Any text that is noted with a (T.N.) means that this was a note added into the original article by the translator - who in this case, is Guillaume!

This article is dedicated to Tsutomu Shibayama, character designer on the Lupin the Third pilot film and a layout artist on The Mystery of Mamo, who sadly passed away on March 17th, 2026.

The love for Lupin the Third spreads worldwide. But not every nation got to meet with the monkey-faced thief in quite the same way. For France, native country of the original Arsène Lupin created by Maurice Leblanc, it was a rocky road.

In this new series of articles, written by anime specialist JérémieBL, and translated by Guillaume Babey of Sideburns & Cigarettes, we will dive deep into Lupin’s French localisation. For our first entry, we are going back to the franchise’s first animated feature, The Mystery of Mamo. The original article for this piece was written by JérémieBL, and can be read in its original language of French by clicking here.

This article would not have been possible without the 2023 Blu-Ray release by Naban, which includes both French dubs for The Mystery Mamo. Incidentally, Guillaume was originally part of that release for a special bonus, but TMS decided against it (T.N.). The 1981 dub was fully restored by Mike Locicero, supervised by Michael Traeckels. They also conducted extensive research to find the original recording studio, and the names of several comedians who participated in the dub.

A B-Movie Treatment

Lupin III’s journey to France started on November 1st, 1979. On that day, an agreement was made between Isao Matsuhoka of Toho International, owner of Mamo’s distributing rights, out on December 16th, 1978, in Japan, and a small French distribution company, Rex International Distribution, founded on December 25th, 1959, and disbanded in June 1985.

Its director, Alexandre Tzambasis, had previously distributed several small budget films, sometimes through a sister-company, Cosmopolis Films. Tzambasis also distributed countless B movies to local theatres through yet another company, Les Films Marbeuf, through the 60s and 70s. Rex International’s had previously distributed other Toho properties, as they had bought the rights for Son of Godzilla and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep in 1977 - this one was also dubbed by the same company as Mamo.

The contract binding Toho & Rex International indicates a seven-year commitment in exchange of 15,000 USD for most of the French-speaking territories, African countries, and with Quebec included. Toho had given the French distributors two positive copies of the movie, clearly marked as English version. Indeed, Toho had previously commissioned the Tokyo-based agency Frontier Enterprises to dub The Mystery of Mamo into English, originally to show on Japan Airlines flights to America. This first English version would serve as the main basis for the films international release.

An excerpt from the original contract signed between Toho International and Rex International, Source: CNC

If this version remains quite faithful to the original, some names had been changed to tone down the Japanese origin of the film. Jigen becomes Dan Dunn, Fujiko is renamed Margo, Zenigata is Ed Scott, and Goemon is simply known as… Samurai. Oddly enough, Lupin retains his name. Apparently, the rights issues with the Leblanc estate hadn’t started yet.

Mamo was then spelled Mamaux and his Howard Lockewood alias was changed to Phoward Phugues, probably to make the reference to director, producer, and amateur aviator Howard Hugues more obvious. In the same vein, Special Presidential Aide Starky is renamed Gissinger, an obvious nod to real life diplomat and overall evil bastard Henry Kissinger.

Only in 1995 with the Streamline Pictures VHS release did the Mamo spelling impose itself as the definitive version. According to Historian Fred Patten on cartoonresearch.com, Cartoon / Fantasy Organization cofounder Mark Merlino was responsible for the spelling used by Streamline until TMS imposed The Secret of Mamo as the film’s official foreign title.

The first Italian version of The Mystery of Mamo from 1979 also used the Mamo spelling while including the Phoward Phugues and Gissinger names from the Frontier dub. This version might have influenced the French one in some unexpected ways…

According to the aforementioned contract, Rex International had to provide the French sound negatives, including the fully mixed dub, to either Vittoli or Technicolor laboratories in Rome, so they could make the positives that will be used for the French distribution. While this remains pure conjecture, it is likely during this phase that the original Lupin Ondo ending song, still present in the Frontier dub, was replaced with the infamous Planet O song by Daisy Daze and the Bubble Bees.

Cover artwork of the French record of the *Planet-O* theme song - which is quite a collector’s item now in France!

Fans of the franchise would know the song was used as the opening title for the Italian version of the green jacket series. While the group name and lyrics are in English, the song was actually composed by a Frenchman, Norbert Cohen (a.k.a Norbert Alvil), with arrangements by Tony Rallo. The vocals were provided by Sharon Woods (a.k.a Jean Breguet) and Albert Emsalem.

While these musicians would enjoy lifelong careers on their own, as Daisy Daze and the Bubble Bees they only released Planet O and a funky cover of Happy Birthday to you. As expected, the song was also used for Mamo’s Italian version, for both the opening and credit sequences. We cannot confirm if the original French release also featured the song in the opening sequence, as the 1986 VHS release might have edited it out.

On December 3rd, 1979, Rex International Distribution sells the movie, VHS and TV rights of Mystery of Mamo to D.R Films to release in France and Africa, for 75,000 francs (around 11,000 USD at the time), on the single condition that the film had to have a French dub. For this, they would collaborate with Les Films de la Rose then under the supervision of Jacqueline Beymeix Eudes d'Eudeville.

The co-licencing contract was signed on January 4th, 1980, for 64,200 francs. For reasons yet unknown, Metropolitan Filmexport would join the fray to help with the film’s theatrical distribution. Probably the fact that the two companies shared the same address, 116 bis Avenue des Champs Elysées, it was easy to find an agreement for this joined effort.

A faifthful and colorful first dub

D.R.Films likely produced the dub in the year 1980 in their headquarters at Rue du Château in La Garenne Colombe. Several companies in the movie industry had find found a home there, including the Société Industrielle de Sonorisation (SIS), a dubbing company founded back in 1932 that would work with Disney on several of their animated features.

It is likely that D.R. Films recorded the dub at SIS’ studios, unless they used their own, as D.R. Films, on top of producing and distributing cheap exploitation and pornography, presented itself as a provider of all moviemaking services, if their official stamp – present on all their contracts overseen by Annie Mirapeu, is to be believed.

Entrance to the SIS premises as of 2008 in La Garenne-Colombes. Since then, the auditoriums have been sold following the companies’ closure in the 2010s and have now become the headquarters of a real estate group. On the right, you can see the building that formerly housed the D.R. Films offices.

The dubbing director’s identity had long remained a mystery, to the point it doesn’t even figure in Naban’s Blu-Ray release. Thankfully, La Cinémathèque Québecoise mentioned the dubbing director in the additional credits for Mamo’s French version, also adding credence to differences between the theatrical and VHS releases.

Turns out, it was none other than André Chelossi, Annie Mirapeu’s husband and president of the company. Chelossi also directed the French dub for George P. Cosmatos’ Massacre in Rome for Les Films J.M.M. He was also executive producer on several pornographic movies such as Le bijou d'amour (also co-produced with Les Films de la Rose).

Considering how the original script writer Atsushi Yamatoya also wrote several Pinku Eiga and even directed one, this French dub’s loose association with the world of pornography feels strangely appropriate (T.N.).

The dialogues were translated by Jacqueline Porel, one of the great ladies of French dubbing, who regularly dubbed Deborah Kerr, Audrey Hepburn and Lana Turner. She would go on to direct the French version of several Disney films such as the redubs for Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, The Fox and the Hound as well as the first French dubs for The Black Cauldron and The Great Mouse Detective, all supervised by SIS.

Jacqueline Porel, the adapter of this French version. The photograph shown here is from the André Bernard collection.

Her work on The Mystery of Mamo is both faithful to the Frontier dub and unique, filled with punchy lines, worthy of French dialogist Michel Audiard. Porel’s script keeps most of the pop culture references, such as Lupin’s mention of Alain Delon.

Lupin III is dubbed by Marcel Guido, known for giving his voice to Victor Garber, Bruce Davison, and Martin Sheen. Guido gives a great performance as the master thief, nailing his lecherous moments as well as his mischievous attitude, in a tone close to both Yasuo Yamada and Tom Clark who dubbed Lupin in the Frontier dub. Bernard Jourdain plays Jigen / Dan Dunn with the same gusto, especially during his crankier moments opposite Lupin, Goemon or a certain U.S. politician. Goemon / Samuraï is dubbed by Michel Papineschi, who would later be Robin Williams’s regular French voice. Here, he delivers an understated performance fitting of our stoic swordsman.

Where the dub cast shines most though are with Denis Boileau as the devilish Mamaux and Lily Baron as the manipulative yet sensitive Fujiko / Margo. Baron had previously dubbed Helen of Bavaria in the Sissi movies from the 50’s, and Linda Thorson in the Avengers TV series. Last but not least, Richard Leblond, who voiced the lawyer in The Adams Family, here is inspector Zenigata / Ed Scott. Leblond is perfect in the role, capable of juggling between his mad obsession to capture Lupin, and his goofier moments.

Rare vintage poster from the French release of *Mamo,* Source: Camille Rosset’s blog.

Released on February 25th, 1981, The Mystery of Mamo, then simply titled Lupin III, apparently got mixed reviews and a lukewarm public reception. The movie got no coverage in any newspaper or specialised magazine, and apart from a few posters, the market campaign was almost non-existent. It is therefore difficult to assess whether this was a financial success for D.R. Films and Metropolitan.

On January 12th, 1982, a little less than a year after the movie’s release, D.R. Films was liquidating its assets and was forced to sell several of its titles, including Lupin III to Intercontinental Productions. The latter released Mamo on VHS under the Super Video Productions line, with a first batch in 1985, then again in 1987.

On February 15th, 1984, Flach Films gets the rights from Les Films de la Rose for a potential theatrical release of The Mystery of Mamo, and for a period of time exceeding the original January 1989 limit set by the Toho-Rex contract. Flach Films’ contract’s legal status was therefore more than a little shaky.

This marked the end for The Mystery of Mamo in France until 2005 with IDP’s DVD release under the title Edgar de la Cambriole: Le Secret de Mamo. For this momentous occasion, the movie had to be redubbed.

Cover artwork from the IDP DVD features the “Edgar de la cambriole” logo. This is the only video edition of the film released by this publisher.

Olivier Fallaix, was working for IDP as a DVD cover designer and dubbing supervisor until 2006, when he would become Chief-Editor for AnimeLand, the most important anime magazine in France. He recalls how he got to work on Lupin III a.k.a Edgar:

My first dub for IDP was for Future Boy Conan with Brigitte Lecordier (N.W.: a 2000 redub for the VHS release). Then in 2005, we worked with Yves Huchez, on dubbing the Touch movies and then Edgar [...]. IDP had already re-released Edgar Détective Cambrioleur (the 1985 French dub of part 2’s first 52 episodes (T.N.), and Yves wanted to continue while proposing previously unreleased entries. So, we got the rights for some of the films but not all of them, because Dybex had already acquired the rights for several of the films. We managed to get Mamo, Cagliostro, The Legend of the Gold of Babylon, and The Fuma Clan Conspiracy [...] The DVD market was flourishing at the time, and nostalgic series were pretty popular, but a French dub was necessary to make it work. For me, releasing Edgar meant bringing the original dub cast back, and I fought for it.

In truth only the legendary Philippe Ogouz, who voiced Lupin / Edgar throughout Part 2 / the 1982 dub of The Castle of Cagliostro, and Catherine Lafond as Fujiko / Magali came back. Ogouz also served as dubbing director on the IDP dubs.

The newcomers include Philippe Peythieu, versatile comedian who notably dubbed Danny De Vito and Homer Simpson (T.N.) as Jigen, and Jean Barney as Goemon. Patrick Messe plays inspector Zenigata / Lacogne while Mamo is dubbed by Jean Claude Sachot, known for being the voice of Commissioner Gordon in the French version Batman: The Animated Series.

His take on Mamo is markedly less menacing than in the first French dub, giving away some of the mystery surrounding the character’s appearance. Benoist Brione provides his talents on several supporting characters, including Flinch. Sachet and Brione would be back for the 2007 French release of Return the Treasure, Spécial Opération Diamant, again with Ogouz as dubbing director.

Olivier was well aware of the 1981 French release of the film:

As soon as I got a serious interest in Japanese animation, especially when Animeland started, I quickly learned how much of a classic Lupin III is in Japan, and that’s when I discovered the first Cagliostro dub, with the French opening song, but also Mamo and his very adult first dub, the only one where he retained his name before they had to change it for copyright issue. [...].

As to why this new localisation by Tim Stevens differs so much from the first French dub, erasing some of the profanities and pop culture references (including Alain Delon) Olivier Fallaix explains:

Regarding the tone of our dub, we just wanted to stick to what had been done with Philippe Ogouz and the other comedians before. It would have been strange to stay too close to the first dub in that regard. I can understand why some would prefer the first French version, as it is closer to the movie’s original tone, but it was still important for us to keep the same tone and approach than the rest of what had been dubbed at the time.

Promotional poster used by Splendor Films for the re-release of the feature film for cinemas.

A good example of that tonal change can be found in some of Philippe Ogouz’ improvisations like when Lupin, stumbling upon the clone of Hitler, suddenly makes a Nazi salute. In French, Ogouz changed it to “Hello, do you like French fries!?”

The 1987 Italian re-release of the film as Lupin III - La pietra della saggezza and the 2003 Geneon / Streamline English dub also made similar changes, toning down some of the less savoury aspects of the film (T.N.).

The first French dub was absent from IDP’s DVD release, and it is therefore with their own redub that most French speaking fans of Lupin the Third would first be exposed to The Mystery of Mamo. That very same dub would later be used for the limited theatrical re-release on December 11th, 2019, by Splendor Films. Naban would later include the IDP redub on their Blu-ray release, with its French opening and credit sequences as a bonus.

Conclusion

The Mystery of Mamo is incredibly important for being the first instalment of the franchise to get an international release, mainly in Europe with mixed results.

By the time Italy released The Mystery of Mamo, Italians were already familiar with the original 1971 green jacket series. France did not have the same head start. The movie’s discrete release in small, local theatres with little to no media coverage clearly hurt Lupin’s chances to make it big in the nation of his namesake.

While drastically different in their approach, the two French dubs are equally deserving of our interest, and the 2023 Blu-Ray release is a miraculous opportunity to enjoy both of them, as well as the original one. Lupin’s journey to France is far from over though, and the second feature film, a certain Castle of Cagliostro, would also get several different French dubs. But that is a story for another time…