The riddle of the red orchid
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The riddle of the red orchid |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1962 |
| length | 84 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Helmuth Ashley |
| script |
Trygve Larsen with the assistance of Piet ter Ulen |
| production |
Horst Wendlandt , Preben Philipsen |
| music | Peter Thomas |
| camera | Franz X. Lederle |
| cut | Herbert Taschner |
| occupation | |
| |
The Riddle of the Red Orchid is a crime film by director Helmuth Ashley and the tenth German Edgar Wallace film of the post-war period . The film adaptation of the novel Gangster in London (original title: When the Gangs Came to London ) by Edgar Wallace was produced by Rialto Film and shot from December 15, 1961 to January 15, 1962 in Hamburg and London . The film was shown in German cinemas from March 1, 1962.
action
Two rival international gangsters terrorize the rich in London. The "Patronage for Rich Citizens" only guarantees the protection of the citizens if they comply with a request for protection money by threatening letter. Anyone who does not comply with the request or even notifies the police will be murdered. The first millionaire is murdered after a short time. Elias Tanner, a wealthy citizen, is also blackmailed. His secretary Lilian Ranger finds out and calls the police. A short time later, Tanner is murdered.
Inspector Weston and his colleague Chief Inspector Tetley are in charge of the case. Weston suspects that these are American gangster methods. So he asks FBI Captain Allerman to come to London. Weston and Allerman discover that Butler Parker, oddly enough, was employed on each victim until their violent death. Each victim also had an account with the same bank ...
Reviews
"More transparent and without the irony of earlier designed Wallace film adaptations, whose characters are embodied unequally convincingly (dubbing.) [Are]"
“If you like crime novels, you won't find a Hitchcock here, but you will find a well-rounded Ashley. Which definitely promises to become a special kind of quality brand! "
“Here director Helmuth Ashley shows that the shock therapy - mixed with grim humor - everything is presented in a cool manner, results in an entertaining riot. The camera also underlines the cold objectivity. "
"Confused, but amusing."
"Lots of corpses, a little irony, nothing new."
"Edgar Wallace film adaptation with numerous corpses, a small dose of irony and the obligatory supporting role appearance by Klaus Kinski."
Others
- Originally, Rialto Film wanted to start shooting the film The Door with the Seven Locks at the end of 1961 . But since the script still had to be revised, the already finished script , written by Trygve Larsen and revised by Piet ter Ulen , was used. Gangster in London . Based on the successful Edgar Wallace film The Secret of the Yellow Daffodils , the film was finally entitled The Riddle of the Red Orchid .
- The Austrian Helmuth Ashley , one of the most prominent cameramen in German-language film in the 1950s, directed this film for the third time. As so often, he hired his former assistant Franz X. Lederle as a cameraman.
- The exterior shots of the film were made in Hamburg. The interior shots were shot in the real film studio in Hamburg-Wandsbek . The port shots at the beginning of the film were made at Steubenhöft in Cuxhaven .
- The actors Adrian Hoven , Marisa Mell , Eric Pohlmann , Pinkas Braun , Eddi Arent and Klaus Kinski were actually intended for the project The Door with the 7 Locks . By participating in this film, the contracts that had already been concluded were fulfilled.
- Christopher Lee was hired for the role of FBI investigator Captain Allerman . As in The Secret of the Yellow Daffodils , the British actor can be heard here in his own, unsynchronized voice.
- Fritz Rasp , who appeared in two Edgar Wallace films in the 1930s and in five films after the Second World War, said goodbye to the film series with this film.
- For the title music of the film, composer Peter Thomas jazzed up the famous bell of Westminster .
- After the shortening of the two scenes in which Babyface ( Edgar Wenzel ) and Kerkie Minelli (Eric Pohlmann) are murdered, the FSK released the film from the age of 12. The original version, which is available today on DVD, is approved for children aged 12 and over.
- Although the critics had exceptionally benevolent words for a Wallace film, this film recorded the lowest attendance figures in the film series to date.
literature
- Edgar Wallace: Gangsters in London . German translation. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1998. ISBN 3-442-00178-1 .
- Joachim Kramp , Jürgen Wehnert: The Edgar Wallace Lexicon. Life, work, films. It is impossible not to be captivated by Edgar Wallace! Verlag Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-508-2 .
- Joachim Kramp : Hello! This is Edgar Wallace speaking. The story of the legendary German crime film series from 1959–1972 . Verlag Schwarzkopf and Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2005 (3rd edition), ISBN 3-89602-645-3 .
Web links
- The Puzzle of the Red Orchid in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The riddle of the red orchid at filmportal.de
- The riddle of the red orchid ( memento from December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at deutscher-tonfilm.de
- Sound carrier with the film music
Individual evidence
- ^ The riddle of the red orchid . In: Paimann's film lists . No. 2693 , March 6, 1962 ( Reizfeld.net ). Reizfeld.net ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) 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 riddle of the red orchid . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . March 22, 1962, p. 14 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 1.8 MB ]).
- ^ The riddle of the red orchid. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 25, 2017 .
