas--the
equivalent of American drive-ins.
These audiences had a ravenous appetite for
films--their primary form of escapism.
So two exciting Phantom adventures was a bonus,
not a problem.
Of course, being unauthorized productions, they
also boasted varying degrees of fidelity.
Director Tolgay Ziyal's "Kizil Maske" calls
The Phantom out of his African jungle to investigate
the theft of the famous Nairobi Diamond by
the mysterious villain, The Octopus.
With his trusty dog Devil at his side, he
and his girlfriend Diana must recover the
diamond and unmask The Octopus before it's
too late.
Fistfights, car chases, and kidnappings ensue.
Forged in the heyday of the spy movie, the
film has a distinct James Bond flavor: captured
goons swallow cyanide and femme fatales invite
seduction.
But thanks to its faithful characterizations
and typical premise, the adaptation is in
keeping with the spirit of the comics.
Its sister film from the same year, not so
much.
In this "Kizil Maske," a famous scientist
has invented an enlarging ray, and his daughter
appeals to The Phantom to protect him and
his invention from the kings of the underworld:
an Arabian Fu Manchu and a Turkish Al Capone!
The current Phantom, believing himself no
longer capable, passes the torch and the mission
to his son.
Director Cetin Inanc, beginning his career,
wasn't much of a comic book fan, and as a
result his depiction of the title character
misses the mark.
The elder Phantom lives not in a remote jungle,
but in a nearby Turkish cave.
And we get only a glimpse of his signature
costume since his son, taking over the family
business, opts for a black hood with matching
leather jacket--when he wears a disguise at
all.
Suspiciously, these new duds are almost identical
to those of "Spy Smasher," a film Inanc worked
on the same year; and "Iron Claw," which he
would make the following year.
And all of these mimic the Italian film "Avenger
X," from the previous year.
Inanc and company apparently found Avenger
X's costume ideal for the modern superhero
and applied it indiscriminately.
The third and final film, "Revenge of the
Phantom," has sadly been lost.
Starring Levent Cakir, who would go on to
play Batman and multiple Supermen, it was
shot in just 2 weeks in and around Istanbul.
Reportedly it was a return to fidelity, with
the Phantom back in his jungle (as portrayed
by Belgrad Forest), in a familiar costume,
sporting his signature ring, and with his
faithful wolf, Devil.
The nudity, however, might come as a surprise
to comic fans.
Producers were constantly pushing the envelope
to appeal to young male viewers, and by the
'70s they could get away with a lot more skin.
The film was a hit with young audiences, though
how much of that is due to its sex appeal
is anyone's guess.
Turkey's lax attitude toward intellectual
property allowed for two things.
On one hand, any movie producer could respond
to the demands of fans to see their favorite
characters on screen.
But it also meant that they had carte blanche
to adapt and alter those characters, for better
or worse, in any way they saw fit.
Some heroes weathered the transition poorly.
The Phantom came through relatively intact.
Mostly.
Two out of three's not bad.
The very first unauthorized Phantom movie
was actually American.
In 1955 Columbia Pictures filmed a second
Phantom movie serial...
only to discover that they no longer owned
the rights.
So they hastily altered his costume with an
aviator's cap and pants and did a massive
reshoot, patching it together with stock footage
and releasing it as
"The Adventures of Captain Africa."
They call him "The Man Who Cannot Die of shame."
Thanks so much for watching, and we'll see
you next time.
