How to Kill 400 Duponts (1967) User Reviews

Marvellous 60s comedy - just as good as the Clouseau and Fantomas movies!

[RonAltman · 7/10 · 9 January 2019]

Wow, a real find! Less than 100 user ratings? Unbelievable! The other reviewers say it is a spoof of Mario Bava's DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968), but it was released months BEFORE that movie... it rather spoofs the comic-book character Diabolik (existing since 1962).

"Delightful, virtually unknown comedy about a bumbling Scotland Yard inspector (Terry-Thomas), who comes to Southern France to catch costumed super-criminal Dorellik (Dorelli). The charismatic anti-hero accepts the assignment to kill all the Duponts of the world for an inheritance, all the while bemoaning the fact that his sidekick/lover Lee has fallen out of love with him. Slapstick ensues. Crime comedy is a perfect showcase for Italian singer Dorelli and the always wonderful Terry-Thomas. A spoof of the comic book character Diabolik, not the Mario Bava movie of the same name, which was released several months after this. At times reminiscent of the Clouseau or Fantomas movies of the time.

Entertaining (very) black comedy

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 5 August 2010]

You need to have a warped sense of humor to appreciate "How To Kill 400 Duponts" (inaccurate US title, by the way; the body count is 800+!). As in most black comedies, death is treated nonchalantly, but although nearly all the victims are random, innocent people who just happen to bear the name "Dupont", the killer is meant to be a likable comic figure! To be fair, Dorellik rarely kills anyone directly; he usually arranges for people to kill themselves. He is also a master of disguise, a notoriously great kisser, an acrobatic thief and a clever strategist. His nemesis is a sub-Inspector Clouseau type (Terry Thomas); his antics are not very funny in the first half, but they get funnier, and by the end the movie manages to capture the crazy-nutty-wacky tone it's been fighting for (the final plot twist is truly out-there!). Margaret Lee, as Dorellik's on-and-off girlfriend, looks gorgeous (what else is new?) and shows some flair for physical comedy. **1/2 out of 4.

The funniest movie ever made!

[Serpent-5 · 15 May 1999]

This movie is so funny that certain scene made me laugh so hard I cried. This is a spoof off from year before "Danger: Diabolik" with also starred Terry-Thomas. The plot has comedian Johnny Dorelli as a phantom hitman who is in need of work so he hired to kill all 400 people who is next to inherit a fortune. Lots of funny gags that makes this film a classic. The U.S. video print is missing several scenes though.

Before Diabolik

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 16 April 2023]

Also known as Arrriva Dorellik, this stars Johnny Dorelli as Dorellik, a character that he played on the television show Johnny Sera that is obviously inspired by Diabolik. His Eva Kant is Baby Eva, played by Margaret Lee, who was a big Eurospy star, appearing in Our Agent Tiger, Agent 077: From the Orient with Fury, Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, Dick Smart 2007, Secret Agent Super Dragon and OSS 117 - Double Agent. She also somehow made it through 12 movies alongside Klaus Kinski, as the pairing of the two was quite popular.

This movie actually came out before Danger:Diabolik and the producer of the movie, Dino De Laurentiis, sued the makers of this film and made them change the title (which means Here Comes Dorellik) to How to Kill 400 Duponts. What's funny is that this film's Inspector Ginko, known as Police Commissioner Green, is played by Terry-Thomas, who ended up being in the De Laurentiis-produced movie.

As for the story, Dorellik must kill everyone with the last name Dupont if he wants to inherit a large fortune. It's all rather silly instead of a true Eurospy movie, but the ending, where Dorellik and Green switch faces to their surprise is pretty funny.

Director Steno was a brand name for Italian comedies for years. The script was written by Franco Castellano and Giuseppe Moccia, who wrote fifty movies together and directed twenty.

Amazing

[dancer-15 · 10/10 · 24 August 1999]

Started as parody of a movie line about diabolik and other criminal-action heroes, it goes on and become an example of demential film. The plot is very simple but any minute will cause you to laugh as you took a heart-ache. no special effect, only good humor. Bravo Dorelli ! Impossible to find on VHS-Tape, sometimes in summer it's transmitted on italian video networks, it's a cult movie for any lover of demential films, like me and my girlfriend Alessandra: see it !

Arriva... is la bomba!

[FabuleuxDestin · 8/10 · 12 March 2005]

Sorry, I know that's a convoluted title, but the thing that got me interested in this film is the awesome title song Arriva La Bomba, really some of the best of Italian 60s music, and even better, it is sung in English on my VHS copy of the film. I'm just beginning to collect 60s European cinema because of an interest in that period and location musically, and I really enjoyed this. While a lot of it makes no sense whatsoever, the characterisation is pretty good and the humour definitely doesn't get lost in translation (I saw the English dub). I saw Diabolik before I watched this, for comparison purposes, and, put it this way, Dorellik didn't bore me to tears. Is it just me, or does Dorellik really remind you of Austin Powers at some points? My only complaint is that the English title (...400 Duponts) doesn't sound very good, but otherwise it's a great film, and if you're curious about seeing it, you have nothing to be scared of!