#2 Der rote Kreis aka The Crimson Circle
Released in 1959
Directed by Jürgen Roland
Starring Renate Ewert, Klausjürgen Wussow, Karl Saebisch, Eddi Arent, Ernst Fritz Fürbringer, and Fritz Rasp
From the very beginning, the producers from ‘Constantin Film’ planned to shoot at least two Wallace movies. So it was no surprise that, after the huge success of the series’ first flick (Der Frosch mit der Maske), a second movie would follow pretty quickly. Some actors from the first film also appear in the second: Fritz Rasp and Eddi Arent played other characters, whilst Ernst Fritz Fürbringer reprised his role as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Archibald Morton. The main parts, however, were all played by new actors.
A strange series of murders keeps London in suspense. Rich citizens are the victims of a professional blackmailer. Everybody contacting the police or refusing payment gets killed; a red circle on parchment paper is found on every scene of crime. Are there any links between current events and an unsuccessful execution eleven years ago? Inspector Parr (Karl Saebisch) needs the help of a private investigator (Klausjürgen Wussow).
This is the second Wallace film, and the we already get a new inspector. This time it’s Karl Saebisch. His inspector is different from Lowitz’ inspector. Inspector Parr is the prototype of a classic investigator. He’s clever, but not cocky; he’s old, but not senile; his retirement is in sight, but his motivation’s still there. Totally unpretentious, but confident and credible. If your into classic detective characters, you’ll love him, and so do I. Unfortunately, this is the only time he appears as a detective – he has a small role in the next Wallace, though. 
The rest of the cast is fine, too. Renate Ewert doesn’t look too bad, and she’s a pretty good actress. (Her private life’s a very sad story. She had an addiction to pills, and died of pills and alcohol in 1966. Her father and her mother could not overcome the loss and comitted suicide in 1967 and 1969 respectively. 
)
As for the story: one of the best of the whole series. That’s why I won’t go into any details. Just let me tell you this: it has quite a few twists, a great amount of suspense, and some spooky scenes as well. It’s also one of the best roles of Fritz Rasp. Don’t miss out on this one!
One of the finest films of the whole series. A must-see. **** out of **** Der rote Kreis aka
The Crimson Circle. Universum Film Germany DVD. German and English soundtrack, German subtitles.
Available as a single DVD or in the Edgar Wallace Edition 1 (1959-1961, four films).
More film stills
here.