THE MURDERERS' CLUB OF BROOKLYN

George Nader as Jerry Cotton

THE MURDERERS' CLUB OF BROOKLYN (aka Der Morderclub von Brooklyn/1967). Director: Werner Jacobs.

FBI agent Jerry Cotton (George Nader) and his partner Phil Decker (Heinz Weiss) take on a sinister group operating out of Brooklyn that extorts money from wealthy businessmen by threatening to murder their children. Some of these victims are indeed kidnapped and found dead. The businessmen -- Dyers (Karel Stepanek), Johnson (Helmuth Rudolph) and Cormick (Rudi Schmitt), as well as their sons Bryan Dyers (Helmut Fornbacher) and Burnie Johnson (Helmut Kircher) -- come under suspicion as well. The trail seems to lead to a Salvation Army outpost run by one Nash (Horst Michael Neutze). But the true mastermind behind it all might surprise even Jerry. 

Heinz Weiss with Nader

Murderers' Club is one of the most entertaining and well-made Jerry Cotton thrillers. At one point Phil is kidnapped and left to die in the back of a refrigerated truck, and at another point Jerry fakes his own death in an elevator to draw out the criminals. There's a splendid fight scene atop a speeding freight train. Peter Thomas' score is very effective and employs the annoying Jerry Cotton theme sparingly. Phil is given more to do in this installment than in others. Franziska Bronnen makes an impression as Jerry's efficient secretary, Susan, who even gets involved in the action during a car chase. 

Murderers' Club is the fifth in a series of eight West German films starring Nader as Cotton. The movies were based on a whole slew of German-language thrillers by various authors starring the NYC-based FBI agent. A more recent German movie entitled Jerry Cotton came out in 2010.

Verdict: Exciting and fast-paced West German thriller. ***.