3 Supermen Against the Godfather

Lore & Background

The film follows a German professor (Ali Şen) who builds a time machine in Turkey and discovers the location of the Byzantine treasury hidden during the Fall of Constantinople. When the mafia and world powers learn of the machine, they fight for control—the mafia boss seeks lost heroin, while world powers aim to dominate their enemies. The three detective superheroes, including Murat (Cüneyt Arkın), intervene and ultimately save the world.

Reader's Guide

3 Supermen Against the Godfather was produced during a downturn in Italian cinema, with box office attendance falling from 455 million tickets in 1976 to 276 million in 1979. This prompted some Italian filmmakers to move productions to Turkey, where less demanding audiences welcomed B-movies. Director Italo Martinenghi, through his friend Guido Zurli, collaborated with Turkish producer Türker İnanoğlu to create this entry. The film cast included Aldo Canti from earlier Three Supermen films, Turkish star Cüneyt Arkın, and Aldo Sambrell, who also co-produced via his Spanish company Asbrell. The film was released in Turkey in 1979 and in Italy in 1980, but an Italian film historian described its release as 'practically never distributed,' noting it only surfaced on home video about a quarter-century later. It spawned two sequels: Three Supermen at the Olympic Games (1984) and Three Supermen in S. Domingo (1986).

Did You Know?

• The film was directed by Italo Martinenghi, who also directed The 3 Supermen in the West.
• Turkish actor Cüneyt Arkın played Detective Murat, also credited as Agent Brad.
• An Italian film historian said the film was 'practically never distributed' and only appeared on home video about 25 years later.

The Plot: A Time Machine and a Treasure Hunt

The narrative centers on a German professor, portrayed by Ali Şen, who successfully builds a time machine and chooses Turkey as the testing ground for his invention. His experiment yields an extraordinary discovery: the location of the Byzantine treasury that was concealed during the Fall of Constantinople. Word of this breakthrough quickly spreads, igniting a dangerous contest between organized crime and various world powers, each seeking to seize control of the device. The mafia boss is driven by a personal obsession—recovering a shipment of lost heroin—while the global powers harbor far grander ambitions, hoping to use temporal travel to dominate their rivals. Into this escalating conflict steps Murat, played by Cüneyt Arkın, alongside two fellow members of the Süpermenler, a trio of detective superheroes. Together, they intervene to protect the German scientist and ultimately prevent the time machine from falling into the wrong hands, saving the world from catastrophic misuse.

Production: An Industry in Transition

The making of this film was shaped by a period of significant upheaval in Italian cinema. The growing dominance of television was eroding theatrical audiences, and box office attendance in Italy dropped sharply from 455 million tickets in 1976 to 374 million in 1977, falling further to 276 million by 1979. Faced with declining revenues, a number of Italian filmmakers began relocating their productions to Turkey, where audiences were described as less demanding and more enthusiastic about the kind of low-budget genre fare that Italian studios were producing. Director Italo Martinenghi, through his friend Guido Zurli, connected with Turkish producer Türker İnanoğlu to launch the second installment of the Three Supermen franchise. Turkey itself had a rich tradition of superhero cinema, having produced its own versions of The Phantom in 1968, a Superman film in 1969, and 3 Dev Adam, which featured El Santo, Captain America, and Spider-Man. This cross-border collaboration allowed Martinenghi to continue his series while tapping into a market that still embraced the genre with genuine excitement.

Cast and Creative Collaboration

The ensemble brings together Italian and Turkish talent in a way that reflects the film's transnational production. Aldo Canti reprises his role as Atak, having appeared in earlier entries of the Three Supermen series, while Sal Borgese takes on the part of Matrak, completing the trio of detective superheroes. Cüneyt Arkın, a well-known Turkish actor, steps into the role of Detective Murat, also credited as Agent Brad. The antagonist, Baba Jackson, is played by Spanish actor Aldo Sambrell, who additionally co-produced the film through his Spanish company Asbrell, giving him a dual creative and business stake in the project. Supporting roles include Güngör Bayrak as Agata and Übsak Emre as Agata's lover. The German professor at the story's center is portrayed by Ali Şen. Director Italo Martinenghi helmed the production, bringing his experience from the first Three Supermen film to this second installment, which was produced in collaboration with Türker İnanoğlu's Turkish operation.

Release, Distribution, and Legacy

Despite being completed in 1979, the film's theatrical journey was remarkably limited. It received a release in Turkey that same year and followed in Italy in 1980, yet an Italian film historian characterized its distribution as practically never distributed, suggesting that even the Italian release was minimal. For decades, the film remained largely inaccessible to general audiences, only surfacing on home video roughly a quarter of a century after its initial production. This obscurity is notable given that the Three Supermen franchise continued beyond this entry, spawning two further sequels: Three Supermen at the Olympic Games in 1984 and Three Supermen in S. Domingo in 1986. The film carries the Italian title 3 supermen contro il padrino and the Turkish title Süpermenler, reflecting its dual-market origins. Its relative invisibility in both Italian and Turkish film histories makes it a curious footnote in the broader landscape of 1970s European genre cinema, a product of an industry in retreat that found new life across the border.