Master thief Diabolik (John Phillip Law) gets his kicks stealing money, jewels and gold from governments and the super-rich. Diabolik’s intake provides him with a hot life with his hot girlfriend Eva (Marisa Mell). When he’s done with a job, he parks his 1968 Jaguar in his secret ultra-modern underground lair where he lives and sleeps decadently with Eva – so decadent that in one scene he and Eva are having sex on a revolving round bed covered in money. The villain, Valmont, is played by Adolfo Celi, whom James Bond fans would recognize as Largo, the bad guy opposite Sean Connery in Thunderball (1965).
The clothes, the cars, the sets, the music, the hair… The costumes and sets alone will send you into another stratosphere. Off the chart. In terms of its trimmings and tone, Danger: Diabolik is like a male version of Barbarella, so campy and so delicious you can’t take your eyes off it. The production design suggests an art direction that is somewhere between ultra-suave 007 and the age of Aquarius. It’s such resplendent fun.
Diabolik was made in that era of Italian filmmaking where the scenes were shot without sound and the dialog was clearly dubbed in later, probably by different actors. It was directed by Mario Bava, who was originally a cinematographer who became known for directing Italian horror films in the 1960s. It was produced by legendary producer Dino de Laurentiis, who also produced Barbarella in the same year.
In 1998, the Beastie Boys parodied some of the scenes from this cult classic in their video for “Body Movin’.”
Unfortunately, as of this writing, Danger: Diabolik isn’t available to rent from anywhere I’m aware of, but the DVD is available on Amazon.
Watch the trailer:
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