Going to book tickets to see satirical comedian Jonathon Pie in March,I found out that an Edgar Wallace adaptation was being staged in March as well. A fan of the Krimi movies with Karin Dor, (who sadly does not appear here)I was pleased to find that Wallace's novel had been filmed as a Krimi,which led to me putting the scarf on.
View on the film:
Limited by producer Horst Wendlandt's attempt to save money by filming it all in a studio,director Alfred Vohrer & cinematographer Karl Löb brilliantly overcome the limitations, and unfold an early Giallo Krimi.
Handling black leather gloves before their arrival in the Giallo with the 1970 Bird with the Crystal Plumage (also reviewed), Vohrer gives each murder a highly stylised shine,gliding in smoothly-handled first person track shots,which along with building tension to the next attack,also cleverly map out the corners of the mansion.
Solving the mystery with a mischievous twist, Vohrer and Löb do extremely well keeping anxiety running high in the isolated location,by using swift overlapping close-ups to draw out the fear from each family member over possibly sitting next to the killer.
Leaning towards Agatha Christie in this take on the Krimi, the screenplay by Harald G. Petersson and George Hurdalek spreads the mystery across the family evenly, with them each being given quirks that crack the façade of their royal upper-crust status. Catching a handful of the Giallo, the writers keep the twists in the Krimi strong by playing allowing with the early set-ups of the Giallo,such as a haunted family gathering round the table for the final,a death in the family sauna, and an wry spin on the dope/druggie loner of Gialli.
The black sheep in the family from his first meeting with Heinz Drache's smooth lawyer Frank Tanner, Klaus Kinski gives a great, fidgeting performance as the howling Peter Ross,who keeps all the family ill at ease,as the killer puts on the Indian scarf.
View on the film:
Limited by producer Horst Wendlandt's attempt to save money by filming it all in a studio,director Alfred Vohrer & cinematographer Karl Löb brilliantly overcome the limitations, and unfold an early Giallo Krimi.
Handling black leather gloves before their arrival in the Giallo with the 1970 Bird with the Crystal Plumage (also reviewed), Vohrer gives each murder a highly stylised shine,gliding in smoothly-handled first person track shots,which along with building tension to the next attack,also cleverly map out the corners of the mansion.
Solving the mystery with a mischievous twist, Vohrer and Löb do extremely well keeping anxiety running high in the isolated location,by using swift overlapping close-ups to draw out the fear from each family member over possibly sitting next to the killer.
Leaning towards Agatha Christie in this take on the Krimi, the screenplay by Harald G. Petersson and George Hurdalek spreads the mystery across the family evenly, with them each being given quirks that crack the façade of their royal upper-crust status. Catching a handful of the Giallo, the writers keep the twists in the Krimi strong by playing allowing with the early set-ups of the Giallo,such as a haunted family gathering round the table for the final,a death in the family sauna, and an wry spin on the dope/druggie loner of Gialli.
The black sheep in the family from his first meeting with Heinz Drache's smooth lawyer Frank Tanner, Klaus Kinski gives a great, fidgeting performance as the howling Peter Ross,who keeps all the family ill at ease,as the killer puts on the Indian scarf.