THE BLACK ABBOTT (1963)

The Black Abbott on the prowl

THE BLACK ABBOTT (aka Der schwarze Abt/1963). Director: Franz Josef Gottlieb. 

Lord Harry Chelford (Dieter Borsche of Dead Eyes of London) lives on his estate -- which is reputed to be haunted by a Black-robed Abbott -- and is engaged to Leslie (Grit Boettcher), although she clearly prefers her fiance's cousin, Dick Alford (Joachim Fuchsberger). Leslie's brother, Arthur (Harry Wustenhagen), has a great deal of debts, and is taken advantage of by his employee, Fabian Gilder (Werner Peters) -- Arthur either talks his sister into marrying Gilder, or he will send Arthur to prison. In the meantime, Gilder, Mary (Eva Ingeborg Scholz) who wants Lord Chelford for herself, and others -- including the berobed abbott -- are searching the grounds of the Chelford estate for a rumored treasure of gold. Someone has already been stabbed to death -- who will be next?

Kinski with Fuchsberger

The Black Abbott is based on an old novel by Edgar Wallace which is convoluted and dull and which I never did manage to finish. This film version -- there have been several -- is almost too faithful to the story and is also convoluted and dull. Frankly, although I generally love West German krimi (crime) movies based on Edgar Wallace novels, if this had been the first one I watched I probably wouldn't have sat through the others. Fuchsberger and Peters are familiar players -- Klaus Kinski (of Web of the Spider) is also in this, playing a sinister butler with a criminal history -- and we are also plagued by the presence of the awful Eddi Arent in his usual role of police bumpkin and alleged comedy relief.  

Mismatch: Werner Peters with Grit Boettcher

The Black Abbott has some atmosphere but not much suspense despite so many different characters running around to little effect. More than one of them dress up as the Black Abbott on different occasions, although there usually isn't much sense to it. There was a British film version of the novel in the thirties, and other krimi movies were based on it afterwards (such as The College-Girl Murders in 1967), although these took a lot of liberties. If you're looking for a horror film with a sinister monk beheading people, this isn't it. What you will get instead is a tedious mystery film that fades from memory even as you're watching it. 

Verdict: Could have killed the West German Edgar Wallace sub-genre practically at the starting gate. *. 

DER TEPPICH DES GRAUENS

Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Dor

DER TEPPICH DES GRAUENS (aka The Carpet of Horror/1962). Director: Harald Reinl.

John Millner (Roberto Rey) is the latest victim of a secret criminal group that use small balls full of poison gas to off their enemies. His niece, Ann Learner (Karin Dor of Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz), is appalled to learn that he was involved in shady activities and was planning to flee the country without even telling her. She is pursued romantically by handsome Harry Raffold (Joachin Fuchsberger), who is keeping secrets of his own. Other major characters include Dr. Shipley (Antonio Casas), who may have come up with an antidote to the poison; Mabel Hughes (Eleanora Rossi Drago), who owns the hotel where Harry is staying and makes a play for him; portly Vane (Jose Maria Carrafel), who wants to marry her; Crayton (Werner Peters), a member of the gang who discovers the identity of the mysterious boss and hopes to take over; and the imposing and formidable Colonel Gregory (Carl Lange) whose motives are unknown. Harry also has an assistant, a black man named Bob (Pierre Besari), who is on occasion referred to as, and treated like, a servant even though he is apparently an actual operative of some kind. Then there are Inspector Burns (Julio Infiesta) and his younger associate Inspector Webster (Marco Guglielmi), who at one point wants to arrest both Harry and Ann. 

Fuchsberger and Eleonora Rossi Drago

The English title of this West German film (co-produced with Spain), The Carpet of Horror, refers to the fact that the golf ball-size weapons that contain the poison gas are rolled onto carpeted floors in the victims' homes -- the carpet doesn't actually kill anyone. In any case, the movie -- based on a novel by Louise Weinert-Wilton (not Edgar Wallace) -- is exciting and suspenseful and a lot of fun, even if you may figure out the identity of the mastermind (who brought the sinister group over from India) behind the whole racket. The boss sends messages to the group via white letters on a screen, and their HQ is located inside a garage, with a trapdoor to a lower level inside a truck. Beneath the garage is a huge tunnel filled with debris, a striking locale indeed. There's a "catfight" in the underground at one point, which means that this very entertaining flick misses nothing! The cast is an interesting mix of both German and Spanish actors. Mercifully the film hasn't got too much comedy relief -- and no Eddi Arent -- although there is some humor attached to the Bob character. 

Verdict: For once a West German krimi that isn't based on a Edgar Wallace novel even if it seems to be! ***. 

THE DOOR WITH 7 LOCKS

Schurenberg, Drache, Arent

THE DOOR WITH 7 LOCKS (aka The Door with Seven Locks aka Die Tur mit den 7 Schlossern/1962). Director: Alfred Vohrer. 

A librarian named Sybil (Sabine Sesselmann) discovers that her life is in danger because she's the next in line to inherit a vast fortune. Inspector Martin (Heinz Drache) tries to protect her while investigating a series of mysterious deaths. Mixed up in all this are a sinister couple named Cody (Werner Peters and Gisela Uhlen); a lawyer named Haveloc (Hans Nielsen); an ex-con -- and Mrs. Cody's nephew -- named Tommy (Jan Hendriks); a hulking horror named Giacco (Ady Berber of Dead Eyes of London); and the very strange Dr. Staletti (Pinkas Braun). As usual, we've also got Siegfried Schurenberg as Sir John of Scotland Yard, and Martin's mincing assistant, Holms (Eddi Arent). There is a lot of talk about a secret door which takes seven keys to unlock, and which various characters possess. 

Ady Berber, West Germany's answer to Tor Johnson

Yes, this is another West German Edgar Wallace adaptation, and while it has a few exciting moments, it's generally mediocre. As usual, the plot comes together at the end. The movie was previously filmed in the UK in 1940 -- it is also known as Chamber of Horrors -- and if anything is far worse than this version, which at least moves at a generally swift pace. Although the identity of the true mastermind isn't revealed until the very end, it is made pretty clear early on that there's something very wrong with Dr. Stiletti, whose experiments with pituitary glands have created the mongoloid Giacco. Stiletti wants to create a race of supermen, but his first idea is to transplant a human head on a monkey's body (the movie might have been more interesting if this actually took place). In a very odd sequence, Martin and Sybil ride down several stories in a elevator with no doors, but then go up in the same elevator for no good reason. Klaus Kinski plays an early victim. Be advised that an alleged torture chamber has very little to do with the 1940 film and there is absolutely no torture chamber in this version, just a weird hidden room where experiments take place. 

Verdict: Some entertaining elements but really nothing special. **1/2. 

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. ***. 

THE RED CIRCLE

The mysterious "red circle" with Renate Ewert

THE RED CIRCLE (aka Der rote Kreis/1960). Director: Jurgen Roland.

A condemned man is saved from the guillotine because the executioner forgets to remove the nail that keeps the blade from descending. Sent to Devil's Island, he escapes and takes up residence in London as the hooded criminal mastermind the Red Circle (who resembles the Shadow). Chief Inspector Parr of Scotland Yard (Karl-Georg Saebisch) and bumbling assistant Haggett (Eddi Arent) are out to stop him as he makes his way through numerous victims including Lady Dorringham (Edith Mill) and Mr. Beardmore (Alfred Schlageter). The latter's handsome nephew, Jack Beardmore (Thomas Alder), is carrying on a romance with suspected jewel thief Thalia Drummond (Renate Ewert) and becomes a suspect along with several others. Meanwhile slick private eye Derrick Yale (Klausjurgen Wussow) does his best to help Inspector Parr, who is given a deadline to unmask the Red Circle or else. 

Thomas Alder, Karl-Georg Saebisch, Klausjurgen Wussow

The Red Circle is another adaptation of an Edgar Wallace story made in West Germany. It is one of the best examples of the genre. Suspenseful, fast-paced, well-acted, and exciting, it maintains suspense and has several surprises, including a couple of twists at the end. True, not everything is cleared up and the resolutions may confuse you, but the whole thing is so damn entertaining it doesn't really matter. Renate Ewert makes a wonderful impression as the irrepressible Thalia who keeps you guessing as to exactly whose side she's on. Tragically, both she and Thomas Alder committed suicide while in their early thirties. 

Verdict: Top-notch West German thriller or Krimi. ***.

THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM

THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (aka Die Schlagengruber und das Pendel/1967). Director: Harald Reinl. 

35 years ago Count Regula (Christopher Lee) murdered 12 virgins in an attempt to gain immortality. For his trouble, he was drawn and quartered as his two chief accusers stood watching. Now the descendants of these people, Roger Mont Elise (Lex Barker) and Baroness Lillian (Karin Dor), have received an invitation to the crumbling old Castle Regula, both unaware of what transpired in the past. Accompanying them by coach are Lillian's maid Babette (Christiane Rucker) and the rather shady Father Fabian (Vladimir Medar). 

The first half of the film is a protracted journey through a creepy forest in which trees have limbs growing out of them and skeletons are hanging from nooses. At the castle the group run into the long-dead Anatol (Carl Lange), the count's major domo, who plans to bring the count back to life. Wanting his revenge, the revived count places Roger under a slowly descending pendulum even as Lillian is nearly thrown into a pit full of writhing snakes. Yes, this is a very loose adaptation of Poe's classic The Pit and the Pendulum. 

Pitiful victim of "Dr. Sadism"

Although one could certainly quibble with some aspects of the screenplay, Torture Chamber not only holds the attention but has some classy and macabre art direction and is colorful in every sense of the word. Lex Barker appeared in several West German films and eurospy movies after he wrapped up his run as Tarzan. Karin Dor was a German actress who appeared with Barker more than once and was also in You Only Live Twice. Christopher Lee only appears in the prologue and at the very end and probably did all of his scenes in a couple of days  -- he appears to be the only actor who isn't dubbed. Carl Lange certainly makes an impression as Anatol.

Verdict: Fun horror film from West Germany that has some of the qualities of Italian horror features. ***. 

TEENAGE WOLFPACK

Christian Doermer and Horst Buchholz

TEENAGE WOLFPACK (aka Die Halbstarken/1956). Director: Georg Tressler.

Freddy (Horst Buchholz, herein billed as "Henry Bookholt") is a handsome, callous, criminally-inclined young man with a 15-year-old girlfriend, Sissi (Karin Baal), who may be worse than he is. His brother, John (Christian Doermer), is a much more decent lad who, unfortunately, looks up to his brother, who has left home. Freddy enlists some of his friends in an armed robbery that doesn't quite go as he intended, and disaster strikes when Freddy and Sissi break into a restaurant owner's home and John goes after them. Teenage Wolfpack is a dubbed American version of a German film that was clearly influenced by U.S. juvenile delinquent movies, and is hardly any better than most of those. Buchholz [That Man in Istanbul] struts around in tight leather pants, dances a blue streak in a jukebox sequence (probably influenced by Elvis), and exhibits the charisma that turned him, briefly, into an international star. Baal and Doermer are also effective, but the movie's dramatics are unconvincing, and despite the action the film becomes tedious. Nevertheless, some people see this as a West German classic. Not me.

Verdict: I Was a Teenage Frankenstein is more entertaining. **.

THE AVENGER (1960)

Heinz Drach

THE AVENGER (aka Der Racher/1960). Director: Karl Anton.

An unknown person who calls himself the "Executioner," has been running about decapitating criminals and the terminally ill and leaving their heads in boxes. Special agent Michael Brixan (Heinz Drach) follows a lead at a film set where he finds a clue in an old script. He is convinced that someone connected to the film company may be either the Executioner or an ally. Suspects and other characters include the director, Jackson (Friedrich Schoenfelder); his temperamental star, Stella Mendoza (Ingrid van Bergen); the elderly Henry Longvale (Ludwig Linkmann); the perverse Sir Gregory (Benno Sterzenbach); Bhag (Al Hoosmann), Gregory's brutish native manservant; the scriptwriter Voss (Klaus Kinski); and Ruth Sanders (Ina Duscha), the niece of the latest victim and an aspiring actress. Based on another novel by the prolific Edgar Wallace, The Avenger is not as horrific or gory as the plot may suggest, but there are some creepy final scenes taking place in old tunnels and caverns beneath an estate. Lots of red herrings in this but the wind-up is satisfying. Many more West German Wallace adaptations would follow.

Verdict: Another convoluted but entertaining Wallace story. **1/2.

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY

Hansjorg Felmy

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY (aka Das Ungeheuer von London-City/1964). Director: Edwin Zbonek.

Richard Sand (Hansjorg Felmy) is playing the notorious Jack the Ripper in a London theater. Coincidentally, an unknown person is now slaughtering prostitutes in much the way the original Ripper did. Richard is the boyfriend of Ann Morlay (Marianne Koch of Frozen Alive), whose Uncle George (Fritz Tillmann) objects to the relationship. Ann's spiritual brother, Michael (Dietmar Schonherr), is a doctor. The Monster of London City, based on a book by Bryan Edgar Wallace, is one of the least interesting of the Ripper-themed movies, with a low excitement level, not much suspense, and murder sequences that are hardly arresting. The ending also seems rather obvious early on. Another distraction is the presence of a private eye, Teddy, (Peer Schmidt), whose bumbling antics are supposed to be comedy relief but are just irritating. Dubbed West German film.

Verdict: Not much to recommend in this fairly dull picture. **.

KOMMISSAR X: ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS

Tony Kendall and Brad Harris

KOMMISSAR X: ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS (aka Three Golden Serpents/Drei goldene Schlangen/1969). Director: Roberto Mauri.

Those adventuresome daredevils, private eye Joe Walker (Tony Kendall) and Captain Tom Rowland (Brad Harris), are back in another "Kommissar X" adventure set in Thailand. ("Kommissar X" is a nickname for Walker.) Tourist Maud Leighton (Loni Heuser) contacts the two men when her daughter, Phyllis (Hansi Linder) is kidnapped in Bangkok. Phyllis has been taken to an island where captive women are held to be sex slaves for wealthy perverts. Armand Landru (Walter Brandi), is a French agent who is actually in the employ of  Madame Kim Soo (Vilaiwan Vantanapanich, a supposedly benevolent woman who has numerous charitable interests and is apparently above reproach. Petra (Rotraut de Neve) is assigned to watch over the ladies, but makes a break for it and tries to get help. There is also an ice princess, Kathin (Monica Pardo), who makes poisons for Landru and paralyzes Joe at one point, placing a cobra near his bed. The cultists employed by Madame Kim Soo all have tattoos of three snakes (hence the alternate title Three Golden Serpents), and her handsome associate Frank (Carlos de Castro) has a mean way with a knife. Island of Lost Girls boasts some colorful locations and has a fast pace. The basic plot actually deserves a better movie. Everyone in the movie is dubbed, including the two lead actors. An Italian-West German release.

Verdict: Average, modestly entertaining Kommissar X feature. **1/2.

PHANTOM OF SOHO

Men of Scotland Yard: 

PHANTOM OF SOHO (aka Das Phantom von Soho/1964). Director: Franz Joseph Gottlieb. Based on a novel by Bryan Edgar Wallace (Wallace's son).

A series of slashings takes place in London, with the murders centering on the somewhat shady Zanzibar nightclub. Sir Phillip (Hans Sohnker) of Scotland Yard, who is friends with a lady mystery writer named Clarinda (Barbara Rutting), assigns the case to Chief Inspector Patton (Dieter Borsche). There are numerous suspects, including the club owner Joanna (Elisabeth Flickenshildt); her physician, Dr. Delmar (Werner Peters); Grover, a mysterious fellow with a birthmark (Otto Waldis); Gilyard, the club manager (Stanislav Ledinek); club photographer, Corinne (Helga Sommerfeld) and others. But as the investigation proceeds, many of the suspects themselves become victims. Phantom of Soho is a very suspenseful mystery, with an unexpected and excellent denouement, and a very plausible motive for the murders. Although this is a German film, it manages to get across the look and feel of Soho, thanks to Richard Angst's atmospheric photography. The dubbing on the film is so well done you'd almost swear the cast was actually speaking English. The cast member best known to American viewers is Otto Waldis, who was in everything from Call Northside 777 to Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Verdict: Very worthwhile West German suspense film. ***.