Der Mönch mit der Peitsche (1967)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Alfred Vohrer

Writers:

Herbert Reinecker (screenplay) and
Edgar Wallace (novel)

Release Date:

11 August 1967 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Police try to track down a hooded serial killer who murders his victims with a combination of acid and poison gas. |

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Murder | Gas | Girls' School | Jail

Cast

Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Inspektor Higgins
Uschi Glas	...	Ann Portland
Grit Boettcher	...	Betty Falks
Konrad Georg	...	Keyston
Harry Riebauer	...	Mark Denver
Tilly Lauenstein	...	Harriet Foster
Ilse Pagé	...	Sekretärin
Siegfried Rauch	...	Frank Keeney
Claus Holm	...	Glenn Powers
Günter Meisner	...	Greaves
Hans Epskamp	...	Bannister
Heinz Spitzner	...	Harrison
Jan Hendriks	...	Brent
Rudolf Schündler	...	Sergeant Hanfield
Narziß Sokatscheff	...	Cress Bartling (as Narziss Sokatscheff)

Also Known As:

The College Girl Murders (USA)
The Monk with the Whip
The Prussic Factor (USA)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Klangfilm Eurocord-Magnetocord)

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Finland:(Banned) (1970) | Germany:12 (re-rating) (2004) | West Germany:16 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Rialto Film

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Although the movie is set in England, most of the cars have their steering wheel on the left.

Quotes:

Sir John: What reason could there possibly be for the murder of this poor girl?
Harriet Foster: No reason in the world.
Sir John: You're missing the point, Mrs. Foster. Now then, the girl WAS murdered, wasn't she? And since nobody has ever murdered without a reason, there must, therefore, *be* a reason.

Movie Connections:

References Der unheimliche Mönch (1965)

Weird and wonderful mystery flick!

I'm still new to the Krimi genre and the only one I've seen prior to seeing this one was the earlier and somewhat disappointing 'The Dead Eyes of London', which didn't exactly inspire a great hope for the rest of the genre in me. If I'd seen this one first, however, the feeling would have been different as while The College Girl Murders is a bizarre and rather wacky attempt at a crime flick; it's great fun to watch and it's really hard to hate a film that throws so many weird and wonderful ideas into the script and manages to pull it off with style. The film begins in a lab where a crazy scientist has invented a new and highly toxic poison that kills its victim and makes it look like they died from a heart attack. This poison is used by a mysterious criminal mastermind who breaks common criminals out of jail to carry out his murders using this poison (and then has them put back in jail). As the title suggests, it's a nearby college full of girls that provides most of the victims. There's also a mysterious monk dressed in a red robe who marauds around breaking necks with a bullwhip.

Of course, with a plot like that; this is not exactly a serious affair and the director clearly knows that as there is a very tongue-in-cheek vibe to the film, which does bode well with the plot. The fact that there are so many different sides to the plot does unfortunately mean that everything does not run smoothly; although this isn't a big problem as things are kept ticking over nicely throughout the film and there's always enough going on to keep the audience interested. The atmosphere is superb and the colour scheme on display is great too look at. Of course, the film is based on an Edgar Wallace novel and clearly the man has a great imagination; the locations used are also superb and while a killer's lair decked out with a host of wild and exotic animals might not serve any relevance to the plot, it does help to give the film that extra 'something'. You cant expect a conclusion that fully makes sense after all the stuff that goes on in this film; but the reason for the murders sort of makes sense and is a satisfying way for the film to climax. Overall, College Girl Murders is an excellent little mystery flick and one that comes highly recommended!