Marie Chantal Contre Le Docteur Kha (aka Blue Panther) (1965)

On a train bound for Switzerland, a secret agent (Roger Hanin) entrusts a young woman (Marie Laforet) with a jewel of a blue panther with ruby eyes. Unbeknownst to her, the jewel contains a deadly virus powerful enough to destroy all mankind. Based on a character created by Jacques Chazot in a series of novels and written and directed by Claude Chabrol (LES BICHES). Chabrol is in a playful mood here in this spy satire which has more than a touch of Fritz Lang's DR. MABUSE films. The plot is overly complicated but in this case, I suspect part of Chabrol's intent. It's not to be taken seriously, just relax and enjoy the silliness. Full of vivid characters and colorful locations (Switzerland, Morocco), the movie's ambiguous ending screams "Sequel!" but it never happened. Charles Denner plays an American but I can't decide if his American accent is terrible or he's doing an American with a terrible French accent (in which case, it's excellent). With Akim Tamiroff as the movie's master villain, Stephane Audran, Francisco Rabal, Serge Reggiani, Pierre Francois Moro and Gilles Chusseau, who comes as close to stealing the movie as anyone.