Soho's hunchback

Movie
Original title	Soho's hunchback
Country of production	Federal Republic of Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	1966
length	89 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Alfred Vohrer
script	Herbert Reinecker , Harald G. Petersson
production	Rialto Film ( Horst Wendlandt , Preben Philipsen )
music	Peter Thomas
camera	Karl Löb
cut	Susanne Paschen
occupation
Günther Stoll : Inspector Hopkins Pinkas Brown : Allan Davis Monika Peitsch : Wanda Merville Siegfried Schürenberg : Sir John Eddi Arent : Reverend David Agnes Windeck : Lady Majorie Perkins Gisela Uhlen : Mrs. Tyndal Hubert von Meyerinck : General Edward Perkins Uta Levka : Gladys Gardner Suzanne Roquette : Laura Joachim Teege : Attorney Harold Stone Hilde Sessak : Superior Susanne Hsiao : Viola Kurt Waitzmann : Sergeant Ilse Pagé : Jane Albert Bessler : Butler Anthony Richard Haller : Harry Winston, "the hunchback" Tilo von Berlepsch : Police doctor Gerhard Hartig : Policeman Karin Field : Sergeant Morgan Biggi Freyer : Emily Jutta Simon : Sandra Achim Strietzel : journalist Jochen Schröder : journalist Alfred Vohrer : Spokesman for Edgar Wallace

The Hunchback of Soho is a German crime film that was shot in 1966 under the direction of Alfred Vohrer . This 26th contribution in the German Edgar Wallace film series is based on motifs by Edgar Wallace . For the production company Rialto Film , this was the first color film in the series. The German theatrical release was on September 6, 1966.

action

Scotland Yard boss Sir John is beside himself. Several prostitutes were cruelly strangled. Inspector Hopkins, who is supposed to solve the case, is puzzled. Meanwhile, the attractive Wanda Merville from New York arrives at the extremely short-sighted attorney Harold Stone in London . She has come to take on the inheritance of her late father, Lord Donald Perkins. Before Wanda can receive the money, she is kidnapped into the dark walls of Castlewood Castle, the seat of the Perkins family. Ironically, Sir John is friends with the bizarre lord of the castle. General Perkins, brother of the late Lord Donald, has been reenacting the battle for Tobruk in a kind of sandpit with his butler Anthony for years . His wife, Lady Marjorie, runs a home in Castlewood Castle for girls who have strayed from the right path. Complaints about the unreasonable conditions and the hard work in the in-house laundry are rigorously rejected by the responsible superior, the administrator Alan Davis and the Reverend David. Anyone who wants to flee, like the desperate Jane, is eliminated by an eerie figure, the "hunchback".

Meanwhile, a certain Gladys Gardner poses as Wanda Merville. The unscrupulous Alan Davis tries to force attorney Stone to testify to the notary that the girl is the legal heir. Then the police find the body of the strangled Jane. As in the previous cases, the victim's hands are badly attacked by harsh detergents. Inspector Hopkins meets the fake Wanda Merville at General Perkins' house, whom he brings to the hotel that evening. On the way there is shooting at Hopkins' car, which then goes up in flames. Since the girl does not want to take off her gloves when they are completely dirty due to the accident, the investigator becomes suspicious. He has the wrong Wanda monitored. In the meantime, Alan Davis has had the girls Viola and Laura taken from the home to a brothel called "Mecca". Its director is the hard-hearted Mrs. Tyndal, the managing director is none other than Reverend David. And here, too, the following applies: Whoever knows too much or wants to flee, becomes a victim of the hunchback.

When Inspector Hopkins pays a visit to "Mecca", the gangsters get nervous. It does not escape them that the investigator meets Laura, of all people, who asks him urgently for help. When Hopkins and Sir John return a little later with a search warrant , Mrs. Tyndal has long since had the dubious club evacuated. The officers only find the strangled Laura and a secret passage that ends in the sewer. After all, the investigators are cornering the crooks so much that they begin to get each other out of the way. The first victim in their own ranks is Stone's secretary Emily, who was in league with the criminals and ultimately wanted to do her own thing. The superior follows. While trying to shoot the hunchback, she is outwitted by him and murdered herself.

Shortly after the inspector reveals Gladys Gardner to be a fake Wanda Merville, she is murdered by her lover Alan Davis. But it only takes a short time to get rid of Davis. Reverend David shoots him and lays a false lead that is supposed to fake suicide. But the hunchback, believed dead by David, observes the process and destroys the alibi. Mrs. Tyndal, who holds Wanda Merville prisoner in a boathouse and waits in vain for her accomplice Alan Davis, becomes the next murder victim of the hunchback. Wanda escapes from the boathouse, but ends up in the hands of the Reverend David. He's going to see General Perkins and his wife. Inspector Hopkins and Sir John also arrive there. While Wanda is being held in the garage, the Reverend gives the unsuspecting man who just wanted to know about the machinations of Alan Davis. Inspector Hopkins can confront the Reverend on the basis of a few contradictions. He escapes and takes Wanda to the girls' home at Castlewood Castle, where the hunchback and thus a cruel end await him.

Inspector Hopkins identifies the hunchback as Harry Winston, who was once charged with murder in Cairo . He owes his life to General Perkins, to whom he is slavishly devoted. Perkins had acted unauthorized in the Battle of Tobruk and was then removed from his post at the front command. He was placed in charge of a military prison camp. His successful brother Donald, who had always despised the military, kept reminding him of this humiliation. When Donald died, the general tried to steal his fortune with a fake Wanda Merville. Shortly before his arrest, General Perkins shoots the hunchback. Wanda Merville can finally take over her inheritance.

History of origin

Background and script

The Edgar Wallace film The Eerie Monk , launched in December 1965, became a great success for the production company Rialto Film . Accordingly, the responsible film distributor, Constantin Film , began planning a successful continuation of the series in 1966. The film The Riddle of the Silver Triangle, produced by Harry Alan Towers , opened in cinemas at the end of April . For Horst Wendlandt's Rialto Film , the production of the following Wallace films was initially planned in 1966:

1. The secret of the white nun
2. Soho's hunchback
3. Witcher 66 , continuation of the films The Witcher and News from the Witcher

The preparations for The Secret of the White Nun were delayed, so that the following project had to be postponed. After detailed discussions, Rialto Film , Constantin Film and director Alfred Vohrer agreed not to realize the Hexer sequel under the title Hexer 66 for the time being. Instead, the project The Hunchback of Soho was devoted to . Herbert Reinecker wrote the screenplay based on a draft by Harald G. Petersson . Even before that, some Edgar Wallace films were based only on a few motifs from the novel. With The Hunchback of Soho , the film series moved for the first time to both a fictitious film title and a fictitious plot. With this step, it was hoped to be able to adapt the film series more to the current zeitgeist.

occupation

Originally, Joachim Fuchsberger was supposed to play the role of Inspector Higgins in this film . This had to cancel due to scheduling reasons. Günther Stoll , who became known nationwide in January 1966 with the Durbridge two-part Melissa , took on the role, which was quickly renamed Inspector Hopkins. Uschi Glas was initially planned for the role of Wanda Merville . When the filming of Winnetou and the half-blood Apanatschi dragged on longer than planned, Monika Peitsch, well-known from the TV series The Despicable One , took over the part. Otherwise, numerous actors from earlier Edgar Wallace films such as Eddi Arent , Albert Bessler , Pinkas Braun were engaged , Uta Levka , Hubert von Meyerinck , Siegfried Schürenberg , Gisela Uhlen , Kurt Waitzmann and Agnes Windeck . Ilse Pagé , who played a victim of the "hunchback" in this film, was to appear in six other Edgar Wallace films from 1967 as Sir John's secretary Miss Finley. Joachim Teege had a one-time guest appearance in the film series.

production

The Spandau Citadel , in the film "Castlewood Castle"

Announced as a black and white film in the Constantin Film program booklet , Rialto made The Bucklige of Soho as her first Edgar Wallace film in color (Eastmancolor). The film, produced in the widescreen format 1: 1.66, was shot from June 1 to July 13, 1966. Except for a few outdoor shots without actors in London , the film was made in West Berlin . Most of the recordings were shot on the premises of the CCC film studios in Berlin-Haselhorst , where the studio recordings were also made. The Spandau Citadel can be seen as Castlewood Castle .

The film structures came from Wilhelm Vorwerg and Walter Kutz . Irms Pauli was responsible for the costumes . Production manager was Fritz Klotzsch . The production line took Wolfgang Kühnlenz , the assistant director Eva Ebner .

Film music

The film music for The Bucklige von Soho comes from the pen of Peter Thomas , who later referred to this work as "Thomas's Ballermann Music". The film's soundtrack features influences from jazz and swing music . What was particularly striking was the unconventional use of the human voice. While a wide variety of human sounds were used in the title theme in addition to the typical vocalise , the melody of another title was whistled. The double CD released in 1992 and the single CD Peter Thomas - Film Musik of the same name released the following year contained the following pieces with a total running time of 10:44 minutes:

• The Hunchback of Soho (theme music)
• Home for fallen girls
• Never Trust A Preacherman
• shock
• The hump
• Torture chamber
• Hit Him Where It Hurts
• The Reverend Goes To Hell

The title music, The Hump and Hit Him Where It Hurts also appeared on The Best of Edgar Wallace CD from 2002.

Post production

In the final cut of the film, some scenes were not taken into account in which Inspector Hopkins (Günther Stoll) and Sir John (Siegfried Schürenberg) find the bodies of Allan Davis (Pinkas Braun) and the superior (Hilde Sessak). According to the script, these would have been after the passage in which Hopkins and Sir John free the girls.

reception

publication

The film had to be submitted a total of four times to the Voluntary Self-Control of the Film Industry (FSK) and was only released after a few cuts from the age of 16. Among other things, the entire opening credits, in which the murder victim's mouth is zoomed in , has been replaced by a new opening credits with colored inscriptions. The nationwide cinema release took place on September 6, 1966. Constantin Filmverleih promised a “new high point in the famous Edgar Wallace series”. During its premiere, the film had around 2.2 million viewers in Germany. In the polls carried out by the trade journal Filmecho / Filmwoche at the time , in which cinema visitors rated current films on a scale from 1 (excellent) to 7 (very bad), Der Hunchlige von Soho received a grade of 2.4. For comparison: the films The Riddle of the Silver Triangle (3.2), Winnetou and the Half-Blood Apanatschi (2.8) and Long Legs - Long Fingers (2.6), also published in 1966 .

The film could be marketed in other countries and ran there under the following titles:

• Denmark : Den pukkelryggede fra Soho
• Finland , Finnish title: Sohon kyttyräselkä
• France : Le bossu de Londres
• Greece : I Scotland Yard sta apokryfa tou Soho
• Italy : Il gobbo di Londra
• Yugoslavia : Grbavac iz Sohoa
• Netherlands : De gebochelde van Soho
• United States : The Hunchback of Soho

The film was first broadcast on German television on March 21, 1985 on the Sat.1 predecessor PKS. For publication as a purchase video, the age rating was downgraded from 16 to 12 years in 1991. The TV and video releases contained the original opening credits and occasionally the scenes shortened by the FSK. However, the end was always faded out too early. In 2004 the film was released on DVD in an uncut version corresponding to the final cut .

Reviews

This section consists only of a cunning collection of quotes from movie reviews. Instead, a summary of the reception of the film should be provided as continuous text, which can also include striking quotations, see also the explanations in the film format .

“Well-made heritage sneaking clothes by Edgar Wallace. The abstruse overdrafts this time, in great abundance, prevent harmful taking seriously, but reduce the relaxing entertainment that was often better used in the past and repeatedly touch the boundaries of good taste, which also applies to this genre. "

- Protestant film observer , 1966

“Author Herbert Reinecker and director Alfred Vohrer have come up with better things for Edgar Wallace - like 'The Witcher'. The story - the sacked general has accomplices kidnap millions heiress - would be useful. Unfortunately, it is so confused that there is hardly any tension. A dozen corpses, brightly colored backdrops and talented actors are of no use either. "

- Süddeutsche Zeitung

"At the same time, Vohrer proves that he knows all the small, inconspicuous logical mistakes made by inexperienced crime directors. He has laid out a number of them, with a small signal lamp, for a lively guessing game."

- Kölnische Rundschau

“The first color film in the Edgar Wallace series (director: Alfred Vohrer) was made in 1966, at a time when the scary crime series with Eddi Arent as the mascot was already dangerously nearing its expiration date. Scriptwriter Herbert Reinecker did give samples of his black humor from time to time, but the seductive crime drama doesn't knock anyone off their feet anymore. The strip's disguised concern could more have been to offer the audience a few shy brothel scenes en passant. "

- TV movie

"Crime prepared with horror and sex interludes, very loosely based on Edgar Wallace."

- Lexicon of international film

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 and Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89602-645-3 .

Web links

• The Hunchback of Soho in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• The hunchback from Soho at filmportal.de
• The hunchback from Soho ( memento from December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at deutscher-tonfilm.de
• Sound carrier with the film music

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 89 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 88 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: 2500 meters (original version); 2429 meters (FSK version)
2. ↑ ^{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. 284-291 .
3. ^ Inge Dombrowski: Million project for a film comedy. In: Abendblatt.de. Hamburger Abendblatt , January 29, 1966, accessed on May 27, 2018 . 
4. ^ Gerd Naumann: The film composer Peter Thomas. From Edgar Wallace and Jerry Cotton to Orion space patrol . ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-8382-0003-3 , p. 112 .
5. ^ CD Peter Thomas - Film Music (double CD). Polydor . 1992. Order no. 845 872-2
6. ↑ CD Peter Thomas - Film Music (single CD). Polydor . 1993. Order no. 517 096-2
7. ^ CD The Best of Edgar Wallace . All Score Media. 2002. Order no. ASM 005
8. ^ Joachim Kramp and Jürgen Wehnert: The Edgar Wallace Lexicon. Life - work - films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-508-2 , p. 97 .
9. ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 330/1966.
10. ↑ The Hunchback of Soho. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 28, 2017 .