The Inn on the River (1962)
"Das Gasthaus an der Themse" (original title)

A serial killer named The Shark is terrorizing London by killing his victims with a speargun and then, dressed in a scruba-diver's wetsuit, using the city's sewer tunnels to make his ... See full summary »

Director:

Alfred Vohrer

Writers:

Edgar Wallace (novel), Harald G. Petersson (screenplay),

Stars:

Joachim Fuchsberger, Brigitte Grothum, Elisabeth Flickenschildt

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Insp. Wade
Brigitte Grothum	...	Leila Smith
Elisabeth Flickenschildt	...	Nelly Oaks
Klaus Kinski	...	Gregor Gubanow
Eddi Arent	...	Barnaby
Richard Münch	...	Dr. Collins
Jan Hendriks	...	Roger Lane
Heinz Engelmann	...	Mr. Broen
Siegfried Schürenberg	...	Sir John
Hela Gruel	...	Anna Smith
Hans Paetsch	...	Rechtsanwalt
Rudolf Fenner	...	Big Willy
Manfred Greve	...	Sgt. Frank
Gertrud Prey	...	Nurse (as Getrud Prey)

Storyline

A serial killer named The Shark is terrorizing London by killing his victims with a speargun and then, dressed in a scruba-diver's wetsuit, using the city's sewer tunnels to make his getaway. Inspector Wade of Scotland Yard is assigned to the case, and he begins to suspect that the Shark is tied in with a smuggling ring the authorities believe is run out of a dive on the Thames waterfront called The Mekka.

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Plot Keywords:

smuggling | murder | remake | harpoon | river | 

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Taglines:

So packend - so dramatisch - so spannend - das ist wieder Edgar Wallace Meisterklasse

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

28 September 1962 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Inn on the River

Filming Locations:

Hamburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rialto Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Klangfilm Eurocord-Magnetocord)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first film of Rialto's Edgar Wallace series to feature the famous voice before the opening credits: "Hallo, hier spricht Edgar Wallace" ("Hello, this is Edgar Wallace speaking). This film and the following one, Der Zinker, included a version of the voice spelling Wallace's name wrong. From Room 13 on, a new version (with correct spelling), recorded by director Alfred Vohrer himself, was used until the end of the series in 1972.

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Connections

Follows Face of the Frog (1959)

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Soundtracks

"...besonders in der Nacht"
Performed by Elisabeth Flickenschildt

User Reviews

Excuse me, is that a harpoon in your chest?

This is another in the series of German krimi's based on the works of Edgar Wallace.After sitting through several less than average of these this one rises above the water(pun intended) a bit.

There is a killer called The Shark terrorizing the Thames.He has a propensity to shoot folks with a spear gun.The Shark is also the criminal mastermind behind a gem smuggling ring that is driving Scotland Yard up the wall.Inspector Wade of the River Police is put in charge of the case.

Most of the action centers around a waterfront dive called Mekka.The owners smuggle in contraband whiskey and are tied up with the Shark somehow.Red herrings and double indentities are as usual plentiful.There is also a plot to attain one of the greatest inheritances in England.

The black & white photography adds a lot of flavor to this film. The Thames at night looks to be a place that you don't want to be. The use of night fog is pretty eerie.The sets are well done. You do feel like you're in a very seedy waterfront dive.The plot moves along well and the movie is ably directed. You have to take the acting at face value as you can never really tell with the dubbing.The same stable of actors is used from film to film which is always fun to see them in different roles.

As usual there are some drawbacks. The opening title theme is hysterically funny. It is punctuated with yells, screams and a cuckoo clock.In fact there are so many badly done songs in the first ten minutes you think you're watching a musical. As usual Eddie Arndt plays the broad comic relief which while a staple in this series never fails to irritate.

All in all a small cut above the average in this series.