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:

plant in title | color in title | murder | based on novel | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

The Girl With the Golden Arm...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Elke Sommer was considered for the part of Anne Rider.

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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

Flowers? For me? Why, thank you Mr. Sadist Killer!

These German Krimi movies, based on the stories of Edgar Wallace, are by definition infamous for their convoluted and hectic screenplays, but with its numerous twists and turns "The Devil's Daffodil" truly is the cinematic equivalent of a pretzel! You won't hear me say this is the greatest movie ever made, but there is plenty of exiting stuff going on and you won't get bored for a second. The film literally opens with a double bang, namely the vicious murder of an exotic dancer in her dressing room and the explosion of a discovered drug cargo in the customs' office. The two events are undoubtedly related, since the drugs were hidden in the stems of daffodils and the killer threw a handful of flowers on victim's body; - also daffodils. The murder streak continues, with daffodil-covered corpses popping up all over London, and Scotland Yard teams up with an odd Chinese super-detective. Excellent cast, with Krimi-regulars Joachim Fuchsberger and Klaus Kinski, and the unsurpassable Christopher Lee depicting yet another Oriental character (what he also did in "Terror of the Tongs" and a handful of "Fu Manchu" movies). There's much less sinister atmosphere than in other Krimi movies I recently watched, but the pacing is good and there are gruesome & inventive death sequences. The mandatory comic relief is also missing here, unless you consider Lee's recurring line "There's an old Chinese saying..." as comical.

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