Phenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankhamen

Phenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankhamen (Italian: Fenomenal e il tesoro di Tutankamen) is a 1968 Italian film directed by Ruggero Deodato. The film was produced by and starred Nicola Mauro Parenti as Fenomenal, a masked superhero who attempts to stop the theft of the mask of Tutankhamun from a museum in Paris.

Phenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankhamen
Directed byRuggero Deodato
Screenplay by
  • Ruggero Deodato
  • Aldo Iginio Capone[1]
Story byAldo Iginio Capone[1]
Produced byNicola Mauro Parenti
CinematographyRoberto Reale[1]
Edited byLuciano Cavalieri[1]
Music byBruno Nicolai
Production
company
I.C.A.R.[2]
Distributed byVariety Distribution
Release date
  • 1968 (1968) (Italy)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountryItaly

Cast

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  • Nicola Mauro Parenti as Count Guy Norton / Fenomenal
  • Lucretia Love as Lucretia Perkins
  • Gordon Mitchell as Gregory Falkov
  • John Karlsen as Prof. Mickewitz
  • Carla Romanelli as Anna Guillaume

Production

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Phenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankhamen was directed by Ruggero Deodato under the name of Roger Rockfeller.[3] Deodato later stated on his name choice that he thought ""a rich man's name...so who is a rich guy? Rockfeller!" See, I was as dumb as a rock."[4] Deodato has a cameo in the film as the man who falls off a bicycle.[3] The producer of the film was Nicola Mauro Parenti who also starred in the film as the main character Count Guy Norton and Fenomenal.[1][3] On his acting, Deodato mentioned that he was "too stiff, a dog of an actor; I treated him like shit on the set, but then he called me again for Zenabel."[4] Deodato mentioned that the producer often dealt with people who requested small roles in the film in exchange for funding.[4]

Among the cast is Parenti's wife Lucretia Love.[4] The film was shot in Rome, Paris and Tunisia.[4] While shooting in Paris on the Champs Elysées, while panning across the crowd gathering to see President Charles de Gaulle, among the crowd was Rex Harrison.[4]

Release

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Phenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankhamen was released in Italy in 1968.[1]

Reception

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Deodato spoke negatively about the film in later interviews, mentioning in 2008 that he "didn't give a shit about the film."[4]

From retrospective reviews, Roberto Curti described it as "one of the lamest, less remarkable entries in the supercriminal/superherotrend of the late 60s" with a storyline "so confused it is difficult to tell what is going on at times."[3] Curti noted that the best thing about the film was the score by Bruno Nicolai.[4]

See also

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References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Curti 2016, p. 113.
  2. ^ Paul 2005, p. 117.
  3. ^ a b c d Curti 2016, p. 114.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Curti 2016, p. 115.

Sources

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  • Curti, Roberto (2016). Diabolika: Supercriminals, Superheroes and the Comic Book Universe in Italian Cinema. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 978-1-936168-60-6.
  • Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8749-3.
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