Another decent krimi moving featuring the gorgeous Karin Dor as a wide-eyed widow trying to get to the bottom of her husband's fiery death. Although not based on the works of Edgar Wallace (or indeed his son Bryan), THE WHITE SPIDER is one of the better entries in the genre, a slightly plodding and plot-focused first half giving way to some memorably madcap hijinks in the second. The villain turns out to be a master of disguise with some very nifty dressing up scenes, and the hero is of a similar ilk which gives this a Holmesian flair. There are also a couple of fine fight scenes which I wasn't expecting from this genre. A youthful Horst Frank appears.
5 Reviews
Haven't we met before?
feindlicheubernahme7 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Standard typical early 60s krimi plot adapted from a story by Louis Weinert-Wilton. Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Dor are back together yet again. Between the Wallace Sr. And Jr. Films and the Weinert-Wilton series, Fuchsberger, in particular, must just have been leaving one set and walking straight onto another.
The White Spider is a good film. The plot may be standard, but the execution is well realized, with the action moving along at a fair clip so you don't get bored, and better dialogue (in German, at least) than in a number of the other films I've seen.
The plot? Well, very unhelpfully vaguely put, rascality is afoot, Dor's gotten herself in danger and needs saving, as she does most days, so Fuchsberger takes a break from teaching his "slightly sexist suaveness" class (Roger Moore was attending right around this time; he graduated with honours) and strolls into action. The fighting will come later.
The criminal mastermind here is an alleged master of diguise. I say "alleged" because you can always tell when it's him in one of his disguises, even if you don't know what he looks like underneath.
A large part of the film takes place in a club where the dissolute rich gather to engage in such debauched activities as roulette and other games too filthy to mention. There's an amusing employee there who demonstrates how to climb the career ladder by steadfastly not attepting to blackmail one's obviously dangerous bosses.
Of course, it all ends well, with Dor, having surmounted her grief at hubby's recent death, being ready to begin dating Fuchsberger again.
A badly disguised 7 stars from me.
The White Spider is a good film. The plot may be standard, but the execution is well realized, with the action moving along at a fair clip so you don't get bored, and better dialogue (in German, at least) than in a number of the other films I've seen.
The plot? Well, very unhelpfully vaguely put, rascality is afoot, Dor's gotten herself in danger and needs saving, as she does most days, so Fuchsberger takes a break from teaching his "slightly sexist suaveness" class (Roger Moore was attending right around this time; he graduated with honours) and strolls into action. The fighting will come later.
The criminal mastermind here is an alleged master of diguise. I say "alleged" because you can always tell when it's him in one of his disguises, even if you don't know what he looks like underneath.
A large part of the film takes place in a club where the dissolute rich gather to engage in such debauched activities as roulette and other games too filthy to mention. There's an amusing employee there who demonstrates how to climb the career ladder by steadfastly not attepting to blackmail one's obviously dangerous bosses.
Of course, it all ends well, with Dor, having surmounted her grief at hubby's recent death, being ready to begin dating Fuchsberger again.
A badly disguised 7 stars from me.
Not Edgar Wallace, but basically the same
Horst_In_Translation9 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Die weiße Spinne" or "The White Spider" is a West German film from 1963, so this one is already over 50 years old. It was directed by Harald Reinl, who is mostly known for his Winnetou works, and Egon Eis adapted the crime novel by Louis Weinert-Wilton. Eis also worked on many of the Edgar Wallace films from that time and that's the main reason why this film looks completely like a Wallace movie. At almost 100 minutes, it is slightly longer than these. But the cast also has parallels. Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Dor were regulars in the series and same can be said about some of the other cast members. The film is basically all about Dor's character and how she has to prove she is innocent in terms of her husband's death and that she did not kill him to get her hands on his fortune. And just like with the Wallace films, nothing is safe in here, everything can happen and it does not take long till people doubt the man is actually dead. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Or is he fooling everybody and well alive? Watch for yourself! Or don't as, honestly, I could not have cared less at some point. This film also has the problems of the Wallace movies and one of these would be the realism. I just cannot take the film seriously from a dramatic perspective if it lacks realism on so many occasions, even some crucial moments, for example when a man is held at gunpoint and then pushes a desk at the guy with the gun, so that one falls out of the window and dies. This was not a good watch. Only check it out if you really really love Edgar Wallace and Egon Eis.
Good German made mystery thriller in the Edgar Wallace vein about a woman caught in the web of mystery left in wake of her husbands suspicious death.
dbborroughs15 July 2006
This film has been identified as one of the German series of Edgar and Bryan Wallace based films made in the 1960's. While it may have been made as part of the series since the film plays very much like the other films, it really can't be considered a Wallace film since its not based on a book by either Bryan or Edgar Wallace.
The plot of the film centers around a woman who's husband has died in a fiery car crash outside a gambling club. Broke from her husbands gambling debts and the cost of the funeral she tries to cash in her husbands insurance policy. The insurance company is suspicious, partly because the amount of the policy was recently raised and partly because there have been other suspicious deaths recently. Making matters worse is a lawyer who shows up on her door step wanting to be paid for covering some of her husbands debts. Unable to pay anyone the lawyer gets her a job working for a reform society that helps convicts get back into society. The woman also attempts to confront the people in the gambling club for what she feels is the real responsibility for her husbands death. All of this leads her down the rabbit hole as she comes face to face with the White Spider, a gang of murder for hire killers. She also is haunted by the police who thing she may have had something to do with her husbands demise and a recently released convict who seems to want to do more than help.
This is a good little thriller that is a nice way to spend an evening in front of the TV. The plot moves along nicely, isn't too complicated, or so complicated that we can't feel superior that we're a couple of steps ahead of the characters on the screen. Its well acted (though slightly less well dubbed) and moves along at a good clip. It does have that uniquely German feel of the Wallace films which are suppose to be set in England and London's Soho district, but look and feel nothing like Soho or anywhere else in England for that matter.
If you like the German Wallace films this is a must. If you like neat little thrillers with a smart edge and witty dialog this is also a must. Anyone else looking for a good excuse to spend two hours eating a bag of popcorn in front of the TV should also try this movie since its a very good mystery thriller for an evenings entertainment.
7.5 out of 10, raised to 8 out 10 for IMDb purposes.
The plot of the film centers around a woman who's husband has died in a fiery car crash outside a gambling club. Broke from her husbands gambling debts and the cost of the funeral she tries to cash in her husbands insurance policy. The insurance company is suspicious, partly because the amount of the policy was recently raised and partly because there have been other suspicious deaths recently. Making matters worse is a lawyer who shows up on her door step wanting to be paid for covering some of her husbands debts. Unable to pay anyone the lawyer gets her a job working for a reform society that helps convicts get back into society. The woman also attempts to confront the people in the gambling club for what she feels is the real responsibility for her husbands death. All of this leads her down the rabbit hole as she comes face to face with the White Spider, a gang of murder for hire killers. She also is haunted by the police who thing she may have had something to do with her husbands demise and a recently released convict who seems to want to do more than help.
This is a good little thriller that is a nice way to spend an evening in front of the TV. The plot moves along nicely, isn't too complicated, or so complicated that we can't feel superior that we're a couple of steps ahead of the characters on the screen. Its well acted (though slightly less well dubbed) and moves along at a good clip. It does have that uniquely German feel of the Wallace films which are suppose to be set in England and London's Soho district, but look and feel nothing like Soho or anywhere else in England for that matter.
If you like the German Wallace films this is a must. If you like neat little thrillers with a smart edge and witty dialog this is also a must. Anyone else looking for a good excuse to spend two hours eating a bag of popcorn in front of the TV should also try this movie since its a very good mystery thriller for an evenings entertainment.
7.5 out of 10, raised to 8 out 10 for IMDb purposes.
Predictable But Entertaining Murder & Mystery
zardoz-1327 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This predictable but entertaining murder & mystery about a woman's husband who is found burned to death in a car and her efforts to recover from this tragedy take her down a dark path. Muriel Irvine (Karen Dor of "You Only Live Twice") learns about the horrible death of her husband and admits that he was a reckless, inveterate gambler who had ruined their marriage. Her husband's attorney lands her a job at a welfare agency that accommodates inmates who have just been released from prison. Monks help with these poor broken men, and Ralph Hubbard (Joachim Fuchsberger of "Commandos") is given employment at a private bridge club that limits membership to 55. A sinister looking fellow with a bald head and an eye patch runs the club. As it turns out, these innocent bridge players are gamblers, and Muriel's husband left the club late one evening afterward. Meantime, she is left high and dry by her husband's funeral and his life insurance company refuses to give her $5000 because the husband raised the amount on his death to $50.000. Mind you, the police keep tabs on Murial and she finds herself cornered more than once by the handsome Ralph.
The villain is a grisly individual who likes to strangle his victims, and he comes terribly close to killing Ralph. You don't have to be a genius to figure out that Ralph is actually member of Scotland Yard. "The Invisible Dr. Mabuse" director Harald Reinl helms this murder & mystery with style and flair, and the performances are fine, especially Horst Frank as a slimy killer. Ostensibly, prolific scenarist Egon Eis adapted Louis Weinert-Wilton's novel, but since it is available only in German, I cannot say how closely Egon followed the book. Reinl paces the action well and the close quarters combat scenes are good. Like Edgar Wallace's thrillers, "The White Spider" features a master of disguise villain. I enjoyed this West German film about Scotland Yard.
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