"Der Henker von London" or "The Mad Executioners" is a west German movie from 1963 and as this one is already over 50 years old, it is still a black-and-white film. The director is Edwin Zbonek, who is not too well-known anymore today, but some people may still have heard of Robert A. Stemmle who adapted the novel by Bryan Edgar Wallace. And the latter is the son of Edgar Wallace, who followed in his father's footsteps and is responsible for this mix of crime, drama and horror. The lead actor is Hansjörg Felmy and he is also still somewhat known today and movie buffs from Germany may be familiar with his name and also with Dieter Borsche and Werner Preiss. Sadly, this decent cast did not result in a quality movie in my opinion. The premise isn't bad about a group of vigilantes who killed (alleged) criminals, but the longer this 90-minute film runs, the more is loses focus I felt. At the end, I did not really care for anybody anymore, let alone the action and plot. This one does not stand out compared to other Wallace films (and there are quite a few), but then again i have never been a fan of these anyway. I f you like the Rialto films more than I do, then maybe you will even like this one. I give it a thumbs-down though. Not recommended.
Review of The Mad Executioners
