Edgar Wallace Movies
One of the greatest adventure stories in Hollywood history gets a new interpretation in this action drama from Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson. In the early 1930's, Carl Denham (Jack Black) is a daring filmmaker and adventurer who has gained a reputation for his pictures documenting wildlife in remote and dangerous jungle lands; despite the objections of his backers, Denham plans to film his next project aboard an ocean vessel en route to Skull Island, an uncharted island he discovered on a rare map. Correctly assuming his cast and crew would be wary of such a journey, Denham has told them they're traveling to Singapore, but before they set sail, his leading lady drops out of the project. Needing a beautiful actress willing to take a risk, Denham finds Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a beautiful but down-on-her-luck vaudeville performer and offers her the role; cautious but eager to work, Darrow takes the role, and onboard the ship she strikes up a romance with Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody), a respected playwright hired by Denham to write the script for his latest epic. When Denham and Company arrive on Skull Island, the natives react with savage violence, but they happen to be the least of their worries. Skull Island is a sanctuary for prehistoric life, and lording it over the dinosaurs and other giant beasts is Kong, a twenty-five-foot-tall gorilla who can outfight any creature on Earth. The natives kidnap Darrow, giving her to Kong as an offering to appease the giant beast; Denham and his men set out to find her, with Driscoll bravely determined to save the woman he loves. Eventually, Driscoll finds Darrow and Denham outwits Kong, intending to take the giant ape back to New York for display. But Kong has bonded with Darrow, and his attraction to her proves to be his undoing. Andy Sirkis, who provided the body movements for Gollum in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings pictures, performed similar duties on King Kong, studying gorillas so he could mimic their actions, which were then used as the basis for the special effects crew's digital animation of the great ape. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Jack Black, (more)
Famed producer Dino De Laurentiis tries to steal the thunder from Jaws, then the top-grossing film of all-time, in this big budget remake of King Kong. (De Laurentiis related his tactics to Tom Snyder: "When Jaws dies, nobody cries. When Kong dies, they all cry.") Updated to the 1970s, the original Robert Armstrong character is now Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), a big-shot oil magnate from Petrox Oil, looking for new petroleum deposits on a recently discovered Pacific island. Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) is a counter-culture paleontologist, stowing away on Wilson's ship, who warns that they are headed for "Skull Island," where prehistoric monsters still live and roam free. Also along for the ride is Dwan (Jessica Lange, in her film debut), a down-on-her-luck starlet, shipwrecked in the ocean after the sinking of a yacht. She really becomes down-on-her-luck when the group lands on the island and a giant ape, Kong, takes a shine to her. Kong kidnaps her and Dwan takes umbrage when the ape tries to remove her clothes by shouting, "You male chauvinist ape!" But Prescott comes to her aid and rescues her from the gorilla's big mits. Wilson, seeing money to be made on Kong, locks him in the cargo hold of his ship and transports him to New York City. Once there, Kong manages to escape and wreak havoc upon the beleaguered town, before being compelled to climb up the World Trade Center for sanctuary. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, (more)
One of the final links between the Edgar Wallace-based German krimi genre and the Italian giallo thriller, this creepy mystery stars Fabio Testi as a college professor who sleeps with his students and is blamed when a string of murders occurs. Joachim Fuchsberger, as usual, is the police inspector trying to solve the killings; Camille Keaton, Buster Keaton's grand-niece and later the star of Meir Zarchi's I Spit on Your Grave (1980) has a supporting role; cameraman Aristide Massaccesi, later infamous as gore director "Joe D'Amato," turns up as a cop. Massimo Dallamano's direction is assured. This first-rate thriller was based on Wallace's Secret of the Green Pin. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1972
This strange comic-thriller was one the final entries in the West German "krimi" series based on the mystery novels of Edgar Wallace and his son. Fred Williams plays Scotland Yard detective Robert Redford, who is hunting a mysterious knife-throwing murderer through London. His search leads him to the Flamingo nightclub and a drug-dealing doctor named Blackmoor (Siegfried Schuerenberg) whose secretary's supposedly dead husband Charles (Horst Tappert) is posing as a dead mystery writer while "ridding the streets" of undesirables. Luis Morris provides comic relief as a photographer who mistakenly hands people nude photographs instead of evidence, and there are some slapstick moments involving London's Finest. The film is undeniably amusing, but Manuel Merino's photography is too dark in many places and it isn't as gripping as Werner Klingler's 1963 version of the same story, Das Geheimnis der Schwarzen Koffer. There are some odd scenes typical of director Jesus Franco, however, such as the cartoon-like "boing-g-g-g" noise whenever the killer's knife finds its target, and the director appears as a knife expert, saying things like "To you he's just another murderer. To me he's an idol." ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1972
In this German detective thriller, swindlers using a false charity as a front send a hit man around London to murder wealthy people whose deaths can benefit the organization. This film is one of a very large number of German Scotland-Yard thrillers based on the novels of Edgar Wallace. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
This uneven thriller directed by Umberto Lenzi was the final Rialto Film Company adaptation of an Edgar Wallace mystery (The Puzzle of the Silver Half-Moons), as tastes were changing and the German "krimi" genre was dying in favor of the sexier, bloodier Italian "giallo." In this awkward German-Italian co-production, Lenzi straddles the two genres with confused results. The story concerns a young man named Mario (Antonio Sabato), whose pretty wife Julia (Uschi Glass) narrowly escapes being the third victim of a maniacal killer. The police are baffled, but Julia recognizes seeing the other two victims at an old hotel on the same day several years before. There were actually seven women there on that day, and one of them left the scene of a car accident where an American named Frank Saunders bled to death. Mario tries to find out who the killer is by shaking down a gay heroin addict who later hangs himself, while the police make observations such as "All criminals are out of their minds." The solution is completely predictable, but Lenzi provides some effective suspense sequences and gore to keep it interesting. Pier Paolo Capponi, Rossella Falk, Franco Fantasia, and Carla Mancini also appear, while Marisa Mell plays twin sisters, one of whom is brutally murdered with a power-drill. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The crime novels of Edgar Wallace have enjoyed enormous popularity in Germany, and this movie thriller marks approximately the 30th time his novels have had a German screen adaptation. Sir John (Siegfried Schuerenberg) and Inspector Craig (Hansjoerg Felmy) of Scotland Yard travel all over the city of London in their attempt to unravel the evidence needed to put a big drug-smuggling organization out of business. There are certainly enough corpses to provide clues, as the gang they are pursuing is unusually desperate and ruthless.
Thirtieth in a series of German language thrillers based on the novels of Edgar Wallace, this story concerns an international drug-smuggling cartel which carelessly murders large numbers of people. Siegfried Schuerenberg reprises his role as Sir John, and Hansjoerg Felmy takes a break from his stage work to appear as Inspector Craig, of Scotland Yard. Thanks to their efforts, the bad guys pay for their crimes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Thirtieth in a series of German language thrillers based on the novels of Edgar Wallace, this story concerns an international drug-smuggling cartel which carelessly murders large numbers of people. Siegfried Schuerenberg reprises his role as Sir John, and Hansjoerg Felmy takes a break from his stage work to appear as Inspector Craig, of Scotland Yard. Thanks to their efforts, the bad guys pay for their crimes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In this violent German crime drama, FBI agent Jerry Cotton is called to investigate the robbery of five million dollars worth of gold from the seedy waterfront docks of New York. However, Jerry becomes the target of unknown assailants who realize he is too close to recovering the gold. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Nader, Heinz Weiss, (more)
In this murder mystery, Scotland Yard investigate the deaths of two coeds at an exclusive girls' school. Clues involve a man wearing a hood, and a mysterious poison gas. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joachim Fuchsberger, Ursula Glas, (more)
- 1968
Ramon (Francis DeWolff) is the Armenian merchant who lives in his mansion outside of London. He has augmented his income over the years by blackmailing his clients. Fearful of retribution, he installs a room in his mansion that is supposedly impenetrable, complete with a hotline to Scotland Yard in the event of a break-in. One by one, Ramon's friends and associates are murdered, as the trail of blood oozes closer to his door. Scotland Yard sends out special agent Meredith (Bernard Lee) at the request of the local police commissioner (A.J. Brown) after the local lawmen are baffled. Meredith must apprehend the killer before he can strike again in this suspenseful crime mystery taken from the novel by Edgar Wallace. This feature first appeared in 1960. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Knight, Francis de Wolff, (more)
- 1968
The Ape Creature is one of a mid-1960s series of German suspense films, loosely based on the works of Edgar Wallace. As the title indicates, the principal character is a large gorilla. Terrorizing the London waterfront, the ape may be answerable to a higher, more sinister power. That's what we find out after several waterfront denizens have been pummeled and mangled, with appropriately gruesome sound effects. Horst Tapper and Uschi Glas head the "human" cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
If you happened to catch Joachim Fuchsberger in a late-60's film, chances are he was appearing in a Edgar Wallace mystery. The German Hand of Power is no exception to this rule. Fuchsberger plays an inspector in search of an elusive criminal who uses a scorpion-shaped ring, filled with poison, to dispatch his victims. As is customary in films of this nature, the villain is a lot more colorful than his dedicated but drab Scotland Yard pursuers. But Edgar Wallace was averse to promoting a "crime pays" message, so rest assured that the Hand of Power is stilled by the time the film's alotted 88 minutes has passed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
In this drama, based on an Edgar Wallace story, a thief is doing time in prison after a major heist goes awry. Meanwhile, the ringleader, wanting to know where the thief stashed the loot, conspires to spring him. Unfortunately, the thief refuses to be sprung until the mastermind abducts his girl. He then agrees, but then both are captured en route to the loot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Based on an Edgar Wallace murder mystery this chiller centers on a Scotland Yard investigation of a series of puzzling deaths plaguing a traveling circus and the hunt for loot stolen from an armored car robbery. Suspects include the mask-wearing and disfigured lion tamer, a vengeful ringmaster, an insanely jealous knife-thrower, and a blackmailing dwarf called "Mr. Big." The film is also known as Circus of Fear. A German version was shot simultaneously with Psycho-Circus but used a different director. Though available in color in Great Britain, most of the American copies of the film are in black-and-white. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Leo Genn, (more)
Adapted from an Edgar Wallace story, the plot of The Creature with the Blue Hand concerns an innocent man who is accused of murder. The real perpetrator is, of course, the title character. Since Klaus Kinski plays both roles, it's understandable why the authorities are confused. One of several German-produced Edgar Wallace films, Creature With the Blue Hand was one of the few to attain widespread American release. The film has also been known as Die blaue Hand and The Bloody Dead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski
- 1967
The fine line between drama and real life is crossed with tragic results in this German horror mystery film that is set in modern London and centers on a stage production of Jack the Ripper's life. During the run of the play, a series of murders, eerily similar to Jack's, occur. This doesn't bother the lead actor too much until he discovers that his fake knife has been replaced by a real one during a performance. Horrified, he flees the theater. Pursued by Scotland Yard, he must somehow prove his innocence lest he be sent to the gallows. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hansjörg Felmy, Marianne Koch, (more)
- 1967
Based on an Edgar Wallace mystery, this puzzler centers on the attempts of a crook who goes to great lengths to steal another's fortune. It begins as an unjustly incarcerated heiress finishes a prison sentence. The crook wants to steal her father's money and so tries to convince the ailing tycoon that his own lover is really the rich man's daughter; the old fellow is not so easily gulled. In desperation, the crook kidnaps the real heiress in an attempt to force her to marry him. Fortunately for her, a Scotland Yard detective shows up to foil his plans. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen Swanson, Allan Cuthbertson, (more)
- 1966
Although The Hunchback Of Soho is primarily a mystery, there are moments of levity, suspense, and horror that added to the tempo of the film. An American girl in London is kidnapped when she arrives to claim a sizeable inheritance, and a home for wayward girls is the scene of several unsolved murders, prompting Scotland Yard to send Inspector Hopkins Guernther Stoll to investigate. Stoll plays the part with comic flair as he tries to unravel the mystery. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Günther Stoll, Eddie Arent, (more)
- 1966
This suspenseful crime drama finds a jealous husband hiring a killer to murder his supposedly unfaithful wife. Donald Edwards (Michael Gough) imports the German hit man Kersten (Hans Borsody) to murder his wife Helen (Erika Remberg). He suspects her of having an affair with Robert (John Justin). The usually cold-blooded hit man first agrees to the assignment, but he soon becomes convinced that Helen is innocent of any wrongdoing. When he refuses to kill Helen, he is confronted by the irate husband, something which leads to an inevitable showdown. The feature was filmed in 1962. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Gough, Erika Remberg, (more)
- 1966
Though based on an Edgar Wallace novel, Traitor's Gate was not part of the long-running British series of second features based on the works of Wallace. Albert Lieven plays a London businessman who doubles as a high-tech crook. He organizes an elite gang of thieves to steal the crown jewels. Their escape at sea is complicated by the rivalry between Lieven and his brother Gary Raymond. Traitor's Gate provides an interesting contrast to The Jokers (67), a "mod" comedy in which another pair of brothers pilfer the crown jewels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this mystery, a beautiful mystery writer helps a Scotland Yard detective look into the murders of several important business man. She solves the mystery before the cop and informs him that the killer's identity will be revealed in the last chapter of her newest book. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dieter Borsche, Hans Söhnker, (more)
- 1966
In this drama, a former RAF pilot is hired to fly a suspicious package from France to England. Trouble ensues when the pilot decides to keep it for himself without realizing that his employer anticipated his treachery and planted a bomb on the plane. Fortunately, the boss's secretary intervenes and saves the pilot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregoire Aslan, Tracy Reed, (more)
- 1965
In this British crime drama a small-town detective gets tired of Scotland Yard's constant meddling and takes a leave-of-absence from his regular duties to start his own detective agency. It is there that he solves the puzzling jewelry store heist that caused the death of the owner's wife who worked there. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In the mid-1960s, Richard Todd starred in two British films based on Edgar Wallace's Sanders of the River. Coast of Skeletons was the sequel to Todd's earlier Death Drums Along the River. Playing insurance investigator Harry Sanders, Todd comes upon an insidious scheme to steal the valuables from the sunken ships insured by Sanders' firm. The mastermind behind the plan is one A. J. Magnus, played by the usually heroic Dale Robertson. Since we know from the get-go that Sanders will be triumphant, suspense is minimal in Coast of Skeletons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinz Drache, Marianne Koch, (more)
- 1965
Based on an Edgar Wallace story, this is the story of a psychopath known as "The Wizard." Thought to be dead by the Scotland Yard, murders with his exact mode of operation in London suggests that he is not. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
