Der Todesrächer von Soho (1972)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Jesus Franco
Artur Brauner
(more)

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Beni Cardoso	...	Diana
Karl Heinz Mannchen	...	Guest in Restaurant (uncredited)
Emilio Martínez Lázaro	...	(uncredited)
Moisés Augusto Rocha	...	Roger (uncredited)

Directed by
Jesus Franco		(as Jess Frank)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Artur Brauner		(as Art Bernd)
Jesus Franco		(as Jess Frank)
Bryan Edgar Wallace		novel "The Corpse Packs His Bags"

Produced by
Artur Brauner	....	producer
Karl Heinz Mannchen	....	executive producer
Arturo Marcos	....	producer

Original Music by
Rolf Kühn

Cinematography by
Manuel Merino

Film Editing by
Renate Engelmann
María Luisa Soriano

Production Design by
Hans Jürgen Kiebach

Set Decoration by
Klaus Meyenberg		(as K. Meyerberg)

Production Management
Rolf Meier	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ruth Keller	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Max Galinsky	....	sound

Music Department
Jesus Franco	....	composer: incidental music (as Pablo Villa)

Production Companies

• Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)
• Fénix Cooperativa Cinematográfica
• Tele-Cine Film- und Fernsehproduktion

Distributors

• Omnia Deutsche Film Export (1972) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Alianza Cinematográfica Española (1973) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Western (197?) (USA) (theatrical)
• Divisa Ediciones (2001) (Spain) (VHS)
• Polyband (1990) (Germany) (VHS)
• Super RTL (199?) (Germany) (TV)
• Toppic (1990) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (200?) (Germany) (TV)

Other Companies

• Schacht Musikverlage Hamburg  music edition

Also Known As:

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:

Referenced in German Grusel - Die Edgar Wallace-Serie (2011) (TV)

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.