The crypt with the riddle lock

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Movie
Original title The crypt with the riddle lock
The crypt with the puzzle lock Logo 001.svg
Country of production Federal Republic of Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1964
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Franz Josef Gottlieb
script Robert A. Stemmle ,
Franz Josef Gottlieb
production Rialto Film
( Horst Wendlandt , Preben Philipsen )
music Peter Thomas
camera Richard fear
cut Jutta Hering
occupation
synchronization

The crypt with the riddle lock is a German crime film that was shot in 1964 under the direction of Franz Josef Gottlieb . The film adaptation of the novel Der Safe mit dem Rätselschloß (original title: Angel Esquire ) by Edgar Wallace is the 19th German-language Edgar Wallace film of the post-war period . The black and white film premiered in Ultrascope on April 30, 1964 in the Gloria Palast in Berlin .

action

A man is shot dead in a London cinema. As Scotland Yard's Inspector Angel discovered soon afterwards, he was a Frenchman who was part of a gang of questionable croupiers . Wherever these appear, at some point there will be criminal activities that have not yet been proven to anyone. At the same time, the Australian Kathleen Kent arrives in the British metropolis, accompanied by the budding lawyer Ferry Westlake. While on the train, Kathleen made the acquaintance of a certain Jimmy Flynn, who offered her his help should she ever get into trouble. Shortly after their arrival, the attractive woman and her companion are kidnapped into the opaque Mr. Connor's club.

Kathleen Kent's arrival was filmed on location at Victoria Station in London.

Like his accomplices Goyle, Simpson, Bat Sand, Cyril, Vinnis and Massay, Connor was also one of the employees of the former gambling den owner Mr. Real. With the help of his manipulated gaming tables they had driven Mr. Kent, Kathleen's father, to ruin and thus to suicide years ago. Now plagued by old age and remorse, Real wants to make the orphaned Kathleen the heir to his stolen fortunes. The old man keeps this safe in a crypt with an ingeniously conceived puzzle lock. Real's attorney, Mr. Spedding, watched Kathleen's kidnapping. So he and Real don't fall for it when Connor sends a fake Mrs. Kent into his house. Before the girl can give any information about her clients, she is shot from behind. Was the Sagittarius the silent stranger who is always where something is happening?

In the evening, Jimmy Flynn, another former employee of Mr. Real, also visits his former boss. Flynn would also like to claim his share. A little later he witnesses Connor's accomplice Massay penetrating the house and ramming a knife into Real's chest during an argument. When Massay then tries to penetrate the crypt, he is killed by a sophisticated mechanism. Jimmy Flynn takes the injured Mr. Real to a hiding place in an old windmill. Connor, who followed Massy, ​​sees all these events from a safe distance.

Meanwhile, Ferry Westlake escapes Connors Club and contacts Scotland Yard. Inspector Angel asks the fiend Jimmy Flynn, who is well known to him, to free Kathleen Kent, which he actually manages. Attorney Spedding is given the task of handing Real the document with the number combinations of the puzzle lock. Instead, Spedding succumbs to temptation and, when he believes he has already reached his goal, also dies in the crypt. Connor seeks the increasingly weakened Real in the mill in order to again claim his part of the fortune. But Margaret Clayton, who cares for the old man, lures Connor into a trap. He falls right into the deadly wheels of the millstones. Again the silent stranger is present.

The remaining gang members are now working on the violent opening of the crypt using explosives. However, they are surprised by the police and arrested. Ferry Westlake can defuse the device at the last moment. Meanwhile, Jimmy Flynn brings Kathleen Kent to the mill. Really there you can just hand over his will and the secret numbers of the crypt. Then he dies. Once again those involved succumb to the fatal greed for Real's riches. Margaret Clayton, who is actually the mother of Jimmy Flynn and the mute stranger, pushes Kathleen into the mill. Inspector Angel arrives, who saves Kathleen and fights a bitter pistol duel with Flynn. Jimmy's brother, who aims at the investigator from behind, is pulled into a cogwheel of the mill and becomes the involuntary murderer of Jimmy Flynn. In the end, Kathleen Kent, Ferry Westlake, Inspector Angel and Sir John of Scotland Yard enter the crypt with Real's fortune.

History of origin

Background and script

In the early 1960s, Constantin Filmverleih and Horst Wendlandt's Rialto Film landed one box office success after another with the Edgar Wallace films . In the course of preparing further contributions to the film series, the renowned author RA Stemmle completed a treatment based on the novel The Safe with the Riddle Lock at the end of 1962 . The first version of the script, in which Stemmle also suggested Die Mill des Horens as a possible film title , was finished in early 1963. The original book was published in 1908 under the original title Angel Esquire as the second novel by Edgar Wallace . In 1927 the German first edition was published under the title Der verteufelte Herr Engel by Josef Singer. The new translation by Ravi Ravendro under the title The Safe with the Riddle Lock , which is still in use today , was published in 1932 by Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag . Since 1954 the work has been available as Goldmanns Taschen-Krimi Volume 47 .

According to the original plans, Stemmle's script should have been filmed in late 1963 after the completion of The Indian Cloth . After the spectacular robbery of the London-Glasgow mail train took place on August 8, 1963 , the project was postponed in favor of the Edgar Wallace film Room 13 , in whose plot a mail train robbery could be incorporated at short notice. For the subsequent adaptation of Der Safe mit dem Rätselschloß , producer Horst Wendlandt was able to engage Austrian director Franz Josef Gottlieb , who had directed the successful film The Black Abbot last year . Gottlieb first made extensive modifications to the script. In Stemmle's version, for example, Kathleen Kent's father appears as a masked murderer who is only revealed at the end of the film. In the meantime, a new film title had been determined: The crypt with the riddle lock .

occupation

The cast list created in 1963 still included actors who were no longer available due to the postponement of the film project:

The Villa Herz in Berlin can be seen in the film as Mr. Real's villa.

For the first time, Horst Wendlandt was able to engage Harald Leipnitz for the role of Inspector Angel , who had received the gold film tape in 1963 . After the original ensemble did not materialize, Leipnitz finally stood in front of the camera in the role of Jimmy Flynn. He later starred in two other Wallace films. Other previously announced actors such as Klaus Kinski , Eddi Arent , Harry Wüstenhagen and the guest stars Ernst Fritz Fürbringer and Rudolf Forster could also be rescheduled. Kurt Waitzmann and Ilse Steppat made their debut in the series and were to appear in other films in the series. Judith Dornys , Vera Chekhova and Harry Meyen took on important guest roles. Werner Peters , already known from previous Wallace films, rounded off the well-known ensemble.

production

Another location in Berlin was the Britzer mill .

The shooting for the black and white film with a colored title sequence produced in Ultrascope took place from February 18 to March 26, 1964 in West Berlin and London. The following locations can be seen in the film:

The studio recordings were made in the CCC-Film studios in Berlin-Haselhorst and in the Ufa film studios in Berlin-Tempelhof . The film structures came from Wilhelm Vorwerg and Walter Kutz . Hanne-Lore Wessel was responsible for the costume advice. Production manager was Fritz Klotzsch .

Film music

The soundtrack was penned by Peter Thomas , who composed his seventh soundtrack for an Edgar Wallace film for Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschloss . The title music was on the double CD Peter Thomas - Film Musik released in 1992 and the single CD of the same name from 1993, on the CD Peter Thomas Sound Orchester - Easy Loungin ' from 1995 and on the CD The Best of Edgar Wallace from 2002 contain. The piece Poker Face used in the opening sequence of the film was already released in 1982 on the LP Edgar Wallace (original film music) .

synchronization

The actress Judith Dornys was dubbed by Maria Körber .

reception

publication

After two scenes had been cut (Jimmy Flynn being choked with the telephone cable, Connor's fall between the millstones), the FSK released the film on April 30, 1964 for ages 16 and up. The premiere took place on the same day in the Gloria Palast in Berlin . The Constantin Film Distribution , which marketed the film, promised "startling answers to mysterious questions." Due to the lack of whodunits and dramaturgical deficiencies, the use of the cinema was accompanied by consistently negative word of mouth. During the premiere, the work had around 1.3 million cinema viewers in the entire Federal Republic of Germany, making The Crypt with the Riddle Lock for Rialto Film the Edgar Wallace film with the fewest cinema-goers. For director Franz Josef Gottlieb this was to be the last of three contributions to the Edgar Wallace film series. In the same year he directed the Bryan Edgar Wallace film The 7th Victim for Artur Brauner's CCC film and, in 1986, the television film The Secret of Lismore Castle, based on motifs by Edgar Wallace .

The crypt with the riddle lock could be marketed in other countries and ran there under the following titles:

The film was shown in theaters in the GDR from June 11, 1976. The first broadcast on German television took place on July 17, 1981 on ZDF . For publication as a purchase video, the age rating was downgraded from 16 to 12 years in 1991. The video and, for many years, the television publications were in the wrong film format and some of them were cut beyond the FSK requirements. The crypt with the riddle lock appeared on the DVD released in 2004 in an uncut version, which also contains the shots that were once censored by the FSK. This version, which shows a black and white title sequence instead of the colored one, was approved by the FSK for ages 12 and up.

Reviews

"You have to attest to the director Gottlieb, who has often proven himself as a Wallace expert, and his cameraman Richard Angst that they have brought a high level of criminal tension and macabre thrill out of the original."

- Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , June 6, 1964

“Nice thing, this German Edgar Wallace series. You always know what you have. Namely enough corpses to paper a room with. "

- Hamburger Echo , July 14, 1964

“In this Wallace case, too, there is not much new in terms of plot. And some things remain pretty incomprehensible because of the tension. [...] FJ Gottlieb directed very effectively and brought Rudolf Forster, the very distinctive Judith Dornys and the intelligent Harald Leipnitz in top form. "

- Hamburger Abendblatt , July 22, 1964

"Memorable ensemble in a strange production."

- Joachim Kramp : The Edgar Wallace Lexicon, 2004

"Edgar Wallace film adaptation with tangible horror effects and approaches to parody."

- Lexicon of international film

“The film […] is considered one of the few failures in the cinema series. Rightly so, after all, there is no charismatic and sustaining inspector in sight in this crime thriller [...] who would have contributed to a successful film adaptation. Eddi Arent also only has uncomfortable monologues to speak and is sometimes very annoying with his legal chatter. "

- Moviesection.de

"This Edgar Wallace film adaptation is without a doubt stereotypically staged, but also not particularly exciting from the original."

- moviemaster.de

literature

  • Edgar Wallace: The mysterious house / The safe with the riddle lock / The adventurer . Three novels in one volume. German translation. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-442-55507-9 .
  • 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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Original version: 90 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 87 minutes for television reproduction (25 images / second), film length: 2478 meters; shortened FSK version (1964): 2473 meters
  2. ↑ Both in the original opening credits and on the original film posters the spelling is “Rätselschlo ss ”, although spelling was incorrect in Germany at the time (but correct in Switzerland). The spelling with "ß" is a corruption of the lexicon of international film .
  3. ^ Joachim Kramp, Jürgen Wehnert: The Edgar Wallace Lexicon. Life - work - films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-508-2 , p. 17-18 .
  4. ↑ a b c 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. 226-235 .
  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 Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra - Easy Loungin ' . Polydor . 1995. Order no. 529 491-2
  8. ^ CD The Best of Edgar Wallace . All Score Media. 2002. Order no. ASM 005
  9. ↑ LP Edgar Wallace (original film music) . Celine Records. 1982. Order no. CL 0011
  10. ↑ The crypt with the riddle lock. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Original film poster at filmportal.de
  12. ^ Joachim Kramp, Jürgen Wehnert: The Edgar Wallace Lexicon. Life - work - films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-508-2 , p. 97 .
  13. ↑ The crypt with the riddle lock . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . July 22, 1964, p. 9 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 1.9 MB ]). Abendblatt.de ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abendblatt.de
  14. ↑ The crypt with the riddle lock. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed January 31, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  15. ↑ Thomas Ays: Edgar Wallace: The crypt with the riddle lock. In: moviesection.de. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on August 16, 2018 .
  16. ^ Frank Ehrlacher: film review . moviemaster.de
The German Edgar Wallace films
Pre-war period

The Great Unknown (1927) • The Red Circle (1929) • The Strangler (1929) • The Zinker (1931) • The Witcher (1932) • The Double (1934)

post war period

The Frog with the Mask (1959) • The Red Circle (1960) • The Avenger (1960) • The Gang of Terror (1960) • The Green Archer (1961) • The Dead Eyes of London (1961) • The Secret of the Yellow Daffodils (1961) • The Forger of London (1961) • The Strange Countess (1961) • The Riddle of the Red Orchid (1962) • The Door with the Seven Locks (1962) • The Inn on the Thames (1962) • The Curse the yellow snake (1963) • The zinc man (1963) • The black abbot (1963) • The Indian cloth (1963) • The drums of death on the great river (1963) • Room 13 (1964) • The crypt with the riddle lock (1964) • The Witcher (1964) • The Gates of Traitors (1964) • Sanders and the Ship of Death (1965) • News from the Witcher (1965) • The Scary Monk (1965) • The Mystery of the Silver Triangle (1966) • The Hunchback of Soho ( 1966) • The White Nun's Secret (1966) • The Blue Hand (1967) • The Monk with the Whip (1967) • The Dog of Blackwood Castle (1968) • Under the Spell of the Eerie (1968) • The Gorilla of Soho (1968) • The Man with the Glass Eye (1969) • The Face in the Dark (1969) • The Devil Came from Akasava (1971) • The Dead from the Thames (1971) • The Secret of the Green Pin ( 1972) • The Mystery of the Silver Crescent (1972)