"From King Kong to The Gorilla Gang; from Bela Lugosi to Klaus Kinski; from Alfred Vohrer to Jess Franco, the man with "little" lasting literary value has spawned a vast and satisfying cinematic legacy..."

What do King Kong, Bela Lugosi, Klaus Kinski, and Christoper Lee all have in common?  Give up?  The answer lies in a unique literary thread that runs through many cinematic thrillers...a thread we call...

By GARY BANKS

(Editor's note:  We are again gratified to usher in another talented writer into the rotted ranks of HORROR-WOOD.  Gary Banks, also know as "evil skippy," is married and lives with his wife and two dogs, Alex and The Professor. He is disabled, which gives him plenty of time to view cool obscure movies. Gary is also the proprietor of evilskip's Movie Joint Website.)

One of the writers behind the classic film King Kong felt that his works had no lasting literary value. With that motivation he felt that quantity would be his stepping stone to everlasting fame. So over a 25-year period, Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) ground out over 170 novels and various plays and short stories.

E.W. was revered by the English and the Germans (and rightfully so). There have been over 150 film adaptations of his work. As early as 1928, films were made based on Wallace's novels. Wallace also was credited for contributing to the screenplay of King Kong.

In 1939, Bela Lugosi starred in The Dark Eyes Of London (AKA The Human Monster). In the early Sixties, there was a British television show based on Wallace's works. Also a string of second feature programmers were churned out in England in the early Sixties, most clocking in at under an hour and of inferior quality.

However I prefer to cover only the majority of the output of the West Germans from 1959 to 1967 called "krimis" (German for crime). We won't comment on films we haven't seen such as The Devil's Daffodil, The Gorilla Gang or Man With The Glass Eye.

In most of the krimis, English country estates were transformed into cold, fog shrouded pockets of evil where death would strike at any moment. It often did, swiftly and savagely. London streets were no place any innocent would want to be on a foggy night. The Thames was a river of death and bodies washed ashore on a nightly basis. Scotland Yard was always on the scene.

Psychological horror mixed very well with crime in these films. In fact, the people behind these films took horror to a different level. No longer were the scary elements supernatural monsters, but real people. People who would torture and kill you because you stood in their way to amass power or fortune. Usually these killers hid behind the veneer of good citizenship.

In the 1960's two major West German studios produced Edgar Wallace thrillers. (Actually The Avenger was lensed by a third studio that was quickly embroiled in a lawsuit). Rialto produced the majority of the adaptations (32). CCC produced a few based on the works of Bryan Wallace (Edgar's son). Three of them are excellent films (Strangler Of Blackmoor Castle, The Mad Executioners, and Phantom Of Soho).

Familiar actors popped up in many of the films. Joachim Fuchsberger, Klaus Kinski, Eddie Arent, Werner Peters, Dieter Borsche, and Karin Dor were among the cast in most of the films. Kinski may have been in at least two dozen of the films!

Alfred Vohrer, Franz J. Gottlieb and Harald Reinl directed a majority of the films bringing their vision of horror to the series. The majority were produced by Horst Wendlandt.

Fellowship Of The Frog (1959): Gang led by the killer known as The Frog terrorizes London. Scotland Yard is baffled and turns to a private eye for help.

The Terrible People (1960): A bank robbery is foiled. The ringleader vows to return from the gallows to seek revenge against his accusers. When the witnesses start getting knocked off the best of Scotland Yard may not be good enough.

The Avenger (1960): A madman decapitates victims and leaves their heads all over London. (A nice touch as he leaves one in a box for a few nosy ladies to open). What is his tie in to a movie set? A fast and furious ending.

Crimson Circle (1960): A madman not only escapes the gallows but Devil's Island as well. He returns to London as The Red Circle. 25 people become his victims. When Scotland Yard is unable to apprehend the fiend a private investigator is called in. But he too may fall victim to the Red Circle.

Strange Countess (1961): Madness and murder prevail as a young woman discovers her past. What she finds out leads to several attempts on her life. Quite lurid.

Dead Eyes Of London (1961): Heavily insured wealthy men have been meeting with fatal accidents and winding up in the Thames. Inspector Holt suspects foul play. When a note is found on one man with the words "crime" and "murder" in Braille, Holt suspects a group of blind peddlers lead by the grotesque Blind Jack. Murder,inheritance theft plots and foggy death await.

Forger Of London (1961): Off beat E.W. thriller. An amnesiac playboy hold the key to a ruthless criminal gang and their operation.

The Green Archer (1962): Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) stars as an American gangster threatened by the vigilante Green Archer. Some lurid touches as some folks have been kept prisoner for years in secret rooms.

Door With Seven Locks (1962): Seven keys are bequeathed to even individuals. On the eve of an heir's legal age birthday, the key holders are ruthlessly and systematically murdered. The keys lead to a hidden fortune, a torture chamber, and a mad doctor.

Inn On the River (1962): A killer by the name of the Shark tangles with Scotland Yard on the waterfront. Inspector Wade and the river police concentrate their efforts on a waterfront bar called Mekka. Unlucky patrons wind up with a harpoon in their chest.

Secret of the Black Trunk (1962): Drug smugglers check into a sleazy hotel. When they find their bags packed they know they are going to die. Former addicts attack a vicious drug ring as Scotland Yard seems helpless.

Secret Of The Red Orchid (1962): A Chicago gang leader is supposedly gunned down. His rival is deported back to England. A wave of blackmail and murder terrorizes London shortly thereafter. It has all the markings of the dead gangster's modus operandi.

Curse Of The Yellow Snake (1963): Crazed Orientals roam the foggy streets of London looking for a holy relic for war. Once these crazed Chinese get their hands on it they feel that they can conquer white Europe. Atmospheric and well acted.

Strangler Of Blackmoor Castle (1963): On the fortnight of his Knighthood, Lucius Smith is confronted by a black masked terror. The man demands a fortune in stolen diamonds as his just due or Smith and all around him will die. To prove a point he kills a handyman and runs off into the foggy night. He brands an "M" into the forehead of his victims. We get a few decapitations and a severed head or two is mailed to Smith. The gang that Smith works for is getting a little surly as the Strangler keeps stealing their diamonds and knocking off their employees. Scotland Yard can't seem to catch up with the killer. There is a great use of fog and backlighting in this film. The score is electronic which sets a creepy mood. The grounds of the estate look a bit scary even in the daylight! Great fun on a chilly late night with the lights down low.

The Black Abbot (1963): Murder and madness as a black hooded figure stalks the ruined abbey of the Chelford estate. A man is stabbed by the Black Abbot and Scotland Yard is called in. But there seems to be a slew of Black Abbots. There is a search for the ancient treasure of the Chelfords and a wonder drug to cure the inherent madness of the Chelfords. Dick Alford tried to protect his cousin Harry Chelford who is losing his grip on his sanity. There is blackmail, murder, double crosses and red herrings galore. Great use of a ruined abbey with a dank oppressive atmosphere. Nice musical score, well acted and a bit different from the others in the series.

The Mad Executioners (1963): A black-hooded society condemns criminals in an underground lair. The accused are transported to and from the scene in coffins. A quick sentencing and the accused are hung by the neck and left to be found in various areas of London. The kicker is that they are hung with a rope stolen from Scotland Yard's Black Museum! An inspector wants to get off of this case and continue hunting for the sex maniac that killed his sister But as the bodies keep piling up the inspector has no choice. Some great shots of the black hooded killers using a horse drawn carriage to transport their victims. The sex killer angle seems to come from a different movie but it does tie in. Definitely worth a look.

The Indian Scarf (1963): The heirs to a dead man are trapped in his estate due to a hurricane. They are isolated from the rest of the world. To make matters worse they are being strangled one by one with a scarf. Will anybody survive?

Room 13 (1964): A politician is being blackmailed into a gold robbery. A serial killer is also on the loose as young women are getting the razor across the throat. It all ends in Room 13!

Curse Of The Hidden Vault (1964): A young woman stands in line to inherit a criminal's fortune. Needless to say, his cronies and enemies aren't really happy with this.

The Racetrack Murders (1964): Shady dealings and murder involving the horse set. Drugs, scandals and blackmail on the eve of a big race.

Phantom Of Soho (1964): Quite a few of the British upper class frequent the strip club Zanzibar. A killer wearing a skull mask and glittering gloves begins killing a goodly amount of the patrons and leaving money on them. The head of Scotland Yard is also a frequent visitor to the club. His fiancee, a mystery novelist announces that she will discover who the Phantom Of Soho is before Scotland Yard does. Some nice POV shots from inside the killers mask. Crisp thriller that moves along quite well with a twist at the end.

Monster Of London City (1964): The play Jack The Ripper is enacted nightly to a sold out crowd. But on the streets a killer is targeting prostitutes just like Jacky boy. Is there a connection with the former drug addict who is the star of the show?

The Squeaker (1965): The mad killer The Squeaker has London in panic using the venom of a snake to kill his enemies.

Mysterious Magician (1965): When his sister is killed, the vigilante known as The Ringer returns from exile to England. The criminal gang that did the deed begins to suffer at the hands of this shadowy, unknown vigilante. Who is the Ringer?

The Sinister Monk (1965): A girl's school is terrorized by the black robed killer, The Monk. No one is safe and Scotland Yard is baffled! One of the last black-and-white krimis.

Hunchback Of Soho (1966): The evil leaders of a reform school for girls put the young lasses to work...the wrong kind. A hunchback killer is in their employ.

Circus Of Fear, AKA Psycho Circus (1966): A better picture than you may have heard. The film begins with an armored car robbery on a bridge overlooking the Thames. All goes well until the inside man kills a guard. The gang is forced to flee and hide the currency. The winter home of a circus becomes the target of a Scotland Yard investigation. Blackmail and murder are the main attractions. Stars Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski.

Creature With The Blue Hand (1967): David Emerson is locked away in a mental institution for murders he may or may not have committed. He escapes the asylum and heads home to clear his name. When he does, a metal-gloved killer strikes. Secret passageways, hanging mannequins, bloody murder,   and insanity abound.

Hand Of Power (1968): When a laughing corpse comes back to life to kill his heirs. Scotland Yard is called in. Campy nonsense as you really can't take what is going on seriously.

As the dollars faded at the European box office so did the output of Edgar Wallace films.Jess Franco took a stab at two of them and Dario Argento did one but it is debated as to whether it really is an Edgar Wallace based film.

I would love to see Hound Of Blackwood Castle, The College Girl Murders or What Have They Done To Solange. While these are all out on DVD in Europe, America remains in the fog. However you can pick up a majority of the Edgar Wallace films from the Sixties from Sinister Cinema and Something Weird in VHS format.

From King Kong to The Gorilla Gang; from Bela Lugosi to Klaus Kinski; from Alfred Vohrer to Jess Franco, the man with "little" lasting literary value has spawned a vast and satisfying cinematic legacy.

Thanks, Gary!  You're right...Edgar Wallace supplied filmmakers with some of the most stylish and colorful thrillers ever penned.  The German films based on his novels are most definitely worth searching out and viewing.

Article copyright © Gary Banks

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