Che fanno i nostri supermen tra le vergini della jungla? (1970) watch online HD

Having already directed every serious hero from Sandokan to Zorro, Bitto Albertini took one look at the campy Batman TV phenomenon, took the red suits The Monkees used to wear as 'Monkeemen' and decided to only make spoofs from now on. This entry in the 'Supermen' series, has two buff bodybuilders (Brad Harris, George Martin) and mute Italian acrobat (Sal Borgese) wearing the same silly red leotards and a matching black cape (Stephen J. Cannell, take note) These super-suits remain as much a mystery to their enemies as they are to the audience. I guess Albertini and Co rationed that anyone who had not seen one of the preceding films, would never bother with this one.

The vague agency that our heroes work for forces Superman Steve to postpone his wedding so he can rescue his buddies Dick and Martin from an Arabian prison. They get away on some Arabian Horses (they can't even fly by themselves?) and have to secure an Uranium mine from falling into the hands of a Russian expedition led by Klaus Kronski. The three of them seem to have one of those Bud Spencer/Terrence Hill relationships. As long as there is a common goal or enemy, they will work together, but as soon as the job is done, it's every man for himself.

They meet up with an old man who shows them the way through the stock shot invested jungle. The story moves along with awkward jump-cuts: one moment the mute one is communicating with animals (!?), the next moment he is being cooked in a pot. Turns out they have been captured by Jungla (Femi Benussi) and her band of amazons who rule over the original inhabitants of the jungle. Happy to have found some Caucasian guys, the girls do some sexy sixties dancing while the natives play their Flintstone style xylophones.

Steve has no intention of becoming Jungla's jungle king, although he never mentions his fiancée back at the altar either. Jungla brews up a love potion to snare her man, but Dr. Dick Doolittle drinks it instead and lo and behold, starts to speak (this is comedy gold). Meanwhile those evil Ruskies are doing a dance of their own, having traded the uranium land (often mentioned but never seen) for a fridge and a bike. At one point the bad guys even manage to steal the suits, and start shooting at the half naked Supermen. They only manage to murder the old guide, but our heroes never notice the loss (and this was probably the most likable person in the picture). After a confusing fight scene we get a rather unnecessary coda back in the big city, where the Supermen are back to double- and triple crossing each other.

5 out of 10, for sheer lunacy

During the late '60s, the superhero genre was alive and well in Italy, a country which churned out instant classics like DANGER DIABOLIK, THE FANTASTIC ARGOMAN, and SUPERARGO VERSUS DIABOLICUS. Most of these films contained high elements of spoofery and could be considered half-comedies in themselves, a bizarre mix of Bondian spy adventure, Mexican wrestling movies, and camped-up lycra-wearing comic book characters like TV's BATMAN. One such film - 1967's THREE FANTASTIC SUPERMEN - was successful enough to spawn four sequels which were made well into the mid '80s. THREE FANTASTIC SUPERMEN IN THE JUNGLE is the third in the series and contains so much slapstick humour that it's an out and out comedy.

The plot lurches from one set piece to another, and the film as a whole is a perfectly good example of low-budget film-making working for once. For instance, it looks glossy and colourful, it's fun and exciting and action-packed, despite there being no special effects - other than some athletic stunt work - on show. Most of the action is played for laughs (such as the Supermen displaying their strength as the enemy use weapon after weapon against them, all of them useless) but the film is fast-paced and works anyway. All of the elements of a jungle-set superhero film are present, including the brightly-dressed heroes, numerous tribes, a gang of bad guys, and ropey-looking wildlife such as black widow spiders, crocodiles etc.

As a comedy, THREE FANTASTIC SUPERMEN IN THE JUNGLE hits the level of CARRY ON UP THE JUNGLE, or perhaps slightly lower. This is definitely a lame brained film which is fun purely for nostalgia reasons. Humour comes from bizarre situations, dumb Three Stooges-style japes and pranks and also (as to be expected from the time) a lot of fun is made of the minority groups - the jabbering, black-skinned natives who boil men in cooking pots; the tribe of loincloth-clad female Amazons who turn out to be subservient and looking for men for husbands; the Chinese, heck, even the Russians aren't spared as soldiers begin cossack-dancing in the middle of jungle clearings to celebrate their successes in a hilarious fashion. Yes, it's incredibly dated for its sexism and racism.

The supporting characters are mainly stereotypes, from the stuffy FBI bosses to the heavily-accented, slimy Russian bad guys. At least they're fun, if predictable. Brad Harris takes the lead (mainly due to his colossal physique) as the chief superman and is both likable and charismatic in his part - a strong turn from the former peplum titan. George Martin is the subdued 'straight man' of the trio, whilst Sal Borgese overplays it for laughs as a bumbling, idiotic mute. Despite some flaws this is an amusing, entertaining offering from crazy old Italy and by the looks of it, the rest of the series is well worth tracking down.

Fantastic opening credits with coloured lights and the 'Supermen' logos...

Brad Harris stars as Brad, one of the three supermen, along with Martin and Dick (a mute who 'talks' weird and makes silly faces). They have to go into the jungle to stop some pesky Russians from obtaining land rich with uranium. Martin and Dick are being held prisoners by some sheikhs (?) and are about to be put to death by spikes up their bottoms so Brad is forced to rescue them (leaving his wedding to get there), first by rocket and then by some underground vehicle with a large drill bit.

Once in the (stock footage of stampeding elephants) jungle which looks more like a forest, the men meet an old guy who has a map to the uranium and they go off together in a jeep. They stop off for a swim in a lake and meet Jungla, a queen of a tribe of white chicks in bikinis. Meanwhile the Russians meet the owners of the land and try to buy it off them with gold, they don't like that but do like their offering of party toys, and dance around madly, blowing little plastic trumpets (actually everybody in this film dances at some point). The Russians along with the tribe attack the 'Supermen', but their red suits are invincible to the bullets, spears and arrows - Jungla and co help out, which leads to a pointless cat-fight with the Russian girl losing most of her clothes!

The men then end up about to be cooked by Jungla and her tribe, Martin as a cake, Dick as soup in a large pot and Brad roasted on a fire. The death by cuisine is called off when a witch doctor announces that Jungla wants to marry Brad. Next thing the girls of the tribe are doing a campy dance number and all the men are canoodling with chosen women (Jungla wants to 'devour Brad with kisses' in her tent).

It all ends up with car chases, more fight scenes, double crosses, triple crosses and Brad dressed as a Chinese man. Absolutely brilliant, I couldn't ask for more in a film which was a mixture of super heroes, daft comedy, cave girls, rubber crocodiles and campy costumes. And (!) a superb soundtrack by Sante Romitelli.