The Man Who Changed His Name (1958)

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Movie
Original title The man who changed his name
Country of production Federal Republic of Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1958
length 98 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Werner Völger
script Werner Völger
production Hanns Farenburg
camera Karl-Heinz Wüst
cut Helga Stump
occupation

The man who changed his name is a NDR crime thriller that was first broadcast on May 11, 1958. The film is based on the play The Man Who Changed His Name by Edgar Wallace .

action

Selby Clive spent many years in Canada. Now he wants to sell a piece of land in Canada to Frank O'Ryan, his wife Nita's childhood friend. However, Frank and Nita discover a document in a secret compartment that raises the suspicion that Clive has changed his name and was formerly Dennis Salnderby. When Sir Ralph, a lawyer friend from the neighborhood, tells them about a spectacular murder case in which Salnderby appears as a three-time murderer, Nita's and Frank's fear of falling victim to a crime grows. Especially since Muller, Clive's attorney, obtained Salnderby's acquittal in the murder case at the time. Several accidents and incidents worry the two. After an eerie night in which the rain lashes around the remote country house and in which a terrible thunderstorm causes fear and horror, everything clears up.

Reviews

"At the beginning, a mysterious story is presented in very fine bites, which makes the viewer uncomfortable with the opaque main character. Actually, the three most important parts of Fritz Tillmann, Ernst Stankovski and Hannelore Schroth are very much supported, director Werner Völger gradually increases the tension the last 40 minutes, playing in a secluded house at night, while a terrible thunderstorm is falling outside with rain, lightning and thunder. This is captured in a wonderful atmosphere. The strong end compensates for the somewhat slow beginning. Very nice also the insider gags: the butler recommends the protagonist Edgar Wallace's novel "The Man Who Changed His Name" as reading, the cover is adorned with the author's character head, at the end the sentence sounds: "It is really impossible not to be captivated by Edgar Wallace!" . Exciting TV nostalgia! "

background

Edgar Wallace wrote the play in 1928 together with the actor Robert Loraine, with whom he had rented the London Apollotheater, where it was also premiered on March 14, 1928. The piece was canceled due to bad reviews. After the death of Edgar Wallace, the author Robert Curtis rewrote the play to the novel, which was first published in 1935 by Hutchinson Verlag under the title The Man Who Changed His Name . The German Kiepenheuer publishing house first published the Wallace novel in 1950 in the German translation by Walther Suessenguth. The film version by Werner Völger was still played live and broadcast live and never repeated after it was first broadcast in 1958. It was only in 2015 that the film was taken from the archives and released on DVD.

Film adaptations

Edgar Wallace's play was later reworked into a novel of the same title. The story was made into a film very often:

  • Great Britain 1929: The Man Who Changed His Name. Directed by AV Bramble, with Stewart Rome
  • Italy 1933: Giallo. Directed by Mario Camerini , Mario Soldati , with Assia Norris
  • Great Britain 1934: The Man Who Changed His Name. Directed by Henry Edwards, with Lyn Harding
  • GDR 1956: The man who changed his name. Director: Hans-Joachim Hildebrandt , with Karl Kendzia
  • FRG 1986: The Secret of Lismore Castle , director: Franz Josef Gottlieb , with Carl Heinz Schroth

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The man who changed his name. on: The crime thriller homepage. (krimiserien.heimat.eu)
  2. ^ Joachim Kramp: The Edgar Wallace Lexicon. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2002.
  3. ^ Pidax Film Media Ltd. DVD cover "The man who changed his name"