Der Todesrächer von Soho (1972)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Artur Brauner (writer)
Jesus Franco (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A London slasher pack the suitcases of his victims before stabbing them to death in this adaptation of Edgar Wallace's 'Secret of the Black Suitcases.'

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Based On Novel

Cast

Horst Tappert	...	Charles Barton
Fred Williams	...	Inspector Ruppert Redford
Barbara Rütting	...	Celia
Elisa Montés	...	Helen Bennett
Luis Morris	...	Andy Pickwick
Siegfried Schürenberg	...	Dr. Bladmore
Mara Laso	...	Lizi
Eva Garden	...	Linda
Rainer Basedow	...	McDowell
Ángel Menéndez	...	Scotland Yard Chef (as Ángel Meléndez)
Wolfgang Kieling	...	Ferencz
Dan van Husen	...	Kronstel
Guillermo Méndez
Jesus Franco	...	Gonzales
Andrés Monales	...	Patakes (as Viktor Feldman)

Also Known As:

El muerto hace las maletas (Spain)
La muerte hace las maletas (Spain) (working title)
The Corpse Packs His Bags

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

West Germany | Spain

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

Movie Connections:

Remake of Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Koffer (1962)

Outrageously incoherent

This crime thriller was made towards the end of the German "Edgar Wallace" movie series, which lasted from 1958 until 1972. Cult sleaze director Jess Franco got "Edgar Wallace"-regulars Siegfried Schürenberg and Horst Tappert for this one, but obviously the quite well known actors swallowed up the whole budget: The film itself is very cheap.

Although the movie takes place in London, most of the film was made in Spain. Therefore, all cars are driven on the right side of the street and the streets look typically spanish... yeah, heck, who will spot the difference to London?

Aside from the low production values, the whole story is an incoherent mess. The motivations of most of the characters (especially Horst Tappert's) remain unclear, and there are enough scenes that appear useless to the plot. The whole thing is so trashy it has to be seen to be believed.

In the end, exactly all the flaws make this cinematic catastrophe very entertaining and funny. A good party tape, but certainly not typical Jess Franco stuff. By the way: Horst Tappert went on to play the character "Inspector Derrick" for the German TV-crime-series "Derrick" (1974-1998) and became the best known cable policeman in the history of German television.