Commissioner X - Three yellow cats
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Commissioner X - Three yellow cats |
| Original title | Commissioner X - Three yellow cats / Operazione tre gatti gialli / Chasse à l'homme à Ceylan |
 | |
| Country of production | Austria , Italy , France |
| Publishing year | 1966 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rudolf Zehetgruber |
| script | Rudolf Zehetgruber |
| production |
Hans A. Pflüger and Theo Maria Werner (Parnass Film) and others |
| music |
Gino Marinuzzi Jr. (as Gino Mariukki ) |
| camera | Klaus von Rautenfeld |
| cut |
Edmondo Lozzi (as Edmund Lozzi ), René Le Hénaff (as René Henaf ) |
| occupation | |
| |
Commissioner X - Three Yellow Cats is an Austrian-Italian-French co-produced agent film from 1966. It is the second of a total of seven films in the Commissioner X series based on the crime novels published by Erich-Pabel-Verlag . The color film in Eastmancolor and Ultrascope was directed by the director Rudolf Zehetgruber . The lead producers were Hans A. Pflüger and Theo Maria Werner , who wanted to participate in the success of the James Bond films that started in 1962 . The film opened in Austrian cinemas in April 1966. The German premiere took place on May 17, 1966.
action
On behalf of a man who calls himself "the boss", try the three criminals King, nitro and Sunny in Ceylon Babs Lincoln to kidnap the daughter of the American ambassador Jefferson Lincoln. In the first attempt at kidnapping, which, however, fails, the embassy employee Mr. Rogers dies from a fatal karate blow from Kings. The murder calls on Captain Tom Rowland of the homicide squad, who arrives a little later in Colombo . Jefferson Lincoln's nephew Philip Dawson and the lovely Babs are expecting Rowland's friend, private detective Jo Walker, known as "Inspector X". Lincoln hired Walker to protect his daughter.
Rowland and Walker meet at the hotel. Shortly after arriving, the private detective almost fell victim to a murder attempt in an acid bath. Inspector Da Silva from the local police suspects that the "yellow cats" were behind the attempted kidnapping and attack. Once a secret society of this name fought against British colonial rule, now a gang of gangsters is called that. After only locals have been murdered or simply disappeared so far, the "Yellow Cats" and their boss are now trying to extort a million dollar ransom from Jefferson Lincoln. After another unsuccessful murder attempt, this time with nitroglycerin , a spectacular car chase ensues. Sunny, a member of the "Yellow Cats", is shot dead. The present to investigate the crime scene Dr. Baker identifies the deceased as a former employee of the big game hunter John Farrell. This had something to do with the "yellow cats" and fled to Florida a few months ago .
Through a wiretapping system installed by hotel manager Michèle on behalf of Da Silva, Inspector X and Captain Rowland learn that Philip Dawson worked with the "Yellow Cats" and now wants to collect Jefferson Lincoln's million dollars for himself. But after Dawson has received the money at an airport in the jungle, he is murdered by King. Rowland and Walker drive to John Farrell's house, where the money handover with the gang should have taken place. The building stands on a body of water that the locals reverently call "Lake of Death". Commissioner X and Captain Rowland, who arrive at the haunted place by boat, are already expected by King and Nitro. With a futuristic trimaran , the two criminals initially manage to fend off Walker and his friend.
Inspector Da Silva notes that Dr. Baker paid someone to pose as Farrell in Miami . Walker and Rowland, who had to spend the night at the Lake of Death, eventually outsmart King and Nitro and break into Farrell's house. There they meet Baker, who is actually Dr. Finn is called. His research project on deadly bacteria was sabotaged in the United States by Jefferson Lincoln, which is why he settled in Ceylon. With the threat of dropping one of his bacteria bombs here, he could extort the million dollars. In a laboratory under Farrell's house, Finn has Babs Lincoln and Michèle in addition to numerous experimental victims. After he is exposed, he has Jo Walker and Michèle tied up and the laboratory destroyed. The two can break free at the last moment. In the pursuit of Dr. Finn and Babs Lincoln at the old airfield, Jo and Michèle are almost killed by Finn's staff. He chases them across the Lake of Death with the trimaran equipped with explosive charges and turns it into a sea of flames.
Meanwhile, a karate duel between King and Captain Rowland takes place in the secret temple of the "Yellow Cats". King loses the fight and throws himself humiliated to his death. By blocking the runway with Wildcatcher Barret's elephant herd, Walker and Rowland can help Dr. Prevent Finn from taking off. After Babs is safe and Nitro dies in the hail of bullets from the police, Inspector X finally rushes into the plane Dr. Finns. Walker can escape even before the machine and the unscrupulous researcher explode.
History of origin
prehistory
Producers Hans A. Pflüger and Theo Maria Werner landed a great success with the first film in the Kommissar X series, Kommissar X - Hunt for Unknown , which was released in German cinemas on March 11, 1966 . On the hotly contested cinema market, they competed directly against the popular Jerry Cotton films by Constantin Film , which were also based on the adventures of a German booklet hero. In particular, one had to assert oneself in the second half of the 1960s against numerous international agent films that were made in the course of the British James Bond films.
Script and cast
Even before the first Kommissar X film was released, preparations were underway for its continuation. The decision was made to bring one of the best-known novels in the series published by Erich-Pabel-Verlag to the screen , Three Yellow Cats . This was published in 1960 as volume 73. This time Karl-Heinz Günther , the inventor of Inspector X, was behind the publisher's pseudonym Bert F. Island . On the occasion of the filming, the publishing house three yellow cats brought out again as a paperback (volume 248). Another issue was published for the 40th anniversary of Inspector X , this time by Oerindur-Verlag under the pseudonym CH Guenter .
In order to do half justice to the novel, which was based in Burma at the time, and not to offer the audience a mere copy of the first Commissioner X film, an even more exotic location, new production partners and a different director and screenwriter were chosen for the sequel. The production company Parnass-Film, run by Hans A. Pflüger and Theo Maria Werner, worked this time with co-producers in Vienna (Danubiafilm), Rome (Danny Film) and Paris (Jacques Willemetz and Filmédis). In what was then Ceylon , where the film was made and where the action was moved, the shooting was supported by the service partner Ceylon Tours. The Austrian Rudolf Zehetgruber , who already had experience with crime films , was hired as director and screenwriter .
The main actors were again the Rome-born Tony Kendall as Commissioner X and the American Brad Harris as his friend and rival Captain Tom Rowland . The American actor Dan Vadis , who played one of the villains in the film, got his role through the mediation of his friend Harris. The rest of the cast also consisted of an international cast, including Ann Smyrner from Denmark , Siegfried Rauch from Germany, Philippe Lemaire from France and Paul Eeckman from Belgium . Under the pseudonym Rolf Zehett , director Zehetgruber also worked in front of the camera, where he appeared in the role of the big game hunter Barret in a costume similar to that in his later Dudu films.
Filming
The exterior shots for Commissioner X - Three Yellow Cats took place on original locations in what is now Sri Lanka . A scene that takes place in the film in Singapore was also shot there, in front of Colombo City Hall . The National Museum served as the backdrop for the US embassy. The Mount Lavinia Hotel in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia was also impressively staged. The recordings at “Lake of Death” were taken at one of the numerous reservoirs near Anuradhapura . The temple of the "three yellow cats" was, at least from the outside, in the famous Sigiriya boulder . Producer Theo Maria Werner took on the search for motifs alternately with the film architect Niko Matul and the cameraman of the second unit, Francesco Izzarelli . During the actual filming with the director, they were out and about in the country to shoot new locations with a Polaroid Automatic 100 . The interior shots were shot in a film studio in Hong Kong after leaving Ceylon . Blanda Stefani took on the costume advice. Richard Richtsfeld was responsible for the pyrotechnic effects . Lead actor Brad Harris acted as both stuntman and action and stunt coordinator, with the support of his colleague Dan Vadis.
Film music
The soundtrack was made by Gino Marinuzzi jr. composed. The song I Love You, Joe Walker , sung by Angelina Monti , theme music in the first part, was used here again as an occasional melody. It came from the pen of Mladen "Bobby" Gutesha (music) and Gianfranco Parolini (text).
synchronization
With the exception of Siegfried Rauch, who dubbed himself for the German version , the following voice actors can be heard:
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Jo Louis Walker, "Commissioner X" | Tony Kendall | Gert Günther Hoffmann |
| Captain Tom Rowland | Brad Harris | Rainer Brandt |
| Babs Lincoln | Ann Smyrner | Renate Küster |
| King | Dan Vadis | Benno Hoffmann |
| Sunny | HD culture | Michael Chevalier |
| Michèle | Michèle Mahaut | Margot Leonard |
| Philip Dawson | Philippe Lemaire | Arnold Marquis |
| Dr. Baker | Erno Crisa | Claus Biederstaedt |
| Inspector Da Silva | A. Jayaratna | Horst Niendorf |
| Rogers | Paul Eeckman | Heinz Petruo |
| Inspector Khamar | Joe Abey | Gerd Duwner |
| John Farrell | NN | Gerd Martienzen |
| Todd | NN | Friedrich Schoenfelder |
| Money carrier | NN | Harry Wüstenhagen |
publication
The FSK released the film from the age of 16. For this, however, some editing requirements had to be met, which lost around four minutes of the film. The film opened in Austria in April 1966, presumably in the uncut version. The Gloria Filmverleih, which brought the film to German cinemas on May 17, 1966, promised, among other things, “KOMMISSAR X in new daring adventures” in a fight with “heads and fists, with bullets and explosives against gangsters and kidnappers”. The French premiere of Chasse à l'homme à Ceylan , as the film was called in France, took place on June 15, 1966. A little later, on June 24th, the Italian premiere took place under the title Operazione tre gatti gialli . In fact, the second Commissioner X film turned out to be a huge commercial success.
For home theater, the film was initially released on Super 8 . As with the later broadcasts on television and the publication on video cassette , the scope format of the film was not reproduced correctly. At the beginning of 2013 the film was released for the first time with an age rating of 12 and over in the correct format on DVD . In addition to the shortened FSK version, this also contains the longer Austrian version.
Commissioner X - Three Yellow Cats could also be successfully marketed abroad and ran under the following titles, among others:
- Belgium , French title: Chasse à l'homme à Ceylan
- Belgium , Dutch title: Mannenjacht in Ceylon
- Finland : Huomenna suutelen kuolemaa
- Greece : I symmoria ton kitrinon agriogaton
- Norway : Snarvei til døden (video title)
- Portugal : Comissário X - Acção em Ceilão
- Spain : Kárate en Ceilán
- United States : Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick (Video Title)
On September 30, 1966, Commissioner X - In the Claws of the Golden Dragon , the third of a total of seven films in the series, appeared in German cinemas.
Reviews
"Moderately exciting penny story."
“Euro Spy at it's best. The heart of every agent thriller fan beats faster here. "
“Mediocre series thriller, enriched with the usual cynical atrocities. Not advised. "
Web links
- Commissioner X - Three yellow cat in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
-
↑ 100 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 96 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: approx. 2740 meters (Austrian version);
96 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 92 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: approx. 2625 meters (German FSK version) - ↑ Commissioner X - Volume 73: Three yellow cats at McSammel.de
- ↑ Commissioner X - Three Yellow Cats ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2016 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. at TRIVIALITAS - Forum for Popular Culture ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2014 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.
- ^ CH Guenter : Three yellow cats . Novel and background. Oerindur Verlag, Steyr 1999, ISBN 3-9500580-4-4 .
- ↑ Illustrated Film-Kurier No. 112: Inspector X - Three Yellow Cats . Munich 1966.
- ↑ Commissioner X - Three yellow cats. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Commissioner X - Three yellow cat in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ^ Advertising advice Commissioner X - Three yellow cats , Gloria-Film 1966
- ↑ Commissioner X - Three yellow cats. Anolis Entertainment. 2013. Order no. 95246
- ↑ Commissioner X - Three yellow cats. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Markus Littwin: Inspector X - Three Yellow Cats ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2013 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. at Die-besten-Horrorfilme.de ( Memento of the original from November 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Critique No. 215/1966
