Edgar Wallace Movies
- 1962
This West German production is the second film based on the Edgar Wallace novel of the same name (the first was the 1940 Chamber of Horrors). The story -- which owes a great deal to The Cat and the Canary -- concerns the potential heirs to an eccentric's fortune, whose potential wealth (and fate) is tied to the acquisition of seven keys that will purportedly unlock a secret treasure vault. When the heirs begin turning up dead with said keys in their possession, a Scotland Yard inspector (Heinz Drache) attempts to assemble the puzzle. Things are further complicated by a series of abductions involving a sadistic mad scientist and his diabolical experiments. This threadbare but lively pulp thriller benefits from effective black-&-white photography and features an early appearance by Klaus Kinski. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Ricochet originated as an hour-long episode of the TV anthology series Dick Powell Theatre. Van Heflin plays a tough Marine sergeant facing a crisis of conscience. A young Marine recruit has died under Heflin's command during basic training. Though the victim perished because he didn't follow orders, Heflin feels responsible for the death--and the other recruits heartily concur in this opinion. Ricochet first aired October 3, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this British crime drama, the sister of a suicide victim begins to question the real reason for her sibling's death after she learns that 7,000 pounds were removed from her bank account just prior to her death. She asks her sister's banker, but he claims to know nothing. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Bernard Lee, better known as "M" in the James Bond movies, makes one of his periodic appearances as novelist Edgar Wallace's diligent Scotland Yard investigator protagonist in The Share Out. This time Lee takes on a clever blackmailing ring which preys upon above-suspicion government officials. As usual, Lee wraps things up in little more than an hour, permitting this film to slip comfortably into the syndicated Edgar Wallace Theatre weekly TV package. Reliable supporting players like Patrick Cargill (the inspector in the Beatles' Help!) and Alexander Knox (the Canadian actor best known for playing the title role in 1945's Wilson) lend credence to the proceedings. The Share Out was the 35th in producer Jack Greenwood's 47-installment Edgar Wallace series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
During the 1960s, there were two series of theatrical programmers based on the works of mystery maven Edgar Wallace; one group of films was lensed in England, the other shot in Germany. Secret of the Black Trunk is something of a cross-pollination; it was produced by Germans, and filmed in England! The story is the usual Wallace blend of scheming schemers, "perfect" crimes and workaday detectives who meticulously unravel the most confusing of mysteries. The setting of Secret of the Black Trunk is a popular hotel which suddenly becomes the site of several murders. Sensuous actress Senta Berger adds a bit of visual dynamics to the talky goings-on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Based on a tale by Edgar Wallace, this taut crime drama centers on the exploits of an heiress who finds herself the intended victim in an upcoming robbery. Fortunately, Scotland Yard's mysterious Agent Number Six is around to protect her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this adaptation of an Edgar Wallace mystery, two youthful hoods try to rob a bookie as he is leaving the track with his daily winnings. Unfortunately, the two find that the fellow has chained the loot to his wrist and they are forced to take him along with the cash. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this mystery, an Oxford archaeologist is murdered while investigating the Kytang Wafers, a valuable find. Not only is he killed, the wafers are also stolen. Now his former peers from the Oriental Research Institute must launch an investigation of their own. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard also begins its own investigation. The Yard detective learns from another that the perpetrator is a Korean-war vet who is working with a Kytang diplomat. The diplomat is preparing to kill the vet when the inspector appears and takes them both to jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Based on an Edgar Wallace mystery, this suspenseful drama centers on an attorney who is determined to prove that his client is not a murderous burglar. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this mystery, a young countess almost loses her life. Investigators soon discover that the attempt is linked to a murder that occurred 20-years ago. The plot is based on an Edgar Wallace story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this mystery, based on a story by Edgar Wallace, Scotland Yard looks into a ring of counterfeiters. He soon discovers that an amnesiac playboy is linked to the gang of forgers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this detective film, a Chinese detective breaks up a drug smuggling ring and tries to find the "Daffodil Killer." The drug smugglers had devised the ingenious method of smuggling heroin from Hong Kong in the stems of daffodils. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Marius Goring, (more)
- 1961
In this remake of the British thriller, a young TV journalist assists Scotland yard with the strange murder of a reclusive millionaire whose corpse was found locked in a vault. The key to the vault was on the table beside the corpse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
This Edgar Wallace-based second feature headlines Bernard Lee, the beloved 5 of the James Bond pictures. Here Lee is a Scotland Yard inspector, baffled by a seemingly unrelated string of murders. The link between these homicides is the silver key of the title, which yields surprising results. It takes Lee very nearly the whole 59 minutes to unravel the mystery, thus Clue of the Silver Key is paced more like a serial episode than a standard British mystery. The film was the ninth in producer Jack Greenwood's 47-installment series of Edgar Wallace thrillers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this Edgar Wallace mystery, a burglar, arrested for possessing counterfeit money, is forced by the police to pose as a decoy to attract a ruthless killer who has murdered a photographer and is holding a secretary hostage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Even while a series of British second features based on the works of Edgar Wallace was flourishing in the 1960s, Germany was grinding out its own Wallace series. Secret of the Red Orchid top-bills British actor Christopher Lee in a story of a joint effort between the FBI and Scotland Yard. The target of these combined forces is a far-reaching crime syndicate. The stellar international cast includes Klaus Kinski (a semi-regular in the Wallace series), Marissa Mell, and silent film veteran Fritz Rasp. Secret of the Red Orchid was originally titled Puzzle of the Red Orchid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this Edgar Wallace mystery, the trouble begins when a Rhodesian jewel thief kills a policeman and simply disappears. Now it is up to an intrepid detective, a former cop, to solve the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this drama, based on a story by Edgar Wallace, a prominent business man is robbed and killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this drama, based on a story by Edgar Wallace, a movie mogul and a beautiful Asian actress set up a major swindle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
A business partner, desperate to milk some kind of profit from his failing cosmetics business, turns to arson with deadly results when he inadvertently immolates his partner while trying to destroy the factory. Still he succeeds in getting the insurance money. He then gets greedy and decides to do the same thing to his late partner's lovely daughter. Fortunately, an intrepid insurance investigator is on the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1961
An insurance investigator looks into the mystery surrounding the "accidental" death of a jockey. He finds that the death was actually caused by a gambling ring and is able to save the life of another jockey who has already had a couple of "accidents." ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1960
Originally titled Die Toten Augen von London, this German melodrama is the second film version of Edgar Wallace's The Testament of Gordon Stewart. The story centers on a seemingly kindly blind man who covertly controls a sinister criminal organization comprised of sightless henchmen. Actually, he isn't blind at all, but the police are (figuratively speaking) until lovely Karin Baal foils the villain's scheme. Dead Eyes of London was released in the US in 1965 as Dark Eyes of London. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
The luscious Hazel Court is the main attraction of The Man Who Was Nobody. She plays a sexy private detective, summoned to solve the murder of a jewel thief. For a while it looks as though the man who hired Hazel, the thief's brother, may himself be the murderer. But it turns out that a deeply-in-debt gambler is the guilty party. The Man Who Was Nobody was an average entry in Merton Park Productions' Edgar Wallace series of the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
