Der Rächer (1960)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Karl Anton

Writers:

Edgar Wallace (novel)
Gustav Kampendonk (writer) ...

Release Date:

5 August 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

A maniac is loose in London, decapitating his victims and sending the heads to Scotland Yard. |

Plot Keywords:

Decapitation | Film Making | Based On Novel

Cast

Heinz Drache	...	Michael Brixan
Ingrid van Bergen	...	Stella Mendoza
Benno Sterzenbach	...	Sir Gregory Penn
Ina Duscha	...	Ruth Sanders
Ludwig Linkmann	...	Henry Longvale
Siegfried Schürenberg	...	Major Staines
Klaus Kinski	...	Lorenz Voss
Rainer Brandt	...	Reggie Conolly
Friedrich Schoenfelder	...	Jack Jackson (as Friedrich Schönfelder)
Al Hoosmann	...	Bhag (as Al Hoosman)
Maria Litto	...	Malaiische Tänzerin
Franz-Otto Krüger	...	Regie-Assistent Frankie
Rainer Penkert	...	Kameramann
Albert Bessler	...	Zeitungsmann

Also Known As:

The Avenger (USA)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

Dutch | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Klangfilm-Eurocord)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 (nf)

Filming Locations:

ARRI-Atelier, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Kurt Ulrich Filmproduktion

don't lose your head over this one

After hearing some nice reviews about this film I finally tracked it down and settled in to watch it.It starts of promisingly enough.Human heads are being dumped off all over London.

We're dumped right in the thick of things after the opening credits.In exposition we learn that there have been a dozen decapitations recently.(When that kind of back ground is delivered in the first 5 minutes you know the script is in trouble).Since a Special Branch officer was killed in this manner another is assigned to investigate the murders.

We have a movie within a movie scenario which is quite boring.In fact, the hour after the opening credits is rather tedious. As usual in these Edgar Wallace based films we have several red herrings.Most of them wind up with a haircut at the neck level. The killer's identity really comes as no surprise.

Granted the film picks up in the last half hour with a frantic ending.But the script is slooowww. The cast rises above the material. The direction is competent at best. Some film critics claim that this film influenced Italian directors like Bava & Argento.Maybe it influenced them on what not to do as this is an average film at best.

This was the first in the German series of films based on the works of Edgar & Bryan Wallace. Perhaps the source material was weak or the screenplay was just bungled.Give it a 4 and a half.