The Devil's Daffodil (1961)

A Chinese detective breaks up a drug smuggling ring and tries to find the "Daffodil Killer". The drug smugglers had devised the ingenious method of smuggling heroin from Hong Kong in the stems of daffodils.

Director:

Ákos Ráthonyi (as Akos von Rathony)

Writers:

Basil Dawson (screenplay), Donald Taylor (screenplay)

Stars:

Joachim Fuchsberger, William Lucas, Sabine Sesselmann

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Jack Tarling
William Lucas	...	Jack Tarling (English Version)
Sabine Sesselmann	...	Anne Ryder (as Sabina Sesselmann)
Penelope Horner	...	Anne Rider (English Version)
Klaus Kinski	...	Peter Keene
Colin Jeavons	...	Peter Keene (English Version)
Ingrid van Bergen	...	Gloria
Albert Lieven	...	Raymond Lyne
Jan Hendriks	...	Charles
Marius Goring	...	Oliver Milburgh
Peter Illing	...	Mr. Putek
Walter Gotell	...	Oberinspektor Whiteside / Supt. Whiteside
Christopher Lee	...	Ling Chu

Storyline

A Chinese detective breaks up a drug smuggling ring and tries to find the "Daffodil Killer". The drug smugglers had devised the ingenious method of smuggling heroin from Hong Kong in the stems of daffodils.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | proto giallo | plant in title | color in title | murder | 

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Taglines:

It Shatteres the Evil World of DOLLS - DOPE and the DEATH-DEALERS!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The first movie of Rialto's Edgar Wallace series to be shot entirely in England, both on-location and in the studio. All former movies has been shot in Germany with insert shots and archive footage of London used to create a more "British" atmosphere. Archive footage from this movie was also used in Edgar Wallace movies.

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Goofs

Marius Goring plays a character called Oliver Milburgh. At around Minute 84 there is a picture of him in a newspaper. Now his name is Charles Milburgh.

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Alternate Versions

Produced in a German and English release, with the same crew but different actors.

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Connections

Referenced in Lukas: Mann und Maus (1998)

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Soundtracks

Bei mir ist alles nur Natur
by Keith Papworth
Lyrics by Ute Kuntze-Just
Performed by Ingrid van Bergen
(Note: german release)

User Reviews

THE DEVIL'S DAFFODIL (Akos von Rathony, 1961) ***

I have still barely scraped the surface of the popular "Krimi" thrillers made in Germany between the late 1950s and the early 1970s; this one – atypically, a British co-production filmed simultaneously (on location in London) in both languages – is, however, easily among the better entries that I have come across. The reasons for this are mainly due to an above-average cast that includes regulars Joachim Fuchsberger and Klaus Kinski, along with the likes of Christopher Lee, Marius Goring, Albert Lieven and Walter Gotell, and the striking monochrome cinematography by the renowned Desmond Dickinson (though the credit titles are appealingly displayed in red).

The expected murder sequences are reasonably well-staged (though an old-wheelchair-bound-woman-falling-downstairs bit is entirely gratuitous!) – one of them, occurring at night in the busy Piccadilly Circus area, is especially evocative of a classic Hitchcockian set-piece; eroticism, another gene requisite, is briefly touched upon here in a titillating nightclub act. By the way, the film was only the second effort I have watched from this director, and the result is certainly a more substantial achievement than CAVE OF THE LIVING DEAD (1964) – its chief liability being the unconvincing screams from the various female victims/damsels-in-distress throughout!

The complex Edgar Wallace (from whose extensive work and that of his son, Bryan Edgar, all these flicks were derived) plot involves the ostensibly harmless importing of the titular flower serving as a front for heroin smuggling; twists relating to the identity of two of its principal characters are belatedly, yet effectively, incorporated into the fray. On the trail of the culprits are airline investigator Fuchsberger and Oriental sleuth Lee (coming across like a more ruthless Charlie Chan – complete with a steady flow of aphorisms, at one point causing a woman particularly unreceptive to his genial wit exclaiming "Sod off, Confucius!" to his face).

Actually, it is amusing to note how the film plays havoc with nationalities – where Germans are not only made to pass off as English, but the only true Brit on hand (albeit speaking in fluent German for the duration) is saddled with an Asian countenance! As for Kinski, he surprisingly plays it cool for the most part – with his signature intensity only emerging at the climax. Interestingly, too, Goring, Lee and Lieven would be reteamed for next year's similarly-titled British espionage thriller THE DEVIL'S AGENT (a recent viewing in my continuing marathon of Lee movies). Incidentally, I recall coming across a small poster of this in an old film scrapbook of my Dad's many years ago under its British moniker...since it was later retitled DAFFODIL KILLER for U.S. consumption.

Details

Country:

UK West Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

20 May 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Daffodil Killer

Filming Locations:

Piccadilly Circus, Piccadilly, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Omnia Pictures Ltd., Rialto Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1