The frog with the mask (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The frog with the mask |
| Original title | Frøen med masks / The frog with the mask |
 | |
| Country of production |
Denmark , Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1959 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Harald Reinl |
| script |
Trygve Larsen , J. Joachim Bartsch |
| production |
Preben Philipsen ( Rialto Film ) |
| music | Willy Mattes |
| camera | Ernst W. Kalinke |
| cut | Margot Jahn |
| occupation | |
| |
The frog with the mask (Danish title: Frøen med masks ) is a Danish-German crime film that was shot in 1959 under the direction of Harald Reinl in Copenhagen and the surrounding area and in London . The film adaptation of the novel of the same name (original title: The Fellowship of the Frog ) by Edgar Wallace is the first German-language Edgar Wallace film of the post-war period . It premiered on September 4, 1959 in the Universum in Stuttgart .
More than 3.2 million visitors saw the film in the cinema. The success laid the foundation for the Edgar Wallace film series, which ran until 1972, as well as numerous other crime films based on a similar pattern.
action
For years, the eerily masked head of a gang of criminals, the so-called "frog in the mask", has been terrifying London. Neither Inspector Elk nor his assistant Sergeant Balder succeeded in catching the fearsome criminal and his gang. After another jewel theft and the murder of a detective who tried to sneak into the frog gang, Richard Gordon, the nephew of Scotland Yard boss Sir Archibald, is now interested in the case.
An initial lead leads him and his butler James to the mysterious John Bennet, who lives with son Ray and daughter Ella in an idyllic house near Hertford . Gordon soon realizes that the Bennets are caught in the crosshairs of the frog gang, because not only he, but also the frog himself has an eye on Ella. Ray is also in danger.
Contrary to all warnings from his colleague Philo Johnson, Ray quit his job at the renowned newspaper publisher Maitland and soon found employment in the Lolita bar. This dubious dubious reputation of the harbor became more and more the focus of Inspector Elk's searches as the suspicion that it was a playground for members of the frog gang was confirmed. Richard Gordon is hired there as a lighting technician to do more detailed research. He and Elk don't have much time to uncover the frog, because he already has a new plan in which Ray plays an important role.
As a first success, Inspector Elk is able to reveal Sergeant Balder as a member of the frog gang and arrest him. Ray is mistakenly suspected of having shot Lew Brady, who was also a member of the frog gang, in the Lolita bar. With the help of a film camera secretly installed there by Gordon, however, his innocence can be proven. In the end it turns out that the burglar believed dead Harry Lime aka Philo Johnson is the frog.
History of origin
prehistory
The Danish film producer Preben Philipsen , co-owner of Constantin-Filmverleihs until 1955 and head of the Copenhagen-based Rialto Film , took over Prisma-Filmverleih in 1958 in order to gain a foothold on the German film market. The 1958/59 British Edgar Wallace film adaptation of The Ringer (German title: The Witcher , also The Strangler comes at midnight ) from 1952 was announced in the Prisma-Verleihs program . After viewing the film in Munich, Preben Philipsen and Constantin boss Waldfried Barthel decided not to bring the film to the cinemas. Instead, they prepared the production of their own film series based on novels by Edgar Wallace.
Pre-production and script
The film adaptation of the novel The Fellowship of the Frog from 1925, which appeared in German a year later as The Frog with the Mask , was chosen as a prelude . The first edition of Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag was published in 1928, from 1952 the work was available as Goldmanns Taschen-Krimi Volume 1 . In addition, in negotiations with Edgar Wallace's daughter Penelope Wallace , Philipsen acquired the film rights to the novel The Crimson Circle (German title: Der Rote Kreis ) with an option for further film adaptations of Wallace's novels. While the frog with the mask was to be marketed by Constantin-Verleih, the red circle was intended for Prisma-Film's distribution program.
At the suggestion of director Franz Marischka , Egon Eis , originally from Austria, wrote the first version of the screenplay under the pseudonym Trygve Larsen, which was received by Constantin Filmverleih on January 13, 1959. Ice already worked on the screenplay of the 1931 Edgar Wallace film Der Zinker . Although the book had already been revised by Jochen Joachim Bartsch , changes were made by the dramaturge Hans Billian and the head of production Gerhard F. Hummel up to a week before shooting began .
Waldfried Barthel insisted on engaging the contract director Harald Reinl for the production of the film The Frog with the Mask . In addition, a cost limit of DM 600,000 (currently around EUR 1,420,000) was set for production.
occupation
Joachim Fuchsberger , the most famous actor in this film at the time , was hired for the main role . Fuchsberger had his breakthrough in the 08/15 trilogy from 1954/55 and had already made the successful war films The Green Devils of Monte Cassino and U 47 - Kapitänleutnant Prien (both 1958) with the director Reinl . The other roles were filled with established actors, but also less well-known young actors. Fritz Rasp had already worked in the Edgar Wallace films Der Zinker (1931) and Der Hexer (1932). The role of the butler James, invented for the film, was initially to be cast with Harald Juhnke . Instead, it was taken over by the then largely unknown Constantin contract actor Eddi Arent , who later became the busiest actor in the Edgar Wallace series. The actor Richard Lauffen contributed the voice of the frog, his colleague Benno Gellenbeck dubbed countless small roles, in one scene even Fuchsberger's voice on the phone.
production
The shooting for the black and white film, which was produced in normal format 1: 1.33, took place from April 24 to June 9, 1959 in Copenhagen and the surrounding area. The studio recordings were made in the Palladium studios in Hellerup ( Denmark ). The film architect Erik Aaes was responsible for the buildings . Margot Jahn designed the costumes. The London footage was shot by a small team around Harald Reinl, director of photography Ernst W. Kalinke and production manager Helmut Beck, who traveled to the British capital for two days. Stand photographer was Gabriele du Vinage .
Film music
The soundtrack comes from Willy Mattes . The song performed by Eva Pflug in the film, Nachts im Nebel on the Thames , was composed by Karl Bette . Theo Maria Werner and Hans Billian wrote the text . Eva Pflug's own voice cannot be heard on this song. It was dubbed by an unknown singer . On the CD Kriminalfilmmusik No. 4 are digitally edited video recordings of the theme music and the song. The original recording tapes of the soundtrack are considered lost. The song is also featured on the CD Deutsche Krimi-Musik , released in 2013 . In the booklet, Maureen René is named as the singer .
reception
publication
After cutting some scenes, the FSK released the film on August 28, 1959 , for those aged 16 and over. With more than 3.2 million visitors, The Frog with the Mask , which premiered on September 4th of the same year, turned out to be a great surprise success. However, this figure was clearly identified as incorrect by the later head of the Rialto, Horst Wendlandt - all German-speaking viewers, including those from Austria, were probably added together, which is generally not common. In November 1959, the shooting of the second Edgar Wallace film The Red Circle began . The frog with the mask had its premiere in the UFA pavilion West Berlin on January 29, 1960 . The film was shown in Danish cinemas under the title Frøen med masks from April 4, 1960.
The film could be marketed in other countries and ran there under the following titles, among others:
- Belgium , French title: La grenouille tatouée
- Belgium , Dutch title: De gemaskerde kikvors
- Brazil : A Máscara da Morte
- Finland , Finnish title: Naamioitu sammakko
- Finland , Swedish title: Masquerade grodan
- France : La Grenouille attaque Scotland Yard
- Greece : I maska pou skotonei
- Italy : La maschera che uccide
- Mexico : La marca del sapo blanco
- Norway : Mannen med froskemask
- Spain : La banda de la rana
- Uruguay : La marca del sapo blanco
- United States : The Fellowship of the Frog / Face of the Frog
The first broadcast on German television took place on April 13, 1974 on ZDF . In the GDR the film was shown for the first time on February 18, 1978 on DFF 1 and in cinemas from January 4, 1980.
For the DVD release of the unabridged original version in 2004, the age rating of the film was downgraded from 16 to 12 years. The figure The Frog with the Mask also appeared in the Edgar Wallace parody Der WiXXer (2004).
Reviews
"When this classic crime story was filmed, the atmosphere of the scene, which was well-designed in terms of direction and equipment, was cleverly combined with modern police methods and cheerful highlights [...]"
“One of Edgar Wallace's best-known crime novels brought to the screen: the frog and his gang are terrorizing London with their face hidden behind a mask from which two huge goggle eyes threaten. There is no lack of atmosphere: foggy nights, storms, a lonely house, harbor, lolita bar. Siegfried Lowitz as Inspector Elk with sharp combinations and a sixth sense of the right track, Joachim Fuchsberger, amateur detective with a distinguished butler, Jochen Brockmann in the role of the opaque accountant. - The tension of the reader is not quite reached. "
"A first-class German crime thriller was produced under the Danish flag: exciting with an ironic hint of horror and brittle humor."
"Criminalistic home cooking with a few funny little raisins."
"The German crime film, with which it was never far, secured a few plus points under the sign of the indestructible Edgar Wallace."
“As the plot demands, Harald Reinl staged it with undercooled tension. A gloomy camera brings gloomy effects. The short dialogues pop dry hard. Siegfried Lowitz and Fritz Rasp stand out in the well-run ensemble. "
"The eminently successful Wallace wave of German cinema began with the exciting crime thriller."
"Groundbreaking: the creepy effects created by playing with light and shadow."
"Unusually brutal and full of action."
"In this first case, the tension, actors and atmosphere are very convincing."
"Sufficiently exciting crime film."
literature
- Edgar Wallace: The Frog in the Mask / The Inn on the Thames / The Green Archer . Three novels in one volume. German translation. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-442-05538-5 .
- 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 .
- first German translation by Alma Johanna Koenig : The frog with the mask . Detective novel. Rikola Verlag, Vienna 1926.
Audio book
- The frog with the mask. An original audio play based on the movie of the same name. Maritime. 2008, ISBN 978-3-86714-112-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The frog with the mask. In: filmportal.de . Deutsches Filminstitut , accessed on July 13, 2019 .
- ↑ 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. 58-68 .
- ↑ CD crime film music No. 4 . BSC Music. 2000. Order no. 398.6560.2
- ↑ CD "German Crime Music", Phono Media Group, CD-PMG - 4250842 70001
- ↑ Release certificate for The Frog with the Mask . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , July 2004 (PDF; test number: 20 350 DVD).
- ↑ The frog with the mask . In: Paimann's film lists . No. 2497 , November 3, 1959 ( online ( January 20, 2015 memento in the Internet Archive ) [accessed July 13, 2019]). The frog with the mask ( memento of the original from January 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been 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 frog with the mask . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . November 11, 1959, p. 7 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 2.0 MB ]).
- ↑ Thomas Ays : Edgar Wallace: The frog with the mask. (No longer available online.) In: Moviesection. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016 ; accessed on July 13, 2019 .
- ↑ The frog with the mask. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 13, 2019 .
Web links
- The frog with the mask in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The frog with the mask at filmportal.de
- The frog with the mask ( memento from December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at deutscher-tonfilm.de
- Sound carrier with the film music
- Ralf Klee, Broder-Jürgen Trede: Under the spell of the killer frog. In: one day - contemporary history on Spiegel-Online, September 4, 2009.
