Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Witwe (1963)

Director:

Franz Josef Gottlieb

Writers:

Alexandra Becker (screenplay), Alexandra Becker (story),

Stars:

O.W. Fischer, Karin Dor, Klaus Kinski

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
O.W. Fischer	...	Wellby
Karin Dor	...	Clarisse
Klaus Kinski	...	Boyd
Werner Peters	...	Mr. Shor
Doris Kirchner	...	Mrs. Shor
Eddi Arent	...	Fish
Claude Farell	...	Mrs. Ayke
Gabriel Llopart	...	Selwood
Fernando Sancho	...	Slim
José María Caffarel	...	Cartwright (as Josef Cafarell)
Antonio Casas	...	Bronsfield
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Belina	...	Sängerin

Storyline

---

Plot Keywords:

color in title

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Details

Country:

West Germany Spain

Language:

German

Release Date:

28 November 1963 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Secret of the Black Widow

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 5,330,340 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Germania Film, Procusa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Die schwarze Witwe"
Music by Martin Böttcher
Lyrics by Ute Just and F.J. Gottlieb
Sung by Belina

User Reviews

Forgettable

Someone is killing people related to a South American expedition. The means of murder are poison darts with rubber spiders attached to them. A writer and some police detectives investigate.

Ultimately forgettable German crime film that is very much like the Bryan and Edgar Wallace films, but not as good. The film starts off pretty good but then slows bogs down in the middle due to having too many characters and too many twists and turns many signifying nothing. Honestly the plot really doesn't make much sense, even when you get to the end.

Also not helping much is the odd mix of serious and silly that doesn't quite work here. Many other German crime films mix the two tones to better effect by picking one and primarily goes with it, here they never decide which is the primary tone is and it works against the film.

Its not terrible, and if you run across it you won't completely waste your time watching it, but its nothing you'll remember nor is it worth searching out.