A black and white Australian short film (just over 14 minutes) directed by Garry Shead. Shot on location in Sydney, Australia, with various Sydney visual artists playing characters in this short comic story inter-cut with images from Phantom comics.

Peter Kingston plays the Phantom and Wendy Whitely as the damsel in distress, Baby Jane. Other cast members include John Delacour, John Firth-Smith, Michael Hobbs, Marguerita Borsten, Jenny Hoffman, Brett Whiteley, Gaven Wilson and Edwin Scragg.

Fanta was first screened to the public by the Sydney Filmmakers’ Co-op at the New Theater in Sydney in 1973.

The Story

A man obsessed with Phantom comics fantasises himself as the contemporary Phantom after purchasing a Phantom comic from a newspaper kiosk before boarding a Sydney Harbor ferry.

The man dreams of rescuing a beautiful fellow passenger, a gangster moll, Baby Jane from the cluthces of an evil crime boss, Alva Blowfoot.

Overpowered by Alva Blowfoot’s henchmen and tied to train tracks, Baby Jane comes to the Phantom’s aid. He eventually apprehends Alva Blowfoot and his henchmen.

With the case solved, the closing scene depicts the Phantom disembarking the ferry in his civilian guise of Kit Walker.

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