From the stylish comic book style credits at the beginning we know this is not to be taken too seriously and that a good time could be had. And indeed it is. Nothing too special but a slight story involving the theft of some jewels is much enlivened by Lenzi's enthusiastic direction. Everything, from the skeleton like costume the 'Kriminal' dons to the fine costumes worn by the great Helga Line (in a double role) and the wonderful London and Istanbul location photography, this keeps happily moving in its own colourful way from start to finish. So outlandish and likable in parts that this is laugh out loud funny at times and there is certainly never a dull moment as our dashing hero seduces, deduces, makes time for a little lovemaking and crucially when the situation demands, kills. All action, all smiles fantastically decorated 1966 minor gem from one of Italy's most able directors.

After escaping a hanging for stealing the British Royal Crown, mysterious super-thief Kriminal (Glenn Saxson) sets his sights on some jewels being taken from London to Istanbul. Everything goes smoothly until he subdues the courier (Helga Liné) and finds out her jewel box is empty. He figures out that the owners were looking to swindle the insurance company, so he heads to Turkey to blackmail them and also steal the real jewels if at all possible. Close on his heels is Inspector Milton (Andrea Bosic). Oh man, Umberto Lenzi adapting a popular Italian comic character who dresses like a skeleton? Filmed widescreen in England and Istanbul? This has to rock, right? Uh, no. While watching this I realized around the one hour mark that I'd heard a lot of talk about diamonds, but very little actual action. It isn't until the 70 minute mark that the plan goes into effect and is laughable at best, relying on a bank actually letting a guy enter their safe deposit box vault with his head wrapped in bandages. What I was hoping would be in the vein of DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968) ended up being more along the lines of very dry Bond knockoff. One problem is there is very little action that one would expect. A car chase? Hell, a foot chase? Nope. The Kriminal costume is very cool, but he only wears it three times throughout the movie and never during actual robberies, just when he likes to creep up on women. This is the film's other major problem as Kriminal is a pretty mean character, even for an anti-hero. I figure the filmmakers want you to root for him, but it is hard when he slaps women around and tries to blow up his ex-wife. Saxson is handsome as the lead, looking a bit like Richard Harrison. He returned in the sequel THE MASK OF KRIMINAL (1968) a couple of years later.

One of several Italian "costumed super-criminal" outings made in the mid-1960s (for a brief period, I think it was the third most popular film genre, after spy movies and spaghetti Westerns), "Kriminal" has good production values but a rather bland look - there is nothing distinctive about it, except maybe the title character's skeleton costume, which he wears very briefly. Kriminal may be good with his fists, a master of disguise, and a clever criminal planner, but he doesn't have much charisma or personality, except maybe for an obnoxious arrogance. The women are pretty but dreadfully underused. The film gets dull more often than it should. ** out of 4.

Watchable entry in the super-criminal subgenre even if it is a far cry from Danger: Diabolik. This film begins with Kriminal escaping execution and quickly planning a diamond heist. Since the diamonds have already been stolen, Kriminal is essentially swindling criminals. This doesn't necessarily make him a good guy, what with trying to blow up his ex-wife who turned stool pigeon. Still, Kriminal has charm. . . and a nifty skeleton suit for nocturnal adventures. An all black suit might have been more practical for blending into the darkness but Kriminal is anything if stylish. The film itself could have used more style. Umberto Lenzi's direction is merely serviceable, lacking the thrills of some of the director's 70's crime movies. On the plus side, the film offers bright cinematography and appealing eye candy provided by Helga Line and Mary Arden (Blood and Black Lace).Kriminal is not a film that stays long in the memory but offers a pleasant enough lazy afternoon viewing.