The Zinker (1963)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The zinc man |
| Original title | Der Zinker / L'Énigme du serpent noir |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany , France |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1963 |
| length | 89 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alfred Vohrer |
| script | Harald G. Petersson |
| production |
Horst Wendlandt , Preben Philipsen , Jacques Willemetz |
| music | Peter Thomas |
| camera | Karl Löb |
| cut | Hermann Haller |
| occupation | |
| |
Der Zinker is a Franco-German crime film (French title: L'Énigme du serpent noir ) by director Alfred Vohrer and the 14th German-language Edgar Wallace film of the post-war period . The film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Edgar Wallace (original title: The Squeaker ) was produced by the German Rialto Film with the participation of the French film company Les Films Jacques Willemetz .
action
For years the "zinc man" has been up to mischief in the London underworld . Whenever stolen goods are to be concealed there, he reports to usurp them at rock bottom prices. If the thieves do not accept his offer, he “galvanizes” (reveals) them to Scotland Yard . Larry Greame, a criminal on record, has set a trap for the stranger and therefore knows his identity. Shortly before he can betray the "Zinker", he is murdered with the poison of a black mamba .
Inspector Elford's trail leads first to Mrs. Mulford, the owner of a pet shop, and its manager Frank Sutton, because a black mamba was stolen there a short time beforehand. Mrs. Mulford's niece Beryl, a crime writer, and Josua Harras, also a reporter, are also interested in the case. The underworld - above all Larry Greame's brother, called "The Lord" - is out for revenge and is already planning a new coup against the "Zinker", who gets into trouble and therefore does not shy away from further murders. In the end, Frank Sutton is exposed as the "zinc man", but shot by his crazy partner Krischna Jefferson.
Reviews
“The trail leads to ... No, we don't want to reveal anything. This lively Edgar Wallace film adaptation deserves not to reveal the mystery of the enigmatic snake venom murders in London. For a long time, the camera, which Alfred Vohrer had well managed, knew how to distribute suspicions evenly among all those involved. Only at the beginning of the second third do you think you can see more clearly. At the end of the day, almost a little disappointed, you realize that you ... unfortunately were right. A small weakness of the film, maybe the only one. Otherwise a good cast of stars ensures that the chain of murders does not get on your nerves. A strong shot of humor - you don't take yourself and the numerous dead too seriously - isn't missing either. Television inspector Heinz Drache, Barbara Rütting, My-Fair-Lady-Higgins Günther Pfitzmann, and as always convincing Klaus Kinski in the no longer entirely new role of the mad, are the pillars of this relaxed and exciting detective film. "
“The shots begin or end stubbornly with any object in close-up, only that it sometimes comes up to you and sometimes fades. In beautiful harmony, the director, cameraman and reviewer sank into a drowsy cinematic slumber at the beginning of the last third. "
“Despite all the opacity, logically developed and continuously staged, a contemporary remake; with visual and tonal gags, well-tempered presentation and punchy dialogue. "
"Situations that are calculated on the goosebumps are compensated for by occasional gags."
"At least a well-crafted crime film based on a novel by Edgar Wallace."
“As always, Kinski plays the villain in an acceptable shocker from the Thames. (Rating: average) "
"This lavishly produced Wallace film is considered one of the most beautiful, exciting and original by fans of the English crime writer."
“Typical Wallace thriller with billowing fog, high-contrast black and white and a beautifully insane villain. Nostalgic fun! "
"Eerily beautiful crime classic."
"The story, staged again by Alfred Vohrer, is opaque and exciting right up to the end."
Others
- The film was shot in West Berlin and London from January 22nd to February 28th, 1963 .
- The first Edgar Wallace film in Ultrascope was released in Germany on April 26, 1963.
- Egon Eis , who had already worked on the script for the first German film adaptation of " Der Zinker " in 1931 , had written a treatment for this film in 1961 . However, Harald G. Petersson was finally hired as the scriptwriter .
- For the second time, a French company contributed to the production costs of a Wallace crime novel by Rialto Film .
- The exterior shots of the film were made in West Berlin and for the fourth time after “ The Frog with the Mask ”, “ The Secret of the Yellow Daffodils ” and “ The Riddle of the Red Orchid ” in London . It was also the first Wallace film adaptation of Rialto Film, the interior of which was filmed in the CCC-Film studios in Berlin's Spandau district . A few weeks earlier, the Wallace film adaptation " The Curse of the Yellow Snake ", produced by CCC-Film, was shot there .
- In addition to some actors who have already been tried and tested in Wallace films, Barbara Rütting , Agnes Windeck , Inge Langen and Heinz Spitzner played for the first time in a film in the series. Günter Pfitzmann , Wolfgang Wahl and Siegfried Wischnewski played important guest roles.
- Since the role of Scotland Yard boss Sir John was not provided in the script, Siegfried Schürenberg took over the role of the newspaper publisher Sir Fielding. This should actually be called Sir Geoffrey, since the title "Sir" in English is always used in combination with the first name.
- The animals involved in the film came from the Berlin Zoological Garden and the Althoff Circus .
- The house of Mrs. Mulford shown in the film was the actual residence of producer Horst Wendlandt .
- A scene at the beginning of the film with Eddi Arent and a newspaper seller in Trafalgar Square was later used in the film The Witcher (1964) and only set to new music for it.
- The film was approved by the FSK for ages 16 and over without any restrictions. The film was shown on television in a heavily shortened version in the wrong format . The original colored opening credits were replaced by a black and white opening credits. In 1991, the shortened version for ages 12 and up was released. In the meantime, the film has been released in the original theatrical version, which is released again from the age of 16.
- With the snake attack on Frank Sutton , Vohrer quoted the spider attack in the recently made film " James Bond 007 is chasing Dr. No ”, including slaying the reptile to the beat of the music.
literature
- Edgar Wallace: The zinc man . German translation. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-442-05372-2 .
- 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 Squeaker in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The zinc at filmportal.de
- Der Zinker ( Memento from December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at deutscher-tonfilm.de
- Sound carrier with the film music
Individual evidence
- ↑ People instead of characters: "Bitter Honey" . An excellent English film and eight more premieres. In: Hamburger Abendblatt . June 15, 1963, p. 13 ( ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Abendblatt.de )).
- ↑ The zinc man . In: Paimann's film lists . No. 2795 , July 16, 1963 ( online ( memento from January 4, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ) [accessed July 17, 2019]).
- ↑ The zinc man. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Thomas Ays : Edgar Wallace: Der Zinker. In: Moviesection. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011 ; accessed on July 17, 2019 .
