Of all the Edgar Wallace Krimi-flicks I've seen thus far, and admittedly there are quite a few still left, "The Hound of Blackwood Castle" is definitely my favorite one. And yet, I had some doubts at first, because the title and premise initially made it look as if it would be a light-version of the legendary "The Hound of the Baskervilles" tale. Of course, I should have known that Edgar Wallace is a respectable and original writer himself, who doesn't need to copy ideas from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Two things make "The Hound of Blackwood Castle" really good. For starters, it's an up-tempo Krimi without a single dull moment. Contrary to several others in the series, the plot is engaging from start to finish, with the exact right number of characters, surprising plot-twists, ingenious death traps & killing methods, and self-aware humor. The other, and possibly even more important strongpoint is the absence of certain actors and the annoying stereotypes they always portray. As much as I love Klaus Kinski (he's one of my favorite actors of all times), it's a relief he doesn't star in his usual role of silent but ultimately evil sidekick for once. An even bigger relief is the non-starring of Eddi Arent. He always plays the hopelessly clumsy fool who has to provides laughs. Siegfried Schürenberg takes over the role of the fool, as the self-indulgent head of Scotland Yard, and his humor works.
The plot is lovely, with a whole of people - one more sinister than the next - gathering in and around the titular Blackwood castle, in search of something that must be very valuable. Those that come close, or maybe not even at all, are attacked and killed by a monstrous dog with vampire teeth; - for real!
