Listening to the terrific audio commentary by Kim Newman and Alan Jones for the Dario Argento Giallo The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970-also reviewed),I was surprised to hear them mention about how the roots of the Giallo had started in a sub-genre of German cinema called Krimi.Being interested in seeing the beginning of the Giallo,I decided to go for a movie which would hopefully be the cream of the Krimi.
View on the film:
Whilst the terrific puzzle-solving screenplay by Gustrav Kampendonk, (here credited as Percy Allan) does prominently feature a mysterious proto- Giallo killer with black gloves,Kampendonk shows in his adaptation of the Edgar Wallace novel Death Packs a Suitcase, a clinical focus on Finch's gathering of clues,that despite giving the film a bit of a dry feel.
Kampendonk smartly uses the dry mood as a way to make the viewer push Finch to walk further and further down the grim,seedy streets of London Soho,as Finch starts to discover,that the murder victims have deep connections with the hard nose thugs who run the streets of Soho.
Shooting the movie at an obviously crisp,chilly time, (the outdoor scenes have the actors cold breath covering the screen) director Werner Kilngler brilliantly uses the long distance killer and the chilly location's to create a strong,icy Film Noir world,where no matter how busy the area you find your self in is,there is always a shadow cast that someone is about to stab (or in this case throw!) you in the back.
Along with the Film Noir and Giallo elements,Kilngler also includes an unexpectedly fresh Pop-art ingredient into the Krimi mix,with the knife throwing by the murderer looking like it has come straight from a comic book,and the ending of the film taking place in an old mansion,that hides an industrial revaluation deep within.
View on the film:
Whilst the terrific puzzle-solving screenplay by Gustrav Kampendonk, (here credited as Percy Allan) does prominently feature a mysterious proto- Giallo killer with black gloves,Kampendonk shows in his adaptation of the Edgar Wallace novel Death Packs a Suitcase, a clinical focus on Finch's gathering of clues,that despite giving the film a bit of a dry feel.
Kampendonk smartly uses the dry mood as a way to make the viewer push Finch to walk further and further down the grim,seedy streets of London Soho,as Finch starts to discover,that the murder victims have deep connections with the hard nose thugs who run the streets of Soho.
Shooting the movie at an obviously crisp,chilly time, (the outdoor scenes have the actors cold breath covering the screen) director Werner Kilngler brilliantly uses the long distance killer and the chilly location's to create a strong,icy Film Noir world,where no matter how busy the area you find your self in is,there is always a shadow cast that someone is about to stab (or in this case throw!) you in the back.
Along with the Film Noir and Giallo elements,Kilngler also includes an unexpectedly fresh Pop-art ingredient into the Krimi mix,with the knife throwing by the murderer looking like it has come straight from a comic book,and the ending of the film taking place in an old mansion,that hides an industrial revaluation deep within.