TREASURE OF SILVER LAKE (1962) Poster Art and Lobby Cards

It is difficult to name my favorite German western but this one might be it. It is overlong and packs so much story into the running time I am usually surprised when I go back for a rewatch. Such an entertaining large scale tale. 

 

German Westerns - Poster Art

Soon more of these are going to be on Blu-Ray!

 

The Bloody Pit #189 - 1960's Mabuse Films!

I welcome writer Holger Haase to the show to discuss the 1960’s Dr. Mabuse films! Holger has written an essay published for Kindle called ‘The Many Masks of Dr. Mabuse: Mabuse in the 1960s’ and reading this prompted me to finally talk directly to Holger. The two of us have known each other for decades but it took our mutual love of these German crime films to use the internet to speak in a non-text based way. It was a little weird. 

We go (mostly) chronologically through the six films discussing each in turn. If you want to follow along at home here’s a list of the movies we talk about in this episode:

1. THE 1000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE (1960)

2. THE RETURN OF DR. MABUSE (1961) 

3. THE INVISIBLE DR. MABUSE (1962) 

4. THE TESTEMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1962)

5. DR. MABUSE VS SCOTLAND YARD (1963)

6. THE DEATH RAY OF DR. MABUSE (1964)

We touch on the cast members with extra attention to the ones that show up in multiple films even when their character’s names mysteriously change. Scriptwriter Ladislas Fodor’s impressive career is discussed as well as directors Fritz Lang and Harald Reinl who brought their many talents to the series. This series of films seems to have been forgotten over the past couple of decades, overshadowed by the original Lang films from 1922 and 1933. We hope to spur some interest in cinema fans curious to discover the hidden joys of these clever crime movies. They really are addictive!

 

If you have thoughts on the Mabuse films or the krimi cycle that they parallel thebloodypit@gmail.com is where you can send them. We’ll be happy to hear from you. Thanks for listening. 

 

Video - THE 1000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE (1960)

If you've never seen this fantastic thriller then now is your chance! Bringing the Mabuse character back from its 1933 grave this film was the beginning of a series of six films in the early 1960's. Each of them are worth seeing but this is the Fritz Lang entry they descend from. Now, if only they were all easier to see in English! Podcast on the way.

The Bloody Pit #153 - THE GREEN ARCHER (1961)

Author Nicholas Schlegel joins me for a deep dive into the underappreciated genre of the ‘krimi’! These underseen films are German adaptations of Edgar Wallace crime novels. During their most popular period in the 1960’s more than four or five were being released every year and they remained a huge box office draw for nearly fifteen years. Mr. Schlegel has just published a book about these crime thrillers called ‘German Popular Cinema and the Rialto Krimi Phenomenon: Dark Eyes of London’ and it is a perfect springboard for discussion.

THE GREEN ARCHER (1961) came pretty early in the cycle and is a good example of the black & white period of the series. At this time the scripts were trying to stick as close as possible to the adapted novel’s content which can make for an often confusing number of characters and subplots. Luckily, the film’s fast pace and sly humor keep the many strange happenings from feeling overwhelming with most loose ends wrapped up in the ‘ende’. Mr. Schlegel and I range across the krimi output of Rialto productions discussing the changes the series went through including moving to color and the gradually increasing horror elements incorporated into the scripts. We touch on the production history of the films and their evolution into another genre altogether. Eventually we compare lists of favorites with some concern for how to break the films down for newcomers or the mildly curious. We both hope that bringing attention to these entertaining gems will encourage more people to give them a try.

If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address. Let us know about your favorite krimi and how you discovered the genre as well. If you could, please rate and review the podcast wherever you grab it. And thanks for listening!

Book Review - German Popular Cinema and the Rialto Krimi Phenomenon by Nicholas Schlegel

Author and cinema academic Nicholas G. Schlegel has published his second book and it is just as welcome as his first, Sex, Sadism, Spain and Cinema. That book insightfully discussed the dark exploitation films of Spain’s Golden Age of Horror with an eye for what set them apart from similar movies produced in Europe. This new books digs into another sadly neglected subset of popular European film – the ‘krimi’. It is a fascinating topic and one worthy of much attention. Schlegel points out how few English language works exist that are focused on this years-long cycle and seems to have chosen this subject out of a sense of filling this odd gap. Hopefully this new work will spur more writers (and curious cinema thrill seekers) to pay attention to this fascinating genre. I was pleased to learn in his introduction that his journey of discovery mirrored my own in many ways, reminding me that any attention brought to underappreciated areas of film can create new fans.

German Popular Cinema and the Rialto Krimi Phenomenon: Dark Eyes of London is as meticulous and well researched as one could hope for and as good as I expected. It is structured smartly to introduce neophytes to the subject through a discussion of the history of post World War II German cinema and the precursor films that lead to this type of thriller. This earlier period of German cinema was completely unknown to me and it was educational to have its evolution laid out in such a succinct and interesting fashion. He delineates the various factors that led to the birth of the ‘krimi’ subgenre, explaining the influences and peculiar requirements of the times, many of which were unique to Germany. The author does an excellent job of pointing out the threads that lead from one type of film to the next with our destination seeming to be nearly inevitable. Clearly, the need for escapist entertainment is always a driving force in the business but having some of the other influences laid bare is fascinating.

Of course, there have always been crime films but rarely has there been an odder combination of elements merging to create a fresh variation like this. No matter how many examples of them a film fan may have encountered over the years, a krimi will stand out in some way. Either a viewer will be amused by the bizarre style of humor incorporated into the film’s story or be surprised at the way violence is sometimes used to shock. Maybe the strange tone of the film will draw attention to itself or the creepier elements will make the entire affair feel more like a horror movie than a crime thriller. It is in examining these odder elements of the genre where Schlegel’s book does its most interesting and insightful work and luckily that is the bulk of the page count. For over 130 pages of the text the book goes chronologically through the entire run of thirty-two Rialto krimis giving both a brief plot synopsis and background information on each. Folded into these entries Schlegel has included an analysis of the film in question and makes note of how it fits into the slowly evolving format of the series. He let’s his favorites be known but has much to say about every film that comes under his gaze. This helps to make this new book invaluable for both long time fans and those newly curious about this underseen thriller form.

Without overstating the matter, German Popular Cinema and the Rialto Krimi Phenomenon could be one of the most important new works on genre films in a decade or more. For me, it is a necessary addition to my reference library and a book that I know will serve to answer dozens of questions as I continue to explore these fun thrillers. I highly recommend this book to the newly curious and to the fan already enamored of the genre. There is much food for thought within its pages.

Video - THE GREEN ARCHER (1961)

I am currently editing the next episode of The Bloody Pit podcast which will focus on the German 'krimi' films. It's a very interesting subject but if you are unaware of this fun mystery subgenre THE GREEN ARCHER is as good a place to jump in as any other. These films are unique adaptations of Edgar Wallace novels and often try a little too hard to retain all the characters and subplots of their source material. Try this one out to see if the krimi is to your taste and then listen to my conversation with author Nicholas Schlegel in the next few days. 

 

THE MAN WHO WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES (1937)

Since reading a collection of the Sherlock Holmes stories when I was around ten years old, I've been a fan of the character and those original Doyle tales. For a long time I was very resistant to adaptations of the stories or uses of the character that strayed from the canon in any way. But a few decades ago, I gave up such silly restrictions on my enjoyment and embraced an exploration of various authors interpretations of the character. This includes an openness to changing the setting (outer space), the possible gender (American television) and even the time period of the life of Holmes (Rathbone’s 1940’s movies). Regardless of some of the more extraneous details of a Sherlock adventure, as long as the characters act correctly and react intelligently to the circumstances of the mysteries placed in front of them, I find myself enjoying most pastiches I come across.  

My constant searching for new variations and additions to the noncanonical Holmes literary tradition often turns up things that seem like they might be played for comedy and in those cases I tend to stay away. Sherlock Holmes played for comedy instead of Sherlock Holmes stories with comedic moments within them always seem a little forced to me. But my curiosity about the German film THE MAN WHO WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES was strong enough for me to give it a shot and make it a blind buy. The fact that it was made and released in 1937 in a country being led by a dictator made me even more interested to see just what it might be. What a surprise!

The movie follows two men in Europe who stop a passing passenger train and give the impression that they are the actual Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. We are privy immediately to the fact that they are not those famous people and they seem to be pulling a con to get free transport to their destination. Once they leave the train, they use their faked identifies to obtain a hotel suite and are then pulled by the police into a stymied criminal investigation. Leaning into their roles the men proceed to act like detectives and start uncovering some interesting connections.

I’ll not spoil the film anymore because I think it is well worth seeking out with as little story information as possible. The delights of the plot are best discovered as cold as can be arranged. I haven’t enjoyed a ‘Holmes’ tale this much in years and this fine film is easily one of the best new finds of 2021. I haven’t smiled this much at the finale of a movie in years! Brilliant!

Fritz Lang's WOMAN IN THE MOON (1929)

I spent the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday finally catching up with Fritz Lang's amazing science fiction film WOMAN IN THE MOON (1929). Much less well known than the classic METROPOLIS (1928) I found this one to be at least as affecting and just as rich as a cinematic experience. Once again in collaboration with his wife Thea on Harbou he crafted an epic science fiction tale that tried very hard for it’s period to be as scientifically accurate as possible. This is shown in several fascinating sections where the concept of rocketry and the science of gaining the escape velocities needed to reach the moon and to return are spelled out in detail. It's rather fascinating to take note of just how accurate a lot of the astro-navigation theories were at that time. Of course, this being science fiction that is casting a view decades into the future it's not hard to guess that there are a number of scientific inaccuracies. But those are the kinds of things that just make these older science fiction movies even more charming for me. This is a science fiction adventure, not some kind of feakin’ documentary! This is what makes the movie so entertaining for anyone with a curiosity to see great early science fiction films. The joys of it are many and it rewards your attention.

I was struck by how effective the miniature work is especially in getting across the size of the rocket structure in the gantry where it is housed. One could easily argue that those sequences go on a bit too long so that the filmmakers could show off their finely detailed work. I'll admit I enjoyed them in the same way that I enjoy the same kind of sequences that showed up later in the Gerry Anderson television series Thunderbirds. “Let's make sure everybody can get a really good look at all the hard work put into these models folks.” If it looks good, I don’t mind and in 1929 this was ground breaking stuff!

Of course, the most ridiculous science fiction element the movie asks us to accept is that there's somehow enough atmosphere on the moon not to mention pressure, temperature and everything else that human being would need to survive and walk around like you were just say, oh, - I don't know - in a large Cinema sandbox or back lot. But this is science fiction and that is part of the point of these things. On its own terms, this is a riveting, entertaining, beautiful movie and one that I'm thoroughly thrilled to finally been able to see especially in the fantastic restoration that I viewed from a Turner Classic Movies broadcast. I feared that since it was close to three hours in length, I would find it was a little too long. But I have to admit that I was never bored and this fun story became a very entertaining ride. If you have any curiosity about silent science fiction film this is a great second feature to follow on the heels of Metropolis.