son Bryan also wrote mystery novels for a living.EW is revered by the
English and the Germans (and rightfully so).There have been over 150 film adaptations of his work.We'll concentrate on the output of the West Germans from 1959 to 1970.We're also handicapped by the fact that I haven't seen them all.
In the 1960's two major West German studios produced Edgar Wallace thrillers.
Actually The Avenger was lensed by a third studio that was quickly
embroiled in a lawsuit.Rialto produced the majority of the EW adaptations.
CCC produced a few based on the works of Bryan Wallace.They were
Secret Of The Black Trunk, Strangler Of Blackmoor Castle,Phantom Of
Soho,The Mad Executioners,The Racetrack Murders & Monster Of LondonCity.
Familiar actors popped up in many of the films.Joachim Fuchsberger,Klaus Kinski, Eddie Arent,Werner Peters,Dieter Borsche & Karin Dor were among the cast in most of the films.Alfred Vohrer,Franz JGottlieb and Harald Reinl directed a majority of the films.
In most of the films English country estates were transformed into cold, fog shrouded pockets of evil where death would strike at any moment.It often did, swift and savagely to the consternation of Scotland Yard.The London streets were no place any innocent person
would dare to venture.The Thames was a river of death as bodies washed up on almost a nightly basis.(Of course these were all filmed in Germany so we have to accept Hamburg locations for Soho).
FELLOWSHIP OF THE FROG:(1959):Gang led by the killer known as The Frog
terrorizes London.Scotland Yard is baffled and turns to a private eye for help.
THE TERRIBLE PEOPLE(1960):A bank robbery is foiled. The ringleader vows to return from the gallows to seek revenge against his accusers.When the witnesses start getting knocked off the best of Scotland Yard may not be good enough.
THE AVENGER(1960):A madman decapitates victims leaves their heads all over London.(A nice touch as he leaves one in a box for a few nosy ladies to open).What is his tie in to a movie set?A fast and furious ending.
CRIMSON CIRCLE(1960):A madman not only escapes the gallows but Devil's Island as well.He returns to London as The Red Circle.25 people become his victims.When Scotland Yard is unable to apprehend the fiend a private investigator is called in.But he too may fall victim to the Red Circle.
STRANGE COUNTESS(1961): Madness and murder prevail as a young woman discovers her past.What she finds out leads to several attempts on her life.Quite lurid for its time.
DEAD EYES OF LONDON(1961):(Krimi#6 11/1/01)Heavily insured wealthy men have been meeting with fatal accidents and winding up in the Thames.When a note is found on one man with the words "crime" & "murder" in braille Ins.Holt suspects a group of blind peddlers lead by the grotesque Blind Jack.Murder,inheritance theft plots and foggy death await viewers.Spooky.
FORGER OF LONDON(1961):Off beat EW thriller.An amnesiac playboy hold the key to a ruthless criminal gang and their operation.Is he involved?
THE GREEN ARCHER(1962):Gert Frobe(Goldfinger) stars as an American gangster threatened by the vigilante Green Archer.Some lurid touches as some folks have been kept prisoner for years in secret rooms.
DOOR WITH 7 LOCKS(1962):Seven keys are bequeathed to seven individuals.On the eve of an heir's legal age birthday, the key holders are ruthlessly and systematically murdered.The keys lead to a hidden fortune,a torture chamber and a mad doctor.
INN ON THE RIVER(1962):A killer by the name of the Shark tangles with Scotland Yard on the waterfront.Inspector Wade and the river police concentrate their efforts on a waterfront bar called Mekka.Unlucky patrons wind up with a harpoon in their chest.
SECRET OF THE BLACK TRUNK(1962):Drug smugglers check into a sleazy hotel.When
they find their bags packed they know they are going to die.Former addicts attack a vicous drug ring as Scotland Yard seems helpless.
SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID(1962):A Chicago gang leader is supposedly gunned down.His rival is deported back to England.A wave of blackmail and murder terrorizes London shortly thereafter. It has all the markings of the dead gangster's modus operandi.Christopher Lee is the FBI agent working with Scotland Yard to crack the case.
to continue
Site Map
EWallace2
EWallace3
Krimi#1Blue Hand
Krimi#2Black Abbot
The Mad Executioners
Strangler Of Blackmoor
Phantom Of Soho
Dead Eyes Of London
Circus Of Fear_
College Girl Murders
Monster Of London (4/2002)
