Review of The Man with the Glass Eye

Heroin smuggling, white slave trading, foul murders committed by sinister villains, clumsy Scotland Yard inspectors... And, of course, all this taking place in the heart of London, where everyone speaks German. Yup, we boarded another Edgar Wallace Krimi-Carousel. Every time I start watching one of those, I feel as if the plot is derivative and the formula is getting worn out, but somehow the film in question always turns out entertaining and sufficiently innovative. "The Man with the Glass Eye" is special and memorable enough for a couple of reasons. It's a Krimi in color, with a couple of grisly murder sequences and clever twists. It's also the first German Wallace-adaptation I've seen that doesn't star Eddi Arent in the pitiable comic-relief role. This responsibility is taken over by Stefan Behrens (as a Sgt. With a squeaky voice) and Hubert Von Meyerinck (as the ignorant chief of Scotland Yard). Although they hardly share any scenes together, "The Man with the Glass Eyes" also unites Horst Tappert and Fritz Wepper, five years before they would star together in the most successful (I think) German TV-series ever, namely "Derrick". The most disturbing character in this film is, hands down, a spooky ventriloquist who has dummies with gigantic heads and he makes them call him "daddy". In fact, he even makes them talk when there isn't an audience around. Bizarre.