ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS (1966)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *sociological*

While I've yet to see more than half the oeuvre of writer-director Jesus Franco, I'm going to go out on a limb and state that ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS-- filmed in France and Spain under the title CARTES SUR TABLE-- is his only above average film within the mythos of adventure. Almost immediately afterward, Franco's next adventure-offerings were either modestly competent (the "Red Lips" duology) or extremely poor (THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU). In the seventies his works became progressively more erratic in nature, though assorted films in the horror-genre have their partisans. But if his slapdash psychedelia worked on occasion for horror, for adventure I think it's likely that Franco never again got better than average, as with 1986's GOLDEN TEMPLE AMAZONS. 

ROBOTS, to continue using the Americanized title, isn't any classic of its kind, even within the superspy subgenre. But the film feels as if its makers-- Franco, co-writer Jean-Claude Carriere, and the producers-- all of whom also worked together on DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z-- sought to give their film a quirky vibe very unlike the countless Eurospy flicks, with their formulaic imitations of the James Bond franchise. Since the star of ROBOTS was Eddie Constantine, famous in France for portraying the wisecracking, Bogart-esque detective Lemmy Caution, the filmmakers probably sought to emulate the general feel of the Caution flicks. They also get in some jabs at the Bond franchise, while still using a lot of Bond's sci-fi tropes in a freewheeling manner.

Mysterious assassins, marked by their darkened-looking skin and funky eyeglasses, start launching suicide attacks on major political figures. (These de-humanized, remorseless killers are the "robots" of the title.) Interpol determines that the assassins may have some association with a city in Spain-- not sure which city-- but they have no other clues, except that all the assassins share one quality, a rare (and made-up) blood-type called Rhesus-Zero. So the spymasters get a bright idea. Instead of just sending any agent to Spain to investigate, they need to send someone who has the Rhesus-Zero blood-type, on the theory that the assassin-controllers will check the agent's background and decide to pursue him for addition to their ranks. The entire Rhesus-Zero farrago was probably just Franco's way of giving the spymasters a motivation to select Al Pereira (Constantine) as their only choice for the mission. The fact that the spymasters don't plan to tell Pereira that he'll be their stalking-horse allows Franco to portray Interpol as manipulative SOBs.

But before Interpol can approach Pereira, the retired agent is abducted by agents of Red China, led by inscrutable Lee Wee (Vicente Roca). They seek to induce the ex-spy into traveling to sunny Spain to be their pawn, using the exact same game-plan as Interpol, though the Chinese are considerably more forceful in their recruiting. Pereira fights his way free, only to experience deja vu all over again when Interpol makes their offer. Though suspicious, Pereira agrees to the assignment.

While the ex-agent travels to Spain, meeting on the way comely brunette Cynthia (Sophie Hardy), the viewer gets to see the assassin-makers at their HQ, where the masterminds control a few dozen robotic stooges, all of whom have darkened skin and whose zombification is partly attributable to those funky glasses. The masterminds are British ex-pats Lady Cecilia (Francoise Brion) and Sir Percy (Fernando Rey), and they in turn work for some greater organization, the Inner Circle, destined to remain obscure since ROBOTS had no sequels. Cecilia has already scouted the new agent in town and knows about his Rhesus-Zero blood, so of course Al Pereira becomes number one on the Inner Circle's hit parade.

What ensues resembles the chase-attack-chase structure of the Eurospy flicks, but with humor that actually works. One expects to see a lot of teasing sexy badinage between the hero and the leading lady. (Finding out that Cynthia also has Rhesus Zero, Pereira says something very French, like "it's all the rage.") But I for one didn't expect a clever "body, body, who's got the body" comic routine in the middle of a Eurospy flick. (This is also one of the few Franco movies that even has anything like a "second act;" most of his films have a first act, then a repetition of the first act, and then the third act.)

Constantine is very good with both his witty rejoinders and his fists, and Hardy is fine even though, once it's revealed that she too is Interpol, she doesn't seem to be much of a femme-hero. Lee Wee and his henchmen hang around Pereira, waiting for a chance to swipe the robotizing-tech, and they end up being more helpful to the hero than any of his Interpol comrades, though Pereira ends up having to blow the Chinese spies up. (This involves some of the Bond-like gimmicks with which Interpol outfits the hero, though these weapons aren't all they seem to be, like almost everything else in the movie.) I even liked the inclusion of a comic relief in the form of a cheery Mexican tourist who has nothing to do with the spy-jinks but keeps trying to knock the hero's block off. And though a lot of Franco finishes are half-baked, Pereira's climactic battle with the Inner Circle is as good as those of a couple of Bond-films of the decade.

I'll probably never see all of Jess Franco's films, or want to, but I doubt that he ever made a better adventure-flick, or even enough decent flicks to edge ROBOTS out of a "top five Franco playlist."