User Reviews

I've just been through all the black & white Edgar Allan series of films (having seen the colour ones last year, I believe), followed by those based on works by his son, Bryan Edgar Wallace. Now I've embarked on a short series based on the stories of one Louis Weinert-Wilton, which were filmed to cash in on the Edgar Wallace craze, because of their similarity in style.

The Edgar Wallace series ran 1959-72, the Wallace Jr one 1961-72 and the Louis-Wilton one 1962-64, so there were a few years when all three ran concurrently.

The thing is, if you randomly watch any of the films without further information, you'll be hard-pressed to guess which of the series it comes from. Not only are the plot structures practically identical, but they all use the same actors! I mean, I could hardly believe it when I pressed play on The Carpet of Horror (what a title) and I saw the names Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Dor. I wonder if even they could keep track of which author's film they were working on at any moment.

This one has it all and more: a super secret agent, a beautiful (that's an understatement) love interest, a ridiculously-voiced black assistant who speaks how Louis Armstrong would speak if Louis Armstrong spoke like he sang, a high-haired landlady called Mrs Hughes (rather amusingly pronounced Mrs Huge in the original German language version I saw) and a gang led by a mastermind whose identity nobody knows, although it's not particularly hard for us to guess.

The Horrible Carpet - sorry, Carpet of Horror is a pleasant enough way to pass the time, if resolutely unspectacular in most aspects. It does, however, hold the distinction of having the most incompentently written romantic storyline that I've seen in any of these films, which really is saying a lot.

Get this: Fuchsberger and Dor meet when he basically accosts her and insists on walking her home, as you do. A few days later, she goes to ask for his advice and they talk for a couple of minutes. A few days later still, they're both arrested, then released. Driving away from the police station, he asks her to be his wife! Honestly. From what we've seen - and there's no hint there's anything more that was skipped over - they've spent maybe one hour in each other's company! I thought it was going to turn out that he was suggesting going undercover pretending to be husband and wife, but no - the next scene is him bringing her to meet his mother. It's real! And they say young people today are too quick to get married! And Mrs Huge, who's met Fuchsberger once for about half a minute, subsequently turns up in his bedroom, trying to kiss him at gunpoint and warning him that jealous women are capable of anything! Those sixties sure were swinging.

Okay, this "review" has become so long it's beginning to bore even me. I also need to save some exclamation marks for later use, so I'll wrap up by giving a middling rating of 6 stars. And on to the next one...

"Der Teppich des Grauens" is a co-production between West Germany, Italy and Spain from 1962, so this film is already over 50 years old. The director is Harald Reinl (mostly known for Winnetou these days) and the writers, if at all, will be known mostly only to fans of these countless German Edgar Wallace adaptations. With the year, nobody should be surprised that this is a black-and-white film and it runs for slightly under 90 minutes just like most of the other German crime movies from back then. There is maybe an ounce of comedy less in there as usual, but the rest is very similar to what you probably would expect: namely an evil mastermind, murder, a cop investigating, attractive women etc. And with Fuchsberger, Dor and Peters, you will also find some extremely familiar faces. The smaller parts include many Italian and Spanish actors that I as a German am not familiar with at all, but maybe people from these countries will find a name or two they recognize. There is really nothing more to say. In my opinion it is true that if you have seen one or two (Bryan) Edgar Wallace films, then you have seen them all pretty much. The good thing is that if you appreciate one, you will like them all. I myself do not though as I find the crime stories always pretty uninspired and not realistic at all. Acting is bearable, but nothing special either. Overall, the weak and forgettable outweighs the good I think and I give "The Carpet of Horror" a thumbs-down. Not recommended unless you really love the series.

THE CARPET OF HORROR is another krimi thriller made in West Germany, with perhaps the most ridiculous title of all films in that sub-genre. The good news is that it's not as silly as it sounds; the title arises from a method of poisoning used by a mystery killer to bump off his rivals. The opening sequence is very good indeed, but the film itself is rather muddled, bogged down in character rivalries and confused, murky plotting. I thought the hero of the hour, Harry Raffold, was supposed to be the gentleman thief Raffles for part of the running time. Things gradually work out as they go along and the film builds to a suitably exciting set-piece climax, but this does feel like a cheap Dr Mabuse knock-off. Harald Reinl's direction is splendidly atmosphere and the best thing about this movie.

Pretty good West German-made, English-dubbed early 60s Edgar Wallace black and white mystery. The usual Edgar Wallace crime mystery. This time men are being killed by someone who throws a poison pellet on a rug. When that happens the poison reacts with the fabric and chemicals in the rug. Then it's finito for the victim. The film has been beautifully restored. The black and white photography is crystal clear and sharp. I ordered a German made import that plays on American DVD/Blu-ray players. Some of the extras play but the trailers don't. Other than that this is a good buy. I wish there were other German made Edgar Wallace Blu-rays available for American machines. Recommended.