The traitor gate
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The traitor gate |
| Original title | The Traitor's Gate |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany , Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1964 |
| length | 87 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Freddie Francis |
| script |
John Sanson Basil Dawson |
| production |
Horst Wendlandt Preben Philipsen , EM Smedley Aston Ted Lloyd |
| music | Peter Thomas |
| camera | Denys Coop |
| cut | Oswald Hafenrichter |
| occupation | |
| |
The Betrayer 's Gate is a German-British crime film based on the novel of the same name by Edgar Wallace (English title of the book and the film: The Traitor's Gate ). The film, which British director Freddie Francis shot in London from August 18 to September 21, was shown in Germany as the 21st entry in the Edgar Wallace film series . On December 18, 1964, the thriller produced by the German Rialto Film and the British Summit Film opened in German cinemas.
action
Wealthy London businessman Trayne has devised an ingenious plan to steal the famous Crown Jewels from the Tower . He organized the outbreak of the convict Graham, who looks astonishingly similar to the tower guard Dick Lee-Carnaby. Trayne's secretary Hope, friends with Carnaby, has no inkling of the diabolical plan, but is said to be an involuntary helper in carrying out the robbery. The plan seems to be perfectly prepared, but Trayne didn't expect the intrigues of his accomplice Dinah Pawling and the appearance of a silly tourist. He sees how Hope is being taken away by gang members. He is then taken prisoner as well. The robbery works exactly according to plan: Hope is forced to lure her friend Dick out of the tower, whereupon he is overwhelmed. The jewels are then effortlessly captured. Graham then learns from Dinah that Trayne is trying to cheat on him. Graham knocks Trayne down and escapes with Dinah and the jewels. On board the escape ship, Graham is accidentally killed by Dinah. Hope has now called the police. This finds Trayne and learns from him that there is a time bomb on the ship. Just before the ship explodes, the jewels can be saved.
Reviews
“According to the“ Topkapi ”model, the tower was set up as a scene, the whole thing was developed with the right amount of clarity and implemented by secure forces and bizarre batches; it is - idiosyncratic music. underlined, technically satisfactory - generally very exciting. "
“A thriller that makes you smile and shudder at the same time, because murders are not used sparingly. Excitingly raised and cleverly photographed. "
“ Rififi on the Thames: […] Interesting in the double lead role: Gary Raymond. A Wallace flick in which Eddi Arent makes people laugh and relax again. "
“This German-English Edgar Wallace film is a coup d'état by a gang of Londoners that was staged with unusual effort. Crime specialist Freddie Francis makes no mistake about it. His direction effectively combines the historic atmosphere of the tower with the latest criminal technology. "
"Matt filmed Edgar Wallace novel that you can confidently give yourself in view of better products of the genre."
"Nostalgic film for London fans."
"Edgar Wallace blockbuster, pure thriller pleasure."
"Largely flat in tension, made according to stereotypical patterns from the Edgar Wallace series."
German version
The original English version was dubbed with the assistance of Harald G. Petersson and Eva Ebner . The German actors Albert Lieven , Margot Trooger , Klaus Kinski and Eddi Arent synchronized themselves and can be heard with their own voices. Other voice actors were:
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Graham / Dick Lee-Carnaby | Gary Raymond | Michael Chevalier |
| Hope Taylor | Catherina von Schell | Maria Koerber |
| Lloyd | Tim Barratt | Jörg Cossardt |
| Inspector Addams | Edward Underdown | Arnold Marquis |
| King | Maurice Good | Heinz Petruo |
| Spider | David Birks | Hans Walter Clasen |
| Command supervisor | Frank Sieman | Bruno W. Pantel |
| Newspaper seller | Joe Ritchi | Manfred Meurer |
Others
- The name of the film, as well as the original title, refer to the Traitor's Gate , an entrance mostly for prisoners of the tower , who were led in almost exclusively through this gate. Because in most cases prisoners were in the Tower in state affairs, this gate became in the centuries of its existence the name Traitors' Gate (Gate of traitors ).
- As early as 1961, Rialto Film was planning a film adaptation of Edgar Wallace's novel "The Gate of Betrayers". Hanns Wiedmann first wrote a script of the same name, which was translated into English by Basil Dawson in the autumn of 1961 , but later revised by Harald G. Petersson and given the title of the Edgar Wallace novel "The Shining Key". After Rialto Film found a British co-producer in early 1964, Jimmy Sangster , resident writer for the British Hammer Film Productions , made the final screenplay under the pseudonym John Sanson based on Dawson's translation of the first version of the screenplay.
- Initially, Paul Martin was to be the director. The actors Joachim Fuchsberger , Heinz Drache , Karin Dor , Hans Clarin , Siegfried Lowitz , Siegfried Schürenberg , Elisabeth Flickenschildt were named in various advance announcements .
- Gary Raymond found it difficult to play in his exhausting dual role. That's why Raymond was doubled in some places by his brother, a London butcher .
- The interior was shot in Twickenham Studios in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames . The outdoor shots were taken in London, among other places, in the Tower.
- After the striptease scene and the murder of Graham (Gary Raymond) were cut, the film was approved by the FSK for ages 12 and up. The film was initially shown in an even shorter version on television. The original colored opening credits were broadcast in black and white. In the meantime, the film has been published in its original length with a color leader and is released as a single DVD from 12 years, but in Edgar Wallace Edition 5 due to additional material from 16 years.
- The film is considered to be one of the few failures of the Edgar Wallace series.
literature
- Edgar Wallace: The Traitor (original title: The Traitor's Gate ). German translation. Goldmann, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-442-00045-9 .
- 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 and Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89602-645-3 .
Web links
- The Traitor in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The betrayal gate ( memento of December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at deutscher-tonfilm.de
- The traitor gate at Filmportal.de
- Sound carrier with the film music
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Traitor's Gate . In: Paimann's film lists . No. 2918 , February 4, 1965 ( online ).
- ↑ The Traitor's Gate . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . February 17, 1965, p. 13 ( PDF file; 1.9 MB ).
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Critique No. 13/1965.
- ↑ The Traitor's Gate. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 25, 2017 .
