The Black Widow's Secret
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Black Widow's Secret |
| Original title | The secret of the black widow / Araña negra |
 | |
| Country of production | Federal Republic of Germany , Spain |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1963 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Franz Josef Gottlieb |
| script |
Rolf Becker , Alexandra Becker , Franz Josef Gottlieb |
| production |
International Germania Film ( Alfons Carcasona ), Procusa |
| music |
Martin Böttcher , Antonio Pérez Olea |
| camera | Godofredo Pacheco |
| cut |
Anni Lautenbacher (German version), José Luis Matesanz (Spanish version) |
| occupation | |
| |
The Secret of the Black Widow is a German-Spanish crime film by Franz Josef Gottlieb from 1963 . The adaptation of the novel The Queen of the Night by Louis Weinert-Wilton was the third of a total of four Louis-Weinert-Wilton films . The black and white film in Ultrascope started in German cinemas on November 28, 1963. The Spanish premiere took place on May 29, 1964 in Madrid .
action
In London, a man in the shape of a black widow was killed for the second time with a bullet . Drinking reporter Wellby from London Sensations wants to find out more. He determines that both victims were members of an expedition in Mexico 12 years earlier, the leader of which, Alfons Avery, died during the expedition from a bite by a black widow. The other members of the expedition were Morton, Robins, Selwood, Cartwright, Bryan, Bromfield and Osbourne (the boss of Wellby). Upon further investigation, Wellby comes across the opaque Mr. Boyd, who shows up whenever his help is needed. He learns from the quirky and shrewd librarian, Mr. Fish, that the members of Avery's expedition came back rich and together founded the newspaper company Wellby is a reporter for. In the antique shop of one of the members he meets the beautiful Clarisse Miller and falls in love with her, but soon discovers that her real name is Clarisse Avery and that she is the daughter of the dead expedition leader.
The individual participants in the expedition are killed one after the other with the projectiles, and the various suspects are repeatedly brought into focus. On the one hand, the participants in the expedition suspect each other, on the other hand, Clarisse, as the potential sole heir to the newspaper, becomes an unpredictable element. In fact, she wrote the threatening letters that preceded the murders, but only to pressure the victims into disclosing the circumstances surrounding their father's death. The opaque Mr. Boyd, who is also a possible perpetrator, reveals himself to be an employee of Scotland Yard.
When only two expedition members are still alive, Clarisse threatens them with a weapon and learns that her father was shot by one of the members after finding an Aztec treasure. However, the group did not know who shot. In order to keep the treasure, the group covered up Avery's murder and presented it to the authorities as an accident caused by a spider bite. The two men now decide to confess to Scotland Yard, but Helen Osbourne now reveals herself as the murderer who kills the last shareholder in the newspaper in front of her husband and Clarisse out of greed. Clarisse flees and William Osbourne, unwilling to come to terms with his wife's motives, wants to call Scotland Yard, but is murdered by his wife. Clarisse fled to Wellby's houseboat, but Helen Osbourne expected it and is already there. She forces Clarisse to sign a confession that she is the murderer. Mr. Fish comes in looking for Wellby, but escapes before Helen can shoot him and calls Scotland Yard straight away. With Clarisse hostage, Helen tries to flee in a motorboat, but is pursued by Inspector Boyd and Wellby. Helen is killed while rescuing Clarisse.
History of origin
Prehistory and pre-production
In the wake of the Edgar Wallace films from Rialto Film , which have been marketed by Constantin Filmverleih since 1959, several film series based on a similar pattern (including the Dr. Mabuse and Bryan Edgar Wallace films) were already in cinemas in the 1960s started. Despite the risk of oversaturating the film market with crime films, Constantin-Film was also looking for other suitable material and finally secured the filming rights for the novels by Louis Weinert-Wilton (actually Alois Weinert; 1875–1945).
The first two Weinert-Wilton films, The Carpet of Horror (1962) and The White Spider (1963), directed by the director Harald Reinl , actually had extremely satisfactory box-office results. In the second half of 1963, the film adaptation of the novel The Queen of the Night was to be made under the initially intended title The Secret of the Spider . As the lead producer , the Spaniard Alfons Carcasona was commissioned, as was already the case with The Carpet of Horror . The script was written by the experienced couple Rolf and Alexandra Becker .
Production notes
The German-Spanish co-production, directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb, was supposed to offer some special features, one of which was the elaborate scope format . In addition, numerous actors from the Edgar Wallace series were available here. Gerhard F. Hummel , the deputy managing director and program advisor at Constantin-Film, was also able to win over the popular actor OW Fischer for this production ; Heinz Drache was originally intended for the role .
While the shooting took place exclusively in Spain , the staff in front of and behind the camera consisted of German and Spanish employees. Camera operator Rudolf Sandtner stood at the side of cameraman Godofredo Pacheco . The production design came from the film architects Ramiro Gómez and Wolfgang Burmann .
Film music
The soundtrack was written by Antonio Pérez Olea . The song The Black Widow , sung by Belina in the film , was composed by Martin Böttcher . Ute Kuntze-Just and Franz Josef Gottlieb wrote the text . The piece appeared at the time as a new recording on a single on the Columbia label . An instrumental version was released on CD in 1999 and the original film version and the English version The Woman is Loose (text: Fred Jay ) in 2006.
reception
The FSK gave the film after an examination on November 26, 1963 from 12 years free. Most of the critics perceived the film as a typical series product in the Edgar Wallace style. As with the real Edgar Wallace films, this did little to harm the box office success. Another Weinert-Wilton film was to follow in 1964 with The Secret of the Chinese Carnation .
The secret of the black widow has already been shown several times on television and in 2013 it was released on DVD in its original format. The original colored opening credits were only reproduced in black and white for all re-releases.
Reviews
"German detective film based on Weinert / Wilton, even for die-hard friends of the Wallace scam, quite unproductive, yes boring."
"In doing so, Fischer makes the figure entrusted to him to parody and the finesse of the camera and sound technology try to add a more sophisticated touch to the otherwise conventional story."
“As the chief reporter of a London sensational newspaper, OW Fischer can do a lot to clear up the mysterious murders by the“ black widow ”. Despite his convulsive efforts, he cannot cover up the boredom of the more than primitively structured story. His cautious bat scenes are embarrassing. The camera had good ideas, and Doris Kirchner and Klaus Kinski deliver good performances. "
“(...) conventional crime story in the style of the Edgar Wallace series with a specialty: the involuntary comedy of Fischer as a drunk reporter. (Rating: 2½ out of 4 possible stars - above average ) "
“Scary thriller in the style of Wallace films. Bad, but entertaining. "
"Low-tension, implausible crime story in a below-average staging."
“One can rightly claim that this was Franz-Joseph Gottlieb's most fast-paced crime film ever. The secret of the black widow , as the film title was finally, seemed looser than his crime thrillers produced for Rialto and CCC films. Martin Böttcher composed the music that went perfectly with the action. Overall, this was the most successful Weinert-Wilton adaptation of all, if you compare the novel and the film. "
literature
- Louis Weinert-Wilton : The Queen of the Night. Goldmann, Munich 1987, 185 pages, ISBN 3-442-06231-4
Web links
- The Secret of the Black Widow in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The secret of the black widow at filmportal.de
- Sound carrier with the film music
Individual evidence
- ↑ 100 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 96 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: 2736 meters
- ↑ a b Joachim Kramp: Hello! This is Edgar Wallace speaking. The history of the crime film series from 1959 to 1972. Third, revised and expanded edition . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89602-645-3 , p. 456-458 .
- ↑ Dominik Starck: Booklet for the DVD The Secret of the Black Widow . Movie jewels. 2013. Order no. 6414265
- ↑ Martin Böttcher: Kriminalfilmmusik Vol. 2 . BSC Music. 1999. Order no. 398.6534.2
- ↑ Criminal Tango - Rogues, Sultry & Dunkers . Bear Family Records . 2006. Order no. BCD 16562 AH
- ↑ Ev. Munich Press Association, Review No. 660/1963
- ↑ The Secret of the Black Widow. (No longer available online.) In: old.filmarchiv.at. Paimann's film lists , No. 2842_1, February 19, 1964, archived from the original on October 14, 2016 ; accessed on October 14, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Secret of the Black Widow. In: Abendblatt.de. Hamburger Abendblatt , February 22, 1964, accessed on October 14, 2016 .
- ^ Adolf Heinzlmeier, Berndt Schulz: Lexicon "Films on Television" (extended new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 285
- ↑ The Secret of the Black Widow. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 14, 2016 .
