Between 1959 and 1972 a stream of 32 (!) films, based on criminal novels from famous British author Edgar Wallace had been produced by the German Rialto film company. "The Inn on the River" is an early example and surely one of the highlights of the series. The film benefits tremendously from the atmospheric black and white photography shot by cameraman Karl Loeb. There are plenty of impressive night scenes with eerie lights and shadows. Foggy canalization funnels, lonesome harbor quays, subterranean and underwater locations capture the audience from the beginning. Though some side aspects of the script seem to be far fetched and only loosely connected with the entire plot, it doesn't distract from the main story line, which is loosely based on Wallace's novel "The India Rubber Man". The film focuses on the police chasing a mysterious Jewel robber known only as the "Shark". Disguised in a black divers suit, he frequently kills in proper style with his harpoon! "The Inn on the Thames", so the exact translation of the German film title, was a huge success, when released in 1962. Apart from the suspenseful crime story, one of the reasons for this might be, that the thriller elements are complimented here more than usual by a simple but effective fairytale-like romance.
The film's young heroine Leila (Brigitte Grothum: very pretty, though she seems rather limited here as an actress) is captured at the sinister harbor Inn "Mekka" just like a 20th century Cinderella. She is repressed by her evil stepmother (excellent: Elisabeth Flickenschild) and threatened not only by the "Shark", but by numerous gangsters around, some of them lustfully longing for the under aged girl. The prince coming to her rescue is of course Scotland Yard's Inspector Wade (in his usual role, handsome Joachim Fuchsberger): he even calls her "Princess" at their first encounter. Wade suspects that the "Mekka" Inn is a smuggler's nest, somehow connected with the "Shark". Among the many doubtful characters he finds here is the sneaky Russian merchantman Gubanow (great: Klaus Kinski, in one of his typical supporting roles, that became a trademark of the series)
As usual in German Wallace Krimis of that time, the film wasn't shot on location. Hamburg and the Elbe river doubled in for London and the Thames. There is only few (badly fitting) original British stock footage from a rowing boat race. Other minus points are the uneven title music and the comical character of Barnaby (Eddie Arend), an eccentric fan of water sports. Arend, who can be funny at times, is allowed to overact so shamelessly, that his screen presence becomes annoying here. Nonetheless, this is a great little thriller. It's impact on filmmakers can be viewed in Dick Maas Horror action flick "Amsterdamned" (1988), which borrowed more than the idea of a killer in a diving-suit from this one.
