The Mark of Kriminal (1968; Fernando Cerchio, Nando Cicero)

This second screen adaptation of the popular fumetto character (seen previously in 1966's Kriminal) is a marginally better followup, if because it succeeds more in the lighthearted approach than its predecessor, despite the nefarious acts onscreen. The scene where Kriminal and his wife plot to kill each other is treated in a tongue-and-cheek way that Hitchcock would have admired. It also more succeeds in capturing the flavour of a fumetto, with its bright warm colours, and sporadic insertion of comic strip panels. Whereas the original film used them only at the end, (one assumes) to lazily wrap up the story, this film uses them to display thought balloons, to cannily visualize what cannot be filmed. 

This sequel finds Kriminal medias res, supposedly escaped from an Istanbul prison. Our master thief is found dressing in his skeleton costume to sneak into old ladies’ bedrooms and scare them to death (literally), and then collect the insurance money. But just as Kriminal and his associate are due to retire from this racket, a fallen Buddha statuette belonging to one of the late widows breaks open to reveal part of a map which will reveal the location of rare paintings. Therefore, they seek out the other three identical statuettes containing the other pieces of the map. 

Of course, the final parchment proves to be the most difficult. The fourth statue belongs to flamenco dancer Mara (Helga Liné back in a different role!), who horns in on the action. She even brings her boytoy Robson (Frank Oliveri) along for the ride to Beirut to uncover the paintings. The uneasy alliance is further made difficult with Mara’s attempt to turn Kriminal in to the authorities. But as we know, Kriminal is a master of disguise... 

Glenn Saxson finds just the right dash of subtle humour to accompany his dastardly deeds. He remains charming even while tying up some hapless ladies in order to steal their car! Like its predecessor, this film is basically in two parts: the first sets the plot in motion, and the second, in which the chase is on, is set in an exotic location. And in both films, the second part is the longest, and most tedious. The second half is also hampered by some desparate moments, as in the annoying cliché where Kriminal uses his skeleton costume to scare away the natives. The Mark of Kriminal is somewhat redeemed by an elaborate finale in which Kriminal attempts to elude capture in a car chase through the countryside. This was understandably the final attempt at bringing the Magnus-Bunker creation to the screen. Since the character was toned down for the film, costume or not, he became involved in plots interchangeable with so many other caper movies.