The secret of the three junks
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The secret of the three junks |
| Country of production |
Germany Italy |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1965 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ernst Hofbauer |
| script |
Werner P. Zibaso Hanns-Karl Kubiak based on the novel La rivière des trois jonques by Georges Godefroy |
| production | Gero Wecker for Arca-Filmproduktion ; Pea film, Rome |
| music | Riz Ortolani |
| camera | Werner M. Lenz |
| cut | Werner M. Lenz |
| occupation | |
| |
The Secret of the Three Junks is a German-Italian adventure and crime film from 1965 by Ernst Hofbauer with Stewart Granger in the leading role.
action
American FBI agents Linda Wells and James Mark Grant are maliciously murdered in Hong Kong . They had obtained information about a smuggling ring that supplies electronic devices for nuclear missiles to the communist regime in the People's Republic of China. Linda Wells last worked undercover as the secretary of a Hong Kong businessman named Pierre Milot. Grant's telex, broken in the middle of the sentence, arrives at FBI chief Harris in San Francisco , whereupon he sends his best man, Mike Scott, to Hong Kong. He is supported by FBI colleague Carol Eden, who flies to Hong Kong under the name of the Milot contact woman Danny Davis, a radio specialist, who was arrested in the USA. There Carol, alias Danny, is already expected at the airport and picked up by the seedy Pereira, who commissioned the murders of Wells and Grant. A dollar banknote torn in the middle serves as a distinguishing mark. Almost at the same time Scott arrives in town. Pereira brings Carol to Milot, who is actually running a lucrative smuggling ring. Together with his companion Blanche Coty, Milot receives Carol in a noble villa.
Meanwhile, Scott contacts Norman, Harris' husband in Hong Kong. He puts the somewhat awkward Smoky at Scott's side, as he supposedly speaks perfect Chinese and knows Hong Kong very well. A Chinese blindly pretending to be a blind man pursues the two of them and carries out a shooting attack with his walking stick, which both of them can narrowly avoid due to Scott's quick reaction. When Scott tries to arrest the Chinese, the assassin is killed from behind by throwing a knife. In an interview with Norman, Scott learns that the smuggled cargo is apparently being transported from Hong Kong to the People's Republic by three junks. A little later, Scott and Smoky visit a Chinese man who was one of the last to see Grant and Linda alive. Another Chinese man on a junk carries out another knife attack on those willing to testify, but the target is missed here. Thereupon the Chinese witness who was attacked dares not to help Scott anymore and is silent about his wife and the three children.
To feel Milot and Blanche on the tooth, Scott and Smoky pretend to be insurance agents and penetrate the grounds of the Milot mansion. Scott claims to Milot that he is investigating Grant's alleged suicide because he had taken out life insurance with his company. After Scott and Smoky leave, Milot calls the ring's mysterious boss, who tells him that both visitors are FBI agents. The man on the end of the phone orders to get rid of Scott. A little later, Milot had the electronic components for China hidden in hollowed-out tree trunks in his warehouse. While Scott is taking a nap, Smoky heads to Milot's warehouse to take a look around. He is watched by Pereira, who tries to kill Smoky with a huge wooden box falling from a crane. At the last moment, Smoky can save himself by jumping into the harbor basin. When Smoky and Scott want to go on a date with Milot, Pereira takes matters into her own hands and watches the two FBI people's car driving along the coastal road. These are put under machine gun fire by Pereira and a Chinese. With a courageous jump, both can escape from the vehicle falling down the cliff at the last second.
Carol, who secretly overhears Milot talking to Blanche about the assassination attempt on Scott as a "nice little bang", is desperate. Little does she know that the two FBI colleagues survived the attack. Meanwhile, Scott and Smoky walk the rest of the way to the Milot mansion. While Smoky waits outside, Scott climbs into the room to join the surprised and overjoyed Carol. Both spend the night together. The next morning, Carol tries on her own to find out the radio code in Milot's office, which can be used to identify the big boss of the smuggling ring. Carelessly, she loses her bracelet, which she uses to keep radio contact with Scott. Milot finds the bracelet, but does not discover the communication electronics hidden there. Meanwhile, Scott has gone to the warehouse and is held and tied up by four Chinese thugs under Pereira's command. At the same time, Smoky, who is on guard in front of the Milot property, is knocked down and Carol, who was surprised when Blanche's code book was stolen, is arrested with a revolver. When Scott is tied up in the car in the direction of the harbor, the car driven by Milot is followed by another vehicle. When this vehicle overtakes the Milot car, the Chinese open fire. Scott manages to poke out of the passenger door, although a guard's revolver is in his neck. The car crashes down the bank and catches fire. Milot and Scott's guard are dead instantly. Norman sits in the back of the other vehicle. He's the boss of the smuggling ring.
At the same time, Pereira and Blanche Coty arrived at Hong Kong harbor in another car in which the unconscious Carol was sitting. Still not realizing who is behind the crimes, the deranged Scott runs to Norman and tells him the whole story, including that Carol works for him and was about to find out the name of the boss. Both take a motorboat to one of the three junks on which Scott suspects the captured Carol. While driving, Norman draws his pistol; now Scott also knows that Norman is the head of the gang. Blanche and Pereira are waiting for him on board the junk. Blanche, who is supposed to guard Scott, is disarmed with a kick by Carol, who has now regained consciousness. Meanwhile, Norman activates the ignition mechanism of a time bomb on deck, which will soon be used to blow up the junk and all the witnesses on it. Back below deck, Norman is now overwhelmed and trapped with Blanche. On deck there is an exchange of fire between Scott and Pereira, in which Pereira is overwhelmed and thrown overboard. Finally, a kerosene lamp knocked over below deck causes a fire to break out.
Scott runs below deck to prevent Norman and Blanche from perishing miserably. Norman takes advantage of this willingness to help and knocks Scott down. But it is only slightly damaged. Norman escapes on deck, calls to Carol, who was sent out to sea by Scott in a dinghy, that she should come back to save everyone. Then a sail falls and Norman is struck by the falling sail beam. While Scott tries to take care of the unconscious Blanche below deck, the time bomb continues to tick above. Carol turns and returns to the junk. Now a police boat with Smoky, who has informed the Hong Kong authorities, and a Chinese policewoman on board approaches. At the last moment Mike Sott dives into the water, and just a second later the time bomb detonates and the junk explodes. Scott climbs onto Carol's motorboat and they hug.
Production notes
The feature film made by Gero Wecker's Arca film in spring 1965 on location in what was then the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong was premiered on July 16, 1965. The Secret of the Three Junks opened in Italy on August 28, 1965 under the title A 009 missione Hong Kong .
Dietmar Behnke was in charge of the dialogue, and Wolf C. Hartwig was in charge of production . Eberhard Schroeder worked for Hofbauer as an assistant director. Max Mellin designed the film structures, Margarete Simon the costumes. For Paul Klinger , who is here "the cunning head villain", this was the last role in a movie. All actors, including the German ones, spoke their text in English in order to increase the international sales opportunities of the film. In the German version, however, Horst Frank and Paul Dahlke were dubbed by other German-speaking colleagues.
Reviews
"In front of the exotic Hong Kong backdrop, playing, largely exciting adventure entertainment."
“Unusually simply crafted East Asia outrage. From the age of 16 almost to wean them off. "
TV Movies wrote about the film, which was awarded in 1967 in English-speaking countries under the title Red Dragon : "Well paced but predictable script".
Individual evidence
- ↑ Both in dialogue and on a search board at the airport, she is also called Danny Dennis or written out
- ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 4: H - L. Botho Höfer - Richard Lester. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 410.
- ↑ The Secret of the Three Junks. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 283/1965
- ^ Leonard Maltin : TV Movies, 1975 edition, p. 469. New York City 1974. Translation: Maintained at a good pace, but with a predictable script.