The riddle of the silver crescent
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The riddle of the silver crescent |
| Original title | Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso / The riddle of the silver crescent |
 | |
| Country of production | Italy , Germany |
| original language |
English Italian |
| Publishing year | 1972 |
| length | 92 Italian version / (German version: 85) minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Umberto Lenzi |
| script |
Paul Hengge Roberto Gianniti Umberto Lenzi |
| production |
Rialto Film Preben Philipsen GmbH & Co. KG , Berlin / West ( Horst Wendlandt , Preben Philipsen ) Flora Film SRL, Rome National Cinematografica SPA, Rome |
| music | Riz Ortolani |
| camera | Angelo Lotti |
| cut |
Eugenio Alabiso Clarissa Ambach |
| occupation | |
| |
The Riddle of the Silver Crescent is an Italian-German crime film (Italian title: Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso ), which was published in Germany as the 38th and last Edgar Wallace film of the post-war period . That of the German Rialto Film co-produced and Techniscope recorded Giallo launched on 30 June 1972 in German cinemas.
action
A prostitute is cruelly murdered in a gloomy parking lot in Rome. Except for a silver crescent moon on a chain, which the perpetrator has obviously deliberately left behind, there is no trace of the murderer. A little later, the American Kathy is murdered, and the police find a silver crescent moon on her too.
Giulia, recently married to Mario, is also ambushed by the murderer during their honeymoon, and again the latter leaves his mark. The police cannot find anything suspicious at Giulia's funeral, and there does not appear to be any connection between the murder victims. Giulia, who survived the attack and whose funeral was staged, decides to leave town until the series of murders with Mario have been resolved.
On the way, Giulia can suddenly remember having seen the killer's trademark before. Two years earlier she was in a hotel frequented by an American with a silver crescent moon on his keychain. Mario and Giulia discover that the first two murder victims were also guests of this hotel, and they manage to get the names of former and, in their opinion, endangered hotel residents. Still, the young couple cannot prevent the next two murders that confirm their theory.
Another track leads you to the former hotel owner. But Mario has to find out that he was killed in a car accident and the guilty driver fled. After the twin sister of a former hotel resident is murdered, the police finally have a prime suspect. It is decided to convict the killer by showing him that Giulia is still alive. Then it should serve as a decoy. When the unscrupulous criminal falls into the trap, Giulia's life is in extreme danger. But she is saved by Mario at the last second. The murderer turns out to be the brother of Frank Saunders, a young American who was killed in a car accident and in which the person who had caused the accident hit and missed. Saunders was a hotel guest at the time, like the murdered women. His brother took revenge on the women to punish them for his death because he believed that one of them had his brother on the conscience without knowing which one it really was. During a fight with Mario in the pool, Saunder's brother drowns without knowing the truth that the twin sister Giuseppina, whose sister Maria was also murdered, is the real cause of the accident.
Others
The screenplay by Paul Hengge , which is based solely on motifs by Edgar Wallace , was originally entitled Seven Faces for the Murderess . This also corresponds to the Italian working title Sette volti per l'assassino . Director Umberto Lenzi wrote the Italian version together with author Roberto Gianniti. The film was shot from September 6th to October 23rd, 1971. The studio was in Rome, the exterior shots were made in Rome and Spoleto .
This is the only Edgar Wallace film whose action takes place entirely in Italy as a concession to the largely Italian crew. Uschi Glas , who had her first film role in The Unheimliche Mönch in 1965 , appeared for the fifth and last time in an Edgar Wallace film. Production managers Herbert Kerz (6 films), Marisa Mell and Petra Schürmann (both two films each ) said goodbye to the series.
Uschi Glas remembered that the director apparently didn't like the Germans. He systematically tried to use horrific terms from the Nazi era to "finish off, expose and torture her." But since she had her contract and had to do her job, she couldn't simply quit her job or flee.
The film was shot earlier than the previous Edgar Wallace film The Secret of the Green Pin and started in Italy on February 24, 1972. In Germany, it was premiered on June 30, 1972 in the Passage Kino Saarbrücken. Financially, The Riddle of the Silver Crescent was a passable summer business.
The German version of the film was approved by the FSK for ages 16 and up. This has only been achieved through extensive cuts. The original version is 102 minutes long, the German version 85 minutes. All scenes of the murder and the opening sequence, in which the murderer, Marcella's mother, as an accomplice, have been cut. The film was first seen on television on May 23, 1985. In 1991 it was approved for children aged 12 and over. On the DVD released in 2004, which also contains the approximately 10 minutes longer English version of the film, an age rating of 16 and over is given.
Reviews
“Reading Wallace is often more interesting than seeing him on screen. This is also the case here: Viscous, this film depicts a series of murders of women who went on vacation together in a hotel. The former hotel owner (Uschi Glas) seems just as involved in the case as her husband, a drug addict as well as a lovable father. The solution is not without surprise. Marisa Mell alone gives the whole thing charm. "
"As always with Edgar Wallace, you feel pleasantly scared, but not too shocked."
"The [...] Edgar Wallace crime thriller by producer Horst Wendlandt is indeed a real 'goose bumps' film. But it's not the usual Wallace, but the staging of a close-up story, far from the abstract and distant past. The story is 'full there', arouses the cinema visitor's curiosity, occasionally lets them go into their own dreams, but then spurs their imagination back on and lets them experience all the ups and downs of the exciting events. He can hardly 'step away'. The screen speaks to him suggestively. "
"It is finally possible to be captivated by an Edgar Wallace film again."
"Good book, good direction, but it has little to do with Wallace."
“This last of the 32 Edgar Wallace films produced by Horst Wendtland [sic!] Was also one of the worst. Director and screenwriter Umberto Lenzi made a number of cardinal errors that sinning in the spirit of the series: Instead of foggy London, the action took place in Rome, instead of Karin Dor, Uschi Glas gave the victim, and instead of Eddi Arent, Petra Schürmann was allowed to play. We would also have liked to see «Blacky» or at least Heinz Drache. "
“After just a few minutes, the woman murderer brings the heroine - played by Uschi Glas - from life to death. The only surprise that the inconsequential crime thriller has to offer in the further course is not one: of course, the "victim" miraculously survived the many stab wounds. Boring trivial cinema without humor and speed. "
German version
Uschi Glas synchronized herself and can be heard in this film with her own voice. Voice actors from other actors included:
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Mario | Antonio Sabàto | Thomas Danneberg |
| Concetta | Petra Schürmann | Ursula Herwig |
| Giuseppina / Maria | Marisa Mell | Beate Hasenau |
| Vismara | Pier Paolo Capponi | Edgar Ott |
| Kathy | Marina Malfatti | Ursula Heyer |
| pastor | Renato Romano | Gerd Martienzen |
| Renzi | Franco Fantasia | Friedrich G. Beckhaus |
| Ferri | Claudio Gora | Hans W. Hamacher |
| Palumbo | Aldo Barberito | Klaus Miedel |
| Barret | Bruno Corazzari | Arne Elsholtz |
| Palmieri | Andrea Bosic | Klaus Sunshine |
literature
- 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 . 3. Edition. Verlag Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89602-645-3 .
Web links
- Seven Blood-Stained Orchids in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The riddle of the silver crescent moon ( memento of December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at deutscher-tonfilm.de
- The riddle of the silver crescent at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Uschi Glas: With a smile , Droemer Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 206 f.
- ↑ Joachim kramp: Hello - this is Edgar Wallace speaking! , 2nd edition, p. 237
- ↑ The Mystery of the Silver Crescent . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . August 19, 1972, p. 22 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 1.9 MB ]). Abendblatt.de ( Memento of the original from January 1, 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 Mystery of the Silver Crescent. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 25, 2017 .
