| The Pumaman | |
|---|---|
 Italian one-sheet for The Pumaman |
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| Directed by | Alberto De Martino |
| Written by | Luigi Angelo Alberto De Martino Massimo De Rita |
| Starring | Walter George Alton Donald Pleasence Miguel Ángel Fuentes Sydne Rome Silvano Tranquilli Benito Stefanelli Guido Lollobrigida |
| Music by | Renato Serio |
| Cinematography | Mario Vulpiani |
| Editing by | Vincenzo Tomassi |
| Release date(s) | February 14, 1980 |
| Running time | 90 min |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Pumaman (L’Uomo puma, in Italian) was an Italian-produced English-language movie about a superhero of the same name, released in 1980. It was mocked by Mystery Science Theater 3000 during its ninth season (1998).
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Plot
The villainous Dr. Kobras has found a gold Aztec mask with which he plans to control the minds of world leaders. However, he fears the interference of the Pumaman, a "man-god" sired by aliens and the protector of the mask who he believes to be living in nearby London. He has somehow learned that the Pumaman is American, male, and his parents have died in a plane crash. Kobras' henchmen begin to throw people matching these criteria out windows, as the Pumaman will be able to survive it. Pumaman turns out to be Tony Farms, an American archeologist who is discovered by Vadinho, an Aztec priest who, like Kobras’s men, confirms Pumaman’s status by defenestration. He later gives Tony a magical belt that gives him a superhero's costume and further powers: he can fly (it's described by characters as superhuman leaping, but depicted as flying), see in the dark, sense imminent danger, teleport himself, temporarily feign death, and use his hands like claws to tear metal. Pumaman ultimately defeats Kobras by making the helicopter in which he's attempting to flee crash. Vadinho has an interesting belief structure mostly based on the assumption that man is powerful and that a group of aliens are god(s), often repeating the phrase "each man is a god, each man is free."
Criticism
The movie is widely regarded as incoherent and choppy. Several instances of particular note are the climactic fight where Pumaman spends most of the time jumping around while Vadinho punches out wave after wave of Kobras’s henchmen. Also particularly infamous are the flying scenes, which mostly consist of Pumaman madly waving his arms and legs as the obviously rear projected background advances. There is even a scene where Pumaman grabs a Kobra henchman, flies high into the sky and drops him, where the background footage appears at an angle, making the henchman look like he’s falling sideways. Another noted flaw in The Pumaman — and one that Mystery Science Theater used to great effect — is how much work Vadinho has to do, far outstepping his role as a mentor and performing most of the heroics himself as Pumaman dangles from windows, flies foolishly through the air and constantly requires Vadinho’s assistance
