The 'Whodunnit' Thread

[Prince_Vajda]

This thread is dedicated to all movies that have something to do with the question: "Who's the murderer?"

This includes:
- German 'Krimi'
- Giallo
- Slasher
- ...

I'll start off with a pretty extensive look at the German Edgar Wallace 'Krimis' (1959-1972). We'll see that especially - but not only - the last few films of this series blend with the Italian Giallo, the latter being one of the roots of the American Slasher movie.

Expect the first post tomorrow - and feel free to comment on this idea. I'm always open to criticism.

Greetings!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

If you review at the speed of your "Classic Horror" thread you should start looking at gialli around 2016





On a serious note, i am quite looking forward to this as i know nothing about the "Krimi" genre and will look to you for ideas as to which of them to pick up as your stills have been gorgeous.

[Susan Foreman]

With all due respect...it was the butler who did it!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I'm really enjoying your 'Krimi' posts, Prince - so this should make for an interesting thread!

[Prince_Vajda]

I'd like you to meet a few ladies and gentlemen who are vital to the German Edgar Wallace films.

The Investigators

Joachim Fuchsberger


Heinz Drache


Siegfried Lowitz


The Chicks

Karin Dor


Brigitte Grothum


Karin Baal


The Crooks

Klaus Kinski


Pinkas Braun


Harry Wüstenhagen


Fritz Rasp


Ady Berber


The Funny Guys

Eddi Arent


Siegfried Schürenberg


Hubert von Meyerinck


The Guest Stars

Gert Fröbe


Christopher Lee


Elisabeth Flickenschildt


Dieter Borsche


...and many more!

Greetings!

[Demoncrat]

Wow. that pic of the crazed looking skypilot is tempting me, wassit from??

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda

Dieter Borsche

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Wow. that pic of the crazed looking skypilot is tempting me, wassit from??

Dead Eyes of London.

http://www.cult-labs.com/forums/226882-post3425.html

Greetings!

[Prince_Vajda]

Will she be the next victim, or is she only looking for the loo?


Come on! Who farted?


'If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.

---

In tomorrow's review you'll find out!

Der Frosch mit der Maske aka Face of the Frog. Review out tomorrow. On this thread.

Greetings!

[Prince_Vajda]

#1 Der Frosch mit der Maske aka Face of the Frog

Released in 1959
Directed by Harald Reinl
Starring Joachim Fuchsberger, Eva Anthes, Siegfried Lowitz, Eddi Arent, Eva Pflug, Carl Lange, Dieter Eppler, Ernst Fritz Fürbringer, and Fritz Rasp

When this film was released in 1959, it was a little sensation. Crime films were highly unsuccessful in post-war Germany, and nobody wanted to invest in any film of that genre. However, Waldfried M.Barthel, chief executive of German ‘Constantin Film’, decided to take a chance and started a series of movies based on Edgar Wallace’s novels (whose works were and still are very popular in Germany). Face of the Frog was the first, but it would not be the final one: 3,000,000 cinemagoers were a huge success at the time, and led to quite a few ‘sequels’ – i.e. more Edgar Wallace-based crime films, most (but not all) of them produced by ‘Constantin Film’.

The ‘face of the frog’ is terrorising London’s streets. That fact that he’s a mask-wearing killer who doesn’t leave many marks makes this case a hard one for Inspector William Elk of Scotland Yard (Siegfried Lowitz). Frog tattoos on his victims’ wrists are the only clue. This would be an almost unsolvable case, if it hadn’t been for Richard Gordon (Joachim Fuchsberger) – the nephew of Scotland Yard’s head, who helps Elk with his investigations.

This is a straight-forward crime movie. A typical “whodunnit”, with pretty inept policemen, a clever killer, and a civilian who helps unmasking the latter. Why is this a good movie and worth watching? Well, it stars Siegfried Lowitz. He plays the smart and dry-humoured police inspector with such ease that you can’t help loving the film. This is also due to the fact that he is supported by a bunch of very fine German actors, among them Joachim Fuchsberger (highly charismatic – that’s why they chose him as an inspector quite a few times in later Wallace films), Carl Lange, and Fritz Rasp (both can also be found in many other Wallace flicks – most of the time, they played crooks or obscure characters).
And don’t forget Eddi Arent, the funny chap. Mostly restricted to small roles, he’s an important actor of the series all the same. What some of the Wallace films lack in story, they compensate with humour. Another feat of this movie (and of the series in general) - a gentle pace (combined with pretty short running times between approx. 75 and 90 minutes), and especially moody cinematography. Foggy London never looked better - not even in British films.

It’s the first ‘Constantin’ Wallace, and it’s a good one. A very nice start for a highly entertaining series of crime films.

*** out of ****

Der Frosch mit der Maske aka Face of the Frog. Universum Film Germany DVD. German and English soundtrack, German and English subtitles.
Available as a single DVD or in the Edgar Wallace Edition 1 (1959-1961, four films).

More film stills here.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I'm going to enjoy this thread.