The avenger
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The avenger |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1960 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Karl Anton |
| script |
Gustav Kampendonk , Rudolf Carter |
| production | Kurt Ulrich |
| music | Peter Sandloff |
| camera | Willi Sohm |
| cut | Walter von Bonhorst |
| occupation | |
| |
The Avenger is a German crime film that was made in 1960 under the direction of Karl Anton . The film adaptation of the novel of the same name (original title: The Avenger ) by Edgar Wallace is the third German-language Edgar Wallace film of the post-war period . It is the only film in the series made by the Berlin production company Kurt-Ulrich -Film. The black and white film premiered on August 5, 1960 in the Tower Palace in Frankfurt am Main .
action
Two women find a man's head on a railway viaduct near the English town of Esher . The beheaded was Francis Elmer, a Foreign Office official . Since the murder could have political motives, the head of the intelligence service, Major Staines, instructs the capable security officer Michael Brixan to conduct a separate investigation. As Brixan learns, Elmer was already the twelfth victim of the so-called "avenger", who describes himself as a "benefactor" in the accompanying letters. All those murdered were criminals or suspects who slipped through the mesh of the law.
The trail leads Brixan to Winchester , where Francis Elmer was last seen by his niece, film actress Ruth Sanders. A film is being made near town, against the backdrop of Henry Longvale's castle. Brixan initially pretends to be a journalist in order to learn more from Ruth about her uncle's whereabouts. The woman takes him to a newspaper stand where Elmer received a letter before he was murdered and was interested in an advertisement from the "benefactor". Back on location, Ruth learns from director Jack Jackson that she should take on the lead role in the film instead of the vain actress Stella Mendozza. By chance, Brixan discovers the page of a film manuscript that was typed with the same typewriter as the letters accompanying the "Avenger". The shady dramaturge Lorenz Voss doesn't want to know anything about their origin.
The next day, filming continues at the neighboring Schloss Griff Tower. Its owner, the coarse Sir Gregory Penn, is a researcher and collector of weapons from around the world. During a tour of the castle, Brixan made the acquaintance of the gigantic servant Bhag, a native who was loyal to Sir Gregory and obeyed his word. The castle owner wants to invite Ruth to dinner, which she refuses. During the night Bhag tries to break into Ruth's hotel room. Brixan can stop him at the last moment. The resourceful investigator discovers that Voss, on behalf of Sir Gregory, marked the window of Ruth's room in order to have Bhag abduct her.
The next day, actress Stella Mendozza appears at the hotel to get her role back. Director Jackson, however, remains tough and also dismisses the seedy Voss. He claims to Stella and her colleague Reggie Connolly that they will soon have enough money for their own film production. In the meantime, Voss' documents puzzled Brixan, as a line in the notebook about the received film manuscripts was blacked out. After Brixan discovered on a film that Sir Gregory was holding a woman prisoner in the castle, he managed to break into the castle during the night. He is discovered by Bhag, who is prevented from pursuing Brixan by the intervention of an unknown person.
The following morning, the head of the thirteenth victim of the “Avenger”, Lorenz Voss, is found at Leatherhead . Since he is described as a traitor in the attached note, Brixan assumes that Voss already knew who the killer is. When Brixan surprised the allegedly unsuspecting Sir Gregory with a search warrant, the captured woman has disappeared. In fact, the young Malay woman managed to escape the castle with the help of her brother, who had prevented Bhag from pursuing Brixan. While the two are safe with the police, Stella Mendozza appears at Sir Gregory's. He promises the jealous actress that he will get Ruth Sanders in the evening.
In the evening, Brixan receives a lab report on the blackened line in Voss' notebook. Although it is clear who the "avenger" is, the investigators want to wait until they can catch the unscrupulous criminal. At the same time, Ruth is kidnapped by Sir Gregory on the pretext of a suddenly scheduled directing session at his castle. Stella Mendozza, who is also there, confides her pistol to Ruth. With this Ruth can evade the intrusive Sir Gregory and escape from the castle. While trying to escape, she crashes into one of the numerous underground tunnels in this area. When Michael Brixan learns of the kidnapping, he immediately rushes to Sir Gregory. There he meets Stella Mendozza, who reports that Sir Gregory had gone to Henry Longvale. Brixan has long known that Longvale is an avid admirer of his ancestor Charles Henri Longvale, the former hereditary executioner of France . Under delusional coercion, Henry Longvale continued the legacy of his ancestors as the “Avenger”. With a trick, Longvale succeeds in taking control of Brixan and Ruth in addition to Sir Gregory. At the last moment, the supposedly dangerous Bhag intervenes. The “avenger” eventually dies on his own guillotine .
History of origin
prehistory
After the start of the Edgar Wallace series by Rialto Film and Constantin Filmverleih with The Frog with the Mask (1959) and The Red Circle (1960), the two companies secured all still available film rights to Edgar's detective novels from Penelope Wallace Wallace . At this point the rights to two novels had already been sold: The Avenger to Kurt Ulrich and The Yellow Snake to Artur Brauner .
Pre-production and script
In 1960 hardly anyone knew how long the success of the Wallace films would last. While Brauner waited more than two years with his film adaptation of The Curse of the Yellow Snake , also to come to terms with the Constantin film distributor, Kurt Ulrich reacted less patiently. Preparations for The Avenger were in full swing to bring the production to cinemas before the premiere of the third Rialto Wallace film The Gang of Terror . The Europa-Filmverleih, which was supposed to market the "Avenger" in the Federal Republic, had high hopes for the project and expected five million visitors in 3,000 movie theaters.
The novel, The Avenger, was published in 1926 as the English original edition. Just one year later, the first German translation was published under the title Der Rächer by Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag . From 1955 the work was available as Goldmanns Taschen-Krimi Volume 60 .
In order to enhance the somewhat cumbersome story, Gustav Kampendonk and Rudolf Katscher were hired two experienced scriptwriters. While Kampendonk had made a name for himself primarily through numerous comedies, Katscher was very familiar with both the genre of the crime film and the setting. Before 1933 Katscher formed a successful team of authors with Egon Eis . Together they wrote the screenplay for the 1931 Edgar Wallace film Der Zinker . After Rudolf Katscher emigrated to London in 1935, he worked under the name Rudolph Cartier for the BBC, among others . Since Egon Eis had now written the screenplay of the successful The Frog with the Mask , Rudolf Katscher was the obvious choice for another Wallace film.
Karl Anton, who was born in Prague and has been active since the silent film era , was engaged as the director . The Avenger was his last job as a film director.
occupation
Producer Kurt Ulrich showed great sensitivity in the choice of actors. With Heinz Drache , Klaus Kinski and Siegfried Schürenberg , he engaged three actors who were to become true stars of the series in the Wallace films of the Rialto Film . Also Ingrid van Bergen , Rainer Brandt , Friedrich Schoenfelder , Maria Litto , Franz-Otto Krüger , Rainer Penkert and Albert Bessler were still visible in other Wallace adaptations. Benno Sterzenbach , Ina Duscha , Ludwig Linkmann and Al Hoosman completed the ensemble.
production
The shooting for the black and white film, which was produced in the widescreen format 1: 1.66, took place from May 31 to June 20, 1960. The exterior shots were made in West Berlin , apart from some archive footage from London . The scenes in front of Sir Gregory Penn's castle were filmed at the Glienicke hunting lodge . In the film, the Spandauer Tor, which belongs to the former manor Groß Glienicke , and the neighboring building in the Kladow district, served as the backdrop for Longvale Castle . The photos in the underground tunnels were taken in the Spandau Citadel . The interior shots were shot in the ARRI film studio in Munich . The film constructions came from Willi A. Herrmann and Curt Stallmach . Trude Ulrich was responsible for the costumes. The line producer took over Heinz Willeg .
Film music
The film music was composed by Peter Sandloff . Five tracks on the soundtrack appeared on CD Kriminalfilmmusik No. 4 :
- Theme music 2:06
- Malay dance 1:07
- Hotel music 2:19
- The guillotine 0:56
- Closing music 2:00
reception
publication
The film was released by the FSK without editing requirements from the age of 16 and premiered on August 5, 1960. Two days before the end of the shooting of this film, the shooting for the Wallace film Die Gang des Schreckens began under the direction of Harald Reinl, which premiered only 20 days after The Avenger . The number of visitors to Der Rächer dropped significantly after the start of the much harder staged competing film. With 2.5 million visitors and successful re-performances, the film still turned out to be good business for Kurt Ulrich.
In addition, the film could also be marketed abroad and ran there under the following titles, among others:
- Belgium , French title: Le Vengeur
- Belgium , Dutch title: De Wreker
- Brazil : El vengador Misterioso
- Denmark : Hævneren
- Finland : Pirullista himoa
- France : Le vengeur défie Scotland Yard
- Greece : O ekdikitis apeilei tin Scotland Yard
- Italy : Il vendicatore misterioso
- Mexico : El vengador misterioso
- Uruguay : El mensajero de la muerte
- United States : The Avenger
The Avenger was first broadcast on German television on April 25, 1992 on Sat.1 . The age rating of the film was downgraded from 16 to 12 years for the publication as a purchase video, which also took place in the 1990s. In 2006 the film was released as a copy of the analog TV version on DVD .
Reviews
“Is it the subject or the script, is it the director (Karl Anton) or Wallace? - In any case, the 'avenger' is no more creepy than the cardboard ghost in the ghost train, and criminal suspense is better 'represented' by every youngster who drives around the corner on a moped. "
"This film adaptation of classic crime literature conveys some tension - not quite in the Anglo-Saxon style of the original, but with safe actors in an atmospheric environment [...] - crime film customers."
“There is nothing left of the master's narrative technique with the long cigarette holder, who deliberately put wisps on the plot, instead of drawing psychological differentiations of original types and astonishing the reader with a surprising 'punch line'. Instead: dust-dry dialogues, synthetic shuddering or preconceived kidney- shaped behavior. It is ridiculous if a film team is caricatured on the edge, at most it should have been here during the shooting. And unfortunately: It is impossible to be captivated by this film. "
“Edgar Wallace, who is usually quite superficial in his detective novels, delivered this deeply motivated story of the rolling heads, which was modernized by the German film producers. It babbles lively, sometimes without obligation, sometimes it trickles down onto the patient viewer, coming from a somewhat dusty horror cabinet. A little more courage to parody would have made it more bearable. Klaus Kinsky [sic!] As one of the villains showed a nice approach in this direction. "
“Awkward crime thriller from the popular Edgar Wallace series; attractive at most because of the patina that the film has meanwhile acquired. "
“Unfortunately, the early work of the series lacks the macabre humor and madness of later Wallace works. Maybe it was because veteran director Karl Anton and his screenwriter were comedy specialists with no crime thriller experience and the film was made under great time pressure. "
"Eerily beautiful, but staged bumpy."
“You can definitely tell about this third film that it comes from a different company. 'The Avenger' stands out much more seriously and the script leaves no room for a comical role, such as Eddi Arent usually played in such films. "
literature
- Edgar Wallace: The Avenger (Original title: The Avenger ). German by Edith Walter. Unabridged and newly translated edition. Scherz, Bern a. a. 1996, ISBN 3-502-55226-6 .
- 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 avenger in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The avenger at filmportal.de
- The Avenger ( memento from December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at deutscher-tonfilm.de
- Sound carrier with the film music
Individual evidence
- ↑ 100 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 96 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: 2725 meters
- ↑ A draft from the afterlife . In: Der Spiegel . No. 49 , 1960 ( online ).
- ^ Joachim Kramp and Jürgen Wehnert: The Edgar Wallace Lexicon. Life - work - films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-508-2 , p. 28 .
- ↑ CD crime film music No. 4 . BSC Music. 2000. Order no. 398.6560.2
- ↑ 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. 420-425 .
- ↑ The Avenger . In: Paimann's film lists . No. 2564 , August 17, 1960 ( Reizfeld.net ).
- ↑ The Avenger . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . September 21, 1960, p. 10 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 1.7 MB ]).
- ↑ The Avenger. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 25, 2017 .
- ^ A film review by Thomas Ays at moviesection.de
