Horst Tappert Movies
- 1975
Loosely based on the Edgar Wallace tale Dark Eyes of London, this German production is not a monster movie as its title implies, but a lame crime thriller involving a sadistic gang who call themselves "The Gorillas." The psychotic killers stalk the streets of London, murdering visitors and other unfortunates with some of the weirdest, most contrived torture-execution devices outside of a Fu Manchu movie. The gang's leader is basically the "Ape Creature" of the title, since he prefers to participate in the sadistic mayhem while sporting an ape suit. His efforts are foiled, however, by a Scotland Yard super-sleuth named Sergeant Pepper (Lonely Hearts Club Band not included). Released to the U.S. as The Gorilla Gang. ~ Cavett Binion, 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
- 1972
This German drama is a star vehicle which was apparently created specifically for the venerable and beloved German actor Heinz Ruhmann In it, he plays a freight-ship captain, Ebbs, who is given an opportunity to captain a Mediterranean luxury liner. The liner's passengers are "toffs," upper-class people, and the captain would much rather be with his greasy freighter crew than have to deal with these fussy people. This movie marks Joseph Offenbach's last appearance on film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This German language suspense film is based on a quite long best-selling novel of the same name by Johannes Mario Simmel and condenses the novel's complex story using flashbacks and rapid movement between locations. When a young man (Alain Noury) goes to Vienna to try to solve the mystery of his industrialist father's assassination, his investigation leads to events that took place in Vienna in 1939. It also infringes on secrets important to all the Allied Force secret services (French, Russian, American and British), so much so that they forget their natural antagonism and join forces to try and stop the young man in his quest for answers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
The New Life Style is the 1970 U.S. re-edited and re-shot version of the 1967 West German film Heisser Sand Auf Sylt, with new footage directed by Peter Savage and featuring Jake LaMotta and Rocky Graziano. Walter Bergman (Horst Tappert) is a married man who has an affair with a swinging, sex-starved blonde at a North Sea resort. The middle aged Walter ogles the nude sunbathers and eventually leaves the woman after finding her in bed with another man. The technical quality of the U.S.-lensed scenes are somewhat better than that of the original, creating the problem of mismatched footage. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Horst Tappert
- 1969
A Scotland Yard detective investigates a series of murders of gangsters and girls. Inspector Perkins (Horst Tappert) is the prim and proper but cynical sleuth who knows the killings are drug-related. The trail first leads to Yvonne (Karin Huebner), a former victim of the white slave trade who seeks revenge on those who sold her into human bondage. Perkins must convince his stuffy superior Sir Arthur (Herbert von Meyerinck) that there is more to the case than is first apparent. Perkins dodges bullets, deals with double-crossing gangsters, and jealous career-minded agents as he searches for the man with the glass eye in this suspenseful crime thriller. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Horst Tappert, Karin Huebner, (more)
- 1969
A group of students at a posh private school spend the majority of their time heckling their instructors and frequenting a local prostitute. In a shocking discovery, the father of one of the students is found brutally murdered. Shortly afterward, two more people, an instructor and the son of the murdered man, are found dead as well. As terror grips the small but affluent community, a detective investigates the crimes. The prime suspect is a medical instructor at the school who was involved in Nazi experiments. The first murdered man recognized the man and foolishly confronted him, giving him a week to turn himself in, hence the title. Not wanting to face a war-crimes tribunal, the medical maniac decides to take matters into his own hands. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joachim Fuchsberger, Horst Tappert, (more)
- 1967
This German version of the famed caper, not only examines the detailed planning and precise execution of the famed theft, it also looks at what happened to the robber gang after they robbed the British mail train. Soon after the heist, several gang members made fatal blunders causing their capture by the police. The criminal syndicate then rallies behind the incarcerated crooks and tries to spring them from jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Horst Tappert
- 1958
A biting and effective semi-experimental film about Nazism in Germany, director Kurt Hoffmann tells the story in a long flashback, starting in 1913 and playing out like a silent movie on a small screen. Every once in awhile, the action scenes, which are narrated in a voiceover, are paused for a little ironic piano music and accompanying lyrics. Hans (Hansjorg Felmy) is an anti-Nazi journalist who loses his job because he will not join the party. Bruno (Robert Graf) is a dim-witted, brutal, pro-Nazi follower who joins up to gain the recognition he desires. Years later, Bruno is a ruthless industrialist whose Nazi tactics and philosophy have not changed at all, and Hans is a VIP editor now dedicated to exposing men like Bruno for what they were during the war. The result and the accompanying commentary are quite hard-hitting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johanna von Koczian, Hansjörg Felmy, (more)
