The Dream Theatre presents... 'El Santo Contra El Maestro de Crimen'

 (originally published on the 16th of November, 2017)

Last night, I dreamed a movie featuring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and starring El Santo. It was basically a Hammer/Mexican co-production in much like 'Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires' was a Hammer/Shaw Brothers co-production. So, without further ado, here’s the ‘too much cheese before bedtime productions’ version of ‘El Santo Contra El Maestro de Crimen’. Lee (in brown-face a la Charlton Heston in 'Touch of Evil') is the charming but conscienceless villain, a master criminal who specializes in rare and antique artefacts, while Cushing plays an antiquities professor working for the British Musuem who's acting as a consultant to Interpol on the case.

Lee gets a couple of good James Bond Villain moments, exchanging urbane banter with Cushing and El Enmascarado de Plata, but tends to steer clear of the action scenes except for a car-chase sequence, and Cushing alternates between delivering crisp exposition and delivering dry commentary on the strange events unfolding.

"Not exactly according to the Marquis of Queensbury rules."
"No indeed, but effective nonetheless."

The film co-starred Nathanael (Frankestein) León as Lee's pet mad scientist, who uses the blood from the dagger which killed the nefarious Baron Brakola to restore the vampire to unlife. Fernando Osés reprising his role here from 'Santo vs Baron Brakola'.

In the end, after having defeated the Vampire and the mad scientist (Cushing reprises his impromptu crucifix out of two candlesticks bit in order to give El Santo the breathing room he needs to destroy Brakola again), they race to the airfield, where Lee is escaping in a biplane. After a scuffle on the wing, El Santo parachutes to earth holding Lee's face! It was a mask all along!

Lee’s character is revealed as Fantômas (they keep the Mexican look for the character with the blank white face), who remains at large despite his plans being thwarted. This, of course, sets up the follow-up film - ‘El Santo en París’ - in which El Enmascarado de Plata chases down Fantômas on the Master of Crime’s home turf.