The Projection Booth Podcast Krimi Double Feature

 As big as the classic Krimis are in Germany, in the English language world they are not just niche but niche-niche and very little is available on them in English.

So was over the moon when I discovered this Projection Book Podcast episode with guests Samm Deighan and Nicholas Schlegel discussing the Edgar Wallace phenomenon in general and Dead Eyes of London and Creature with the Blue Hand in particular. 

The episode makes an excellent point of having Dead Eyes as the entry point and gateway drug for these movies.

It's a very lively and well informed discussion and the enthusiasm and love of the presenters for this genre shines through.

Zimmer 13/Room 13 (1964)

 This is probably the least known Rialto Edgar Wallace and hardly ever gets discussed. From the moment it got released it didn't get any respect. It was the first over-18 Wallace movie, so only adults were allowed in whereas previous films were available to the teenage crowds. That new concept didn't gel well with the cinema audience and the film flopped and Rialto was soon back to producing films that appealed to more than just the adults. At least until they geared up the sleaze factor with some of the coloured productions.

Being an adult production the film has some scenes that were far more gritty or revealing than previous Krimis. Although on first glance the whole gangster scenario looks familiar from previous movies, the killer scenes involving a black gloved murderer with a razor blade were proto-giallo and should soon become more popular in Italian productions. We see the first boobs (albeit briefly) in an Edgar Wallace movie and some blood splashing in a black and white fountain (the scene with the stripper). Other tropes that would often feature in gialli are an abundant presence of weird mannequins in the most inopportune places and quick zooms to the eyes.

What I find extremely interesting is the way that giallo style murderer is revealed. Don't want to give away any spoilers, but the type of killer, the motivations for that person as well as the very interesting choice of music in the scene involving the family portrait are very much in line with later-day giallo productions.

As for the main plot about a great rain robbery.... 

Imagine how current this was at the time! The original headline grabbing robbery took place on August 8, 1963, yet the West German release of this movie was just about half a year later on February 20, 1964.

The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (German Film Program)

 Illustrierte Filmbühne 05412

Scan of an eight-page German film program for Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse/The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960) by Fritz Lang, the first in a series of six Dr. Mabuse movies that I covered in my eBook THE MANY MASKS OF DR MABUSE.

Latarnia #2: A Visit to Klaus Kinski's birthplace in Sopot

Mirek Lipinski's fanzines are always worth a look even when they may be a bit longer in the making. Latarnia #2 just arrived and is a followup to his first Latarnia Fantastique International Magazine from ten years ago. It features an article by me about Klaus Kinski's birthplace in Sopot and one time bar dedicated to him. Unfortunately the place has now been converted to an American Burger Bar so the text and the photos will serve as a historic reminder of what once was.

Anyone interested in reading this, can order the issue here.

Some of my photos from the visit have already been published here.

The Many Masks of Dr. Mabuse

So.... just published this little book on Kindle.

 It's a 15.000 word overview over the series of six German Dr. Mabuse movies from the 1960s. It was originally written a few years ago for a fanzine that is now defunct so finally decided to share it with the world this way.

 Mabuse as a character of course became world famous in two classic movies by Fritz Lang, DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER (1922) and THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933). Lesser known is Lang's third Mabuse film, THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE (1960), and this book focuses on this entry as well as the five follow-ups that featured a range of popular German and international actors such as Gert Fröbe, Lex Barker, Wolfgang Preiss, Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Werner Peters, Karin Dor, Klaus Kinski, Senta Berger and many more making these essential viewing for anyone interested in classic German cult movies.

 While those 1960s films continued to be popular in Germany, outside of its country of origin they have remained strangely elusive and are often difficult to obtain. This book aims at making information about these productions available to a wider international audience.

 And at $0.99 this is a steal and available for Kindle as well as for other electronic readers. (Not sure yet if I will bother also making a paperback version available.)

Ady Berber (14 Feb 1913 – 03 Jan 1966)

Ady Berber was German cinema’s equivalent to the likes of Milton Reid or Thor Johnson, a burly world wrestling champion who later in life started a career in movies. Despite being physically impressive he was rarely given a chance to shine acting wise even though he had studied at the renowned Max-Reinhard-Seminar in Vienna.

His Krimi credits include Die Toten Augen von London/Dead Eyes of London, Im Stahlnetz des Dr. Mabuse/The Return of Dr. Mabuse, Die Tür mit den 7 Schlössern/The Door with Seven Locks, Die schwarze Kobra/The Black Cobra, Die Nylonschlinge/Nylon Noose, Das indische Halsband/The Indian Scarf, Scotland Yard jagt Dr Mabuse/Dr. Mabuse vs Scotland Yard, Frühstück mit dem Tod/Murder by Proxy, Tim Frazer jagt den geheimnisvollen Mister X/Case 33: Antwerp, Hotel der toten Gäste [Hotel of the Dead Guests], Der Mörder mit dem Seidenschal/The Killer with the Silk Scarf and Der Würger vom Tower [The Strangler of the Tower] though he also appeared in a good number of comedies and German musical productions and had a small supporting part in Ben Hur. He also showed up in some international productions such as the circus strongman threatening Anne Baxter’s life in Carnival Story.

His cinematic career began with a very small number of movies in the 1930s and 1940s but did not really kick off until after the war.

A legend in the world of professional wrestling, he was twice World (1938, 1947) and three times European champion (1938, 1948, 1949). He operated a restaurant carrying his name in Vienna and also ran a second establishment, Das Arbeiterheim, in Neunkirchen which also contained a wrestling ring in its back rooms.

After withdrawing from sports in the early 1950s, he actively focused on his acting career and studied at the Max-Reinhard-Seminar in Vienna.

At 6’5” in height and weighing in at 33lbs, he was memorable primarily through his threatening physique and rarely was offered proper speaking parts. At his best he impressed with roles such as the silent brute Blind Jack in Dead Eyes of London. His roles were often short but always highly memorable.

He passed away much too young of cancer just shortly before his 53rd birthday. 

Though he is generally known as Ady, his grave spells his name with an “i”, a spelling that is also at times displayed in the credits of some of his movies. He was born Adolf Berber but wisely opted against using this first name during his career

Joachim Kramp/Gerd Naumann: Das große Album der Edgar-Wallace-Filme

Shortly before Christmas German publishers Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf finally brought out Das große Album der Edgar-Wallace-Filme, a book that was 5 years in the making. Joachim Kramp, the original author, sadly never saw his project come to fruition as he had passed away a year previously. Kramp is known as one of the major Krimi- and Wallace aficionados and had previously written a number of other Wallace related tomes.

Though there have been other German books about the Wallace series Das große Album is especially of interest to an International clientele as it is primarily a lavish coffee table tome with little text. Other than some short introductory texts and forewords/interviews from Matthias Wendlandt, Peter Thomas, Joachim Fuchsberger, Karin Dor and Karin Baal the bulk of the hernia inducing hard cover is dedicated to the publication of 2000 Wallace related PR photos, lobby cards and behind-the-scenes shots. A good number of those have previously never been published before. A good chunk, however, already has. The 5-year wait has unfortunately diminished the rarity of some of the material. Especially the German lobby cards which make up a good portion of the book have in the meantime already been reproduced elsewhere. Instead of some of those I would therefore have loved to see a stronger focus on International promotional material, an area that to this moment remains largely unexplored. Still, this is a lavishly illustrated labour of love and something I am proud to have on my book shelf.

Even better.....

Prior to the regular edition that is going to be out later this year, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf have released four sets of 500 limited copies each with autographs by Karin Dor, Peter Thomas, Karin Baal or Uschi Glas respectively at no additional costs. My own is signed by Miss Krimi, Karin Dor, herself.... and so is pretty much everyone else's who has ordered a copy so it appears that the Dor version is likely to sell out very quickly.

The downside.... ?

Well, what can I say? It ain't cheap.

The book goes for EUR 99.95 and can be ordered from the publisher or from Amazon.de. Postage within Germany, Austria and Switzerland is free, within the rest of the EU consecutively higher and as a rule and due to prohibitive postal charges the book is not being sold outside that area.

Unless you ask nicely. 

It appears that the publishers may ship to the US once it is requested by direct email request. Be, however, prepared to pay a shipping fee of around EUR 65.

Wanna get a good idea what the final product looks like? Head over here for a glance at some of the pages.