Instead of keeping up to date with the latest offerings from the world of cinema, I have been catching up on a crime serial from its early days. Fantômas is a criminal mastermind who originated in a flurry of 32 detective novels published monthly between 1911 and 1913; the first film adaptation, directed by Louis Feuillade, quickly followed. This is the series I have been watching, on a two-disc DVD set from Artificial Eye (borrowed from a friend — thanks Mr. K!). Altogether there are five episodes averaging an hour in length or thereabouts. One is called ‘The Murderous Corpse’ and contains a chapter titled ‘The Gloves of Human Skin’, but the grisly goings-on are less explicit than these names might suggest. Fantômas is sometimes known as the ‘Lord of Terror’ or the ‘Emperor of Crime’. Played by René Navarre, he is a thief, a killer, an elusive mystery man … There’s more →