Lex Barker

In Tarzan's Magic Fountain (Lee Sholem, 1949), Lex Barker became the tenth official Tarzan of the cinema. After a Hollywood career, Lex Barker moved to Europe. Here he worked with Federico Fellini and later became Old Shatterhand in the popular Karl May film series.


Spanish postcard by JDP, Barcelona, no. 1475. Lex Barker in Tarzan’s magic fountain (Lee Sholem, 1949).


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, offered by Les Carbones Korès 'Carboplane', no. 37 G. Photo: H.P.S.


Vintage Dutch postcard. With Pierre Brice at right.


German postcard, no. E 82. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Der Schatz im Silbersee/Treasure of Silver Lake (1962).


German postcard by Kruger. Photo: Bernard of Hollywood (Bruno Bernard) / CCC-Produktion. Publicity Still for Old Shatterhand (Hugo Fregonese, 1964).

Disowned by his family

Lex Barker was born Alexander Crichlow Barker, Jr. into a prominent and wealthy New York family in 1919 He was the second child of Alexander Crichlow Barker, Sr., a Canadian-born building contractor and his American wife, the former Marion Thornton Beals. His father later worked as a stockbroker.

Barker took time off from being a high-profile playboy to attend Princeton University but dropped out in order to join a theatrical stock company, much to the chagrin of his family. He made it to Broadway once, in a small role in a short run of William Shakespeare's 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' in 1938. He also had a small role in Orson Welles's disastrous 'Five Kings', which met with so many problems in Boston and Philadelphia that it never made it into New York.

Barker reportedly was spotted by scouts from Twentieth Century Fox and offered a film contract in 1939, but could not convince his parents to sign it (he was underage). Disowned by his family for his choice of an acting career, he worked in a steel mill and studied engineering at night.

In February 1941, ten months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Barker left his fledgling acting career and enlisted in the US Army. He rose to the rank of major during the war. He was wounded in action fighting in Sicily.

Back in the United States, Barker recuperated at an Arkansas military hospital, then upon his discharge from service, travelled to Los Angeles. Within a short time, he landed a small role in his first film, Doll Face (Lewis Seiler, 1945) starring Vivian Blaine. A string of small roles followed, the best of which was Emmett Dalton in the Western Return of the Bad Men (Ray Enright, 1948). Barker then found the role that would bring him fame.


German postcard by Rüdel-Verlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 449. Photo: Alex Kahle / RKO Radio Film. Lex Barker in Tarzan's Magic Fountain (Lee Sholem, 1949).


German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 580. Photo: RKO. Publicity still for Tarzan And The Slave Girl (Lee Sholem, 1950) with Denise Darcel.


West German collectors card in the Filmstars der Welt series by Greiling-Sammelbilder, series C, no. 103. Photo: RKO. Virginia Huston and Lex Barker in Tarzan’s Peril (Byron Haskin, 1951).


Vintage photo. Lex Barker and Zsa Zsa Gabor in The Girl in the Kremlin (Russell Birdwell, 1957).


Dutch postcard by Facet Publishers, Lunteren, no. 4. Photo: Rank Film Distributors (Holland) N.V. Publicity still from Der Schatz im Silbersee (1963) with Pierre Brice.

Ape-Man

In Tarzan's Magic Fountain (Lee Sholem, 1949), Lex Barker became the tenth official Tarzan of the cinema. He replaced Johnny Weissmuller. His blond, stunningly handsome, and intelligent appearance, as well as his athletic frame, helped make him popular in the role of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ ape-man. Barker made only five Tarzan films produced by Sol Lesser between 1949 and 1953, but he remains one of the actors best known for the role.

His stardom as Tarzan led him to a variety of heroic roles in other films, primarily Westerns, and one interesting (and quite non-heroic) part in a World War II film, Away All Boats (Joseph Pevney, 1956) starring Jeff Chandler. Barker's film career began to stall; the rise of television had erased many roles for the handsome leading man.

In 1957, he moved to Europe. Via England, he made his way to Italy where he was very much at home in the wave of Peplums. He also filmed in Spain and France. In Italy, he had a short but prestigious role as Anita Ekberg's fiancé in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960).

But Barker had his greatest success in Germany. There he starred in two films based on the Doctor Mabuse stories (formerly filmed by Fritz Lang). As the hunter of the notorious Dr. Mabuse he played F.B.I. man Joe Como in the two black-and-white crime thrillers Im Stahlnetz des Dr. Mabuse/Return Of Dr. Mabuse (Harald Reinl, 1961) and Die Unsichtbare Krallen des Dr. Mabuse/Invisible Dr. Mabuse (Harald Reinl, 1962).

He also starred in the drama Frauenarzt Dr. Sibelius/Dr. Sibelius (Rudolf Jugert, 1962) and the comedy Frühstück im Doppelbett/Breakfast in Bed (Axel von Ambesser, 1963) with O.W. Fischer. His most successful film was the Karl May adaptation Der Schatz im Silbersee/Treasure of Silver Lake (Harald Reinl, 1962) with Pierre Brice as Winnetou.


German postcard, no. E 79. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Der Schatz im Silbersee (1962).


German postcard, no. E 53. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Der Schatz im Silbersee (1962).


German postcard, no. E 57. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Der Schatz im Silbersee (1962).


Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam / Edition Facet Publishers. Photo: Rank Film Publishers (Holland) N.V. Publicity Still for Der Schatz im Silbersee (1962).


German postcard, no. E 72. Photo: Constantin. Publicity Still for Der Schatz im Silbersee (1962).

James Bond rip-offs

In the following years, Lex Barker played in 12 more films based on novels by Karl May in which he played such well-known May characters as Old Shatterhand, Kara Ben Nemsi, and Dr. Karl Sternau.

While American audiences forgot about him, his popularity in Europe quickly soared above the popularity of stars like John Wayne. In 1966, Barker was awarded the Bambi Award as Best Foreign Actor in Germany. He even recorded a single, in German, with Martin Böttcher, the composer of some of the soundtracks of the Karl May films: Ich bin morgen auf dem Weg zu dir (I'll be on the way to you tomorrow) and Mädchen in Samt und Seide (Girl in Silk and Velvet).

Barker returned to the United States occasionally and made a handful of guest appearances on American television episodes. But Europe, and especially Germany, was his professional home for the remainder of his life.

He showed up in a handful of James Bond rip-offs. In 1967, he appeared with Shirley MacLaine in one part of an American seven-part film Woman Times Seven (1967), directed by Vittorio de Sica.

Lex Barker died of a heart attack in 1973 in New York. He was 54. Barker had been married five times. His wives were Constance Rhodes Thurlow (1942-1950), actress Arlene Dahl (1951-1952), actress Lana Turner (1953-1957), Swiss actress Irene Labhardt (1957-1962) and Carmen Cervera (1965-1972), former Miss Spain. He left behind two sons and one daughter. One of his sons is actor Christopher Barker, from his marriage to Irene Labhart.


German postcard, no. E 66. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Der Schatz in Silbersee (1962).


German postcard, no. E 25. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Winnetou I (1963) with Mavid Popovic. Caption: "In the water, there is a bitter fight between Old Shatterhand and Winnetou's father, the chief of the Apaches."


German postcard, no. E 68. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Der Schatz in Silbersee (1962) with Jan Sid.


German postcard, no. E 64. Photo: Constantin. Publicity still for Der Schatz in Silbersee (1962) with Karin Dor and Pierre Brice.


German postcard, no. E 9. Photo: Constantin. Still from Winnetou - 1. Teil/Apache Gold (Harald Reinl, 1963). Caption: "Old Shatterhand puts a rat in the ammunition and saves himself with a bold leap onto the horse. The remaining car, surrounded by Kiowas, explodes."


German postcard, no. E 28. Photo: Constantin. Lex Barker in Winnetou - 1. Teil/Apache Gold (1963). Caption: The blood brotherhood between Winnetou and Old Shatterhand is sealed with a solemn ceremony.


German postcard, no. 3. Photo: Rialto / Constantin. Publicity still for Winnetou III. Teil/Winnetou: The Last Shot (Harald Reinl, 1963) with Pierre Brice and Lex Barker. Caption: "Während Winnetou und Old Shatterhand zurückreiten, berichtet der Sekretär des Gouverneurs - der dem Letter des Desperados als Spitzel dient - von der Unterredung. Man beschliesst den Tod Winnetous und Old Shatterhands, der als Unfall hergestellt werden soll, und zwar durch vorzeitige Sprengung des Steinbruchs." (While Winnetou and Old Shatterhand ride back, the secretary of the governor reports about the conversation - which letter serves the spying Desperados. They decide to kill Winnetou and Old Shatterhand, produced as an accident, by premature detonation of the quarry.)


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 29. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Marianne Hold and Lex Barker in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "Wie froh bin ich, dass Ihnen nichts passiert ist, Mister Kara. Ich hörte die Schüsse..." - "Wie Sie sehen, ist mit diesem Mübarek alles gut gegangen, Madame Galingré. Fein dass Sie die Pferde mitgebracht haben. Da können Omar, Halef und Ich gleich die Verfolgung des Schut aufnehmen." ("How glad I am that nothing happened to you, Mister Kara (Lex Barker). I heard the shots ...." - "As you can see, everything went well with this Mübarek, Madame Galingré (Marianne Hold). Fine that you brought the horses. Omar, Halef and I can immediately do on with the persecution of The Yellow One.")


German postcard, no. 9. Photo: CCC / Constantin. Pierre Brice and Lex Barker in Winnetou und Shatterhand in Tal der Toten/The Valley of Death (Harald Reinl, 1968). Caption: "Old Shatterhand und Winnetou entwerfen einen Schlachtplan gegen die Murdock-Banditen." (Old Shatterhand and Winnetou devise a battle plan against the Murdock Bandits).

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Lex Barker Official Site, Brian J. Walker (Brian's Drive-In Theater), Wikipedia and IMDb.

Tarzan, the king of the jungle

Tarzan is a fictional hero conceived by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He first appeared in the novel 'Tarzan of the Apes' in 1912. The book was a great success, resulting in the author going on to write 23 more adventures featuring Tarzan. Burroughs' books were so successful that Hollywood showed interest in film adaptations. Some 90 films were made about Tarzan since 1918. Most of these Tarzan films do not do justice to the original character created by writer Burroughs, but their less complex portrayal of the wild 'ape-man' became proverbial. Tarzan, his girlfriend Jane and the animals in the jungle appealed wildly to audiences all over the world.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 864. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan and his Mate (W. S. Van Dyke, 1934).


Spanish postcard by JDP, Barcelona, no. 1475. Lex Barker in Tarzan’s magic fountain (1949).


Italian Real Photo postcard, no. 401. Gordon Scott as Tarzan


German collectors card by Penny in the series 'Unsere Bambi-Lieblinge', no. 27. Ron Ely as Tarzan and Manuel Padilla Jr. as Jai with Cheeta in the TV series Tarzan (1966-1968).


French double card. Image: Burroughs / Disney. An animated Tarzan in Tarzan (Chris Buck, Kevin Lima, 1999).

White skin

American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) published 'A Princess of Mars' under the title 'Under the Moons of Mars' in six parts between February and July of 1912. The same All-Story Magazine put out his immediately successful 'Tarzan of the Apes' in October of that year. Two years later the hardback book appeared.

Tarzan is the orphaned son of aristocratic English parents, John and Alice Clayton, or Lord and Lady Greystoke, who are stranded on the west coast of Africa in the late 19th century after a mutiny aboard the ship taking them to Africa. They try to survive in the coastal jungle.

When his parents die, the human baby is adopted and raised by the ape Kala, who has just lost her own young. Tarzan's real name is John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, but Tarzan ('white skin') is the new name given to him by Kala. The only people Tarzan comes into contact with during the first 18 years of his life are members of a cannibal tribe. One of them, Kulonga, kills Tarzan's nurse Kala, after which Tarzan takes bloody revenge.

Years later, Tarzan finds some children's books in his real parents' cabin. Using the pictures and letters, he teaches himself to read and write, but a human language he does not learn until much later - when he is discovered by white people.

The first people he meets are young American Jane Porter, her father and French lieutenant commander Paul D'Arnot. From the latter, he learns to speak the first human language, which is French, and later English. D'Arnot will also remain Tarzan's best friend for the rest of his life, taking him into the civilised world. The Porters, along with another group of people, are left behind in Africa by mutineers. Tarzan and Jane meet and instantly fall in love. When Jane returns to America, Tarzan eventually goes after her. In later books, the two are married and have a son named Jack, whose name in the monkey language is Korak ('the slayer').


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, no. 680. Photo: M.G.M. Publicity still for Tarzan the Ape Man (W. S. Van Dyke, 1932) with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan.


British postcard by Real Photograph, London, no. FS 208. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan in Tarzan Finds A Son (Richard Thorpe, 1939).


Vintage postcard. Johnny Weissmuller.


British postcard in the Picturegoer series, London, no. W 370. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.


Dutch postcard, no. 751. Photo: M.G.M.

Eternal youth

'Tarzan of the Apes' was a great success, but Edgar Rice Burroughs's later books were often less well-received. A common criticism was that the books maintained too much of a fixed formula that was repeated over and over again. However, Tarzan is one of the world's best-known fictional characters. Apart from almost 30 books by Burroughs and some by other authors, he also appears in many films, television series, comic book series and radio plays. Although the copyright on the original Tarzan story has now expired in the United States, the Tarzan name is still copyrighted. The rights are held by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

Tarzan, in the original books by Burroughs, is a hero with mostly good qualities. He is a tall, very athletically built white man, with grey eyes and black hair. He is highly intelligent and learns a new language easily and quickly. Some elements in the Tarzan stories and films were racist. Burroughs was a child of his time. For instance, the African indigenous people featured in the stories are regularly portrayed in a stereotypical and negative way. On the other hand, the tribe of Waziri, whom Tarzan takes in when he helps them in their fight against Arab slave traders, are described by Burroughs as wonderful people. They play a significant role in several Tarzan novels.

Tarzan's upbringing among the great apes and his years living in the jungle gave him skills beyond those of most people. He has extra-sharp senses. For instance, he can hear an enemy approaching from miles away or smell danger. He usually wears only a loincloth. Preferably, he moves around by swinging and jumping from branch to branch in the high tree terraces. He rarely if ever uses lianas, although they are more often seen in films. Tarzan, through the use of special pills obtained through a mysterious Kavuru tribe and treatment by a black witch doctor, has 'eternal youth'.

In the last Tarzan book completed by Burroughs, set at the end of World War II, he looks like a man in his late twenties. In reality, however, he is by then close to 60. His wife Jane and his faithful monkey Nkima were also taking those pills regularly. Tarzan's love for his wife Jane is unconditional, and he regularly rejects advances by other women, even when they are more beautiful and interesting than Jane; in Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels, for instance, Queen Nemone and High Priestess La of the Lost City of Opar.

In battles with wild animals, he always emerges victorious. Of all the animals in the jungle, contrary to what non-experts think, Tarzan can only communicate with monkeys, although he also has a special bond with elephants, who somehow seem to understand him to some extent. Elephants also come to his rescue when he calls them to his aid in emergencies. In various film versions, Tarzan has intelligent animals as friends. The chimpanzee Cheetah is the best-known example. However, Cheetah does not appear in Burroughs' original books. Indeed, no chimpanzees appear in the books at all. Tarzan's constant companion, the very small monkey Nkima, is a troublemaker with a bloodthirsty nature, but very helpful in emergencies.

A large monkey species unknown to humans, grey in hair colour, called the 'Mangani' in the books, is the one in which Tarzan grew up and of which he later became 'king'. The gorillas ('Bolgani') are the mortal enemies of that tribe of apes, and thus also of Tarzan. With elephants, Tarzan has a special and strong bond. He calls this species 'Tantor' (that is, not the name of one specific elephant). Jad-Bal-Ja, the 'golden lion', is a giant lion with a black mane, trained by Tarzan who found the animal as a cub. Together with him, Tarzan has various adventures.


Big German card by Ross Verlag. Photo: Paramount. Buster Crabbe in Tarzan the Fearless (Robert F. Hill, 1933).


Spanish collectors cards by Exclusiva Ferber y Blay, no. 7 of 15 cromos. Photo: Sol Lesser Productions. Buster Crabbe in Tarzan the Fearless (Robert F. Hill, 1933). The Spanish release title was Tarzan de la las fieras.


French postcard by Editions et Publications Cinematographiques, no. 88. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Johnny Weissmuller.


Belgian postcard by Les Editions d'Art L.A.B., Bruxelles, no. 2022. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Maureen O'Sullivan and Johnny Sheffield in Tarzan's Secret Treasure (Richard Thorpe, 1941).


German postcard by Rüdel-Verlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 449. Photo: Alex Kahle / RKO Radio Film. Lex Barker in Tarzan's Magic Fountain (Lee Sholem, 1949).

West German collectors card in the Filmstars der Welt series by Greiling-Sammelbilder, series C, no. 103. Photo: RKO. Virginia Huston and Lex Barker in Tarzan’s Peril (Byron Haskin, 1951).

An imposingly built Olympic swimming champion

In 1918, the first Tarzan film was released, the silent feature Tarzan of the Apes (Scott Sidney, 1918). Elmo Lincoln played Tarzan and Gordon Griffith played Tarzan as a child. Stellan Windrow, who initially portrayed the title character in the film, went into military service five weeks after filming began. Lincoln replaced Windrow, although author Edgar Rice Burroughs objected to the choice. It was one of the first films to gross over $1,000,000. Burroughs was able to move his family to the San Fernando Valley in 1919, converting a huge estate into Tarzana Ranch. Elmo Lincoln became famous for the role. He portrayed the character twice more, in The Romance of Tarzan (Wilfred Lucas, 1918) and in the serial The Adventures of Tarzan (Robert F. Hill, Scott Sidney, 1921) with Louise Lorraine as Jane Porter. The serial's prologue features Edgar Rice Burroughs himself.

Tarzan became world-famous, when the imposingly built Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller played the role of Tarzan, starting with Tarzan the Ape Man (W. S. Van Dyke, 1932) through twelve films until 1948. These films often featured Tarzan's chimpanzee companion Cheeta, his consort Jane (in the first films Maureen O'Sullivan and later Brenda Joyce), and an adopted son, usually known only as Boy (Johnny Sheffield). The most famous statement of the verbally bumbling Tarzan in front of the first human woman he encountered in the guise of Maureen was, "Me Tarzan, you Jane!" However, this is a misconception that has taken on a life of its own after an ill-informed journalist once wrote it down that way. In fact, those words were never spoken that way by Weissmuller. Indeed, in the film scene in question, he points to Jane, and mentions her name, only to point to himself and say "Tarzan". He then repeats the words.

However, the Weissmuller Tarzan version deviated hugely from the original Tarzan, as conceived by writer Burroughs. This was partly due to Burroughs himself, who had a contract with the film company MGM stipulating that no storyline or character from his original books could be used in the films. Only the names Tarzan and Jane could be used, with Jane even being given a surname other than the original one, Parker, instead of Porter. Burroughs would later, after seeing one of Weissmuller's Tarzan films, shake his head, saying "I give them a wonderfully intelligent hero, and they turn it into a country bumpkin".

There were also several serials and features that competed with the main franchise, including Tarzan the Fearless (Robert F. Hill, 1933) starring Buster Crabbe and The New Adventures of Tarzan (Edward Kull, Wilbur F. McGaugh, 1935) starring Olympic champion shot-putter Herman Brix, who would later call himself Bruce Bennett. The latter film serial in 12 chapters was unique for its period in that it was partially filmed on location in Guatemala and portrayed Tarzan as the cultured and well-educated gentleman in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. It was the only Tarzan film project for which Burroughs was personally involved in the production. The New Adventures of Tarzan was later re-released in shorter versions as The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935) and Tarzan and The Green Goddess (1938). To this day, Brix is regarded by Burroughs fans as the most Burroughs-like Tarzan actor ever.

The 1950s saw a major resurgence in Tarzan's popularity. Books and comics were much in demand and Tarzan films and television series followed. Handsome Lex Barker became the new Tarzan in five films for RKO . During the following period, some of the best Tarzan films were made: Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (John Guillermin, 1959) and Tarzan The Magnificent (Robert Day, 1960), both starring the muscular Gordon Scott. These films are considered top of the genre and are much closer to the original than the films starring Weissmuller. The films Tarzan Goes To India (John Guillermin, 1962) and Tarzan's Three Challenges (Robert Day, 1963) with Jock Mahoney as Tarzan, are also brilliant productions in widescreen and colour. Tarzan Goes To India was financially even the most successful Tarzan film ever.

In the 1960s, the quality of the films quickly declined again. Ron Ely did still have a lot of success as the more intelligent Tarzan, in the 57-part television series Tarzan (1966-1968). Tarzan, the Ape Man (John Derek, 1981), starring Miles O'Keeffe and Bo Derek, was filmed from the point of view of Jane Parker. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (Hugh Hudson, 1984) goes back more to Burroughs' story and Tarzan is no longer portrayed as silly as in the Weissmuller films. The next Tarzan film, Tarzan and The Lost City (Carl Schenkel, 1998), with Casper Van Dien, was intended as a sequel to Greystoke, but a too-small budget and an unedifying screenplay made the film flop. Tony Goldwyn voiced Tarzan in Disney's animated film Tarzan (Chris Buck, Kevin Lima, 1999). It was the first major animated motion picture to star the Ape Man and his ape family was portrayed as gorillas in the film. The recent television series Tarzan (2003) with Travis Fimmel in the title role, was not a success either. In Tarzan (David Yates, 2016), Alexander Skarsgård plays the role of a modernised Tarzan. The story follows John Clayton (Tarzan), who, after moving to London, is convinced by George Washington Williams to return to his former home in the jungles of Africa, to investigate claims of slavery.


Vintage postcard. Photo: RKO. Vanessa Brown in Tarzan and the Slave Girl (Lee Sholem, 1950).


West German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 580. Photo: RKO. Lex Barker and Denise Darcel Tarzan And The Slave Girl (Lee Sholem, 1950).


West German postcard by Kunst und Bild, no. I 411. Photo: RKO. Gordon Scott in Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (Harold D. Schuster, 1955).


British postcard by Klasik Kards, no. 1588. Ron Ely in the TV series Tarzan (1966-1968).


French postcard by Ebullations, no. 60. Christophe Lambert as Tarzan, Lord of the Apes in Greystoke (Hugh Hudson, 1984).


French double card. Image: Burroughs / Disney. Tarzan in Tarzan (Chris Buck, Kevin Lima, 1999).

Sources: Ed Stephan (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and English).

Der Schut (1964)

Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964) is the first film adaptation in the 1960s of the oriental novels by best-selling 19th-century German writer Karl May. These adventure novels are set in the Orient and the Middle East and feature Kara Ben Nemsi who travels throughout the Ottoman Empire, alongside his friend and servant Hadschi Halef Omar. In Der Schut, Lex Barker stars as Kara Ben Nemsi and Ralf Wolter plays Halef. German-born Hollywood director Robert Siodmak, famous for the Burt Lancaster classics The Killers (1946) and The Crimson Pirate (1952), directed the picture on location in Yugoslavia.


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 2. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Dieter Borsche, Chris Howland and Lex Barker in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "Mister Kara, so good that I meet you. Your friend Galingré was attacked and kidnapped by bandits of the Yellow One. A certain Nirwan visited me on board of my yacht and told me about it .'- 'In these circumstances, I can not travel with you to Egypt of course, Sir David, which will you understand. I will ride to Strumnitza where my kidnapped friend's wife lives ... I need to find the Yellow One'!"


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 7. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Publicity still for Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "Do not worry, my good man. We are friends of yours. My Sidi, the famous Kara Ben Nemsi, and I will do everything possible to catch these rogues, the Schut."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 9. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Renato Baldini in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "'Barud, take my knife! '- 'Yes, now it gets better! If someone should like to persecute us, then he just needs to come across the bridge."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 13. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Friedrich von Ledebur in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "I am so afraid of the Holy Mübarek, he will be angry that I speak to you, and his ravens will tell him what I told you ... That he warned the people for you ...!"


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 15. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Ralf Wolter and Lex Barker in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "In the evening at home Galingré: 'Halef, I will play a trick on the Mübarek. Therefore, you had to get me bismuth and mercury. From this, I'll make bullets that look like lead bullets but disintegrate during firing. Now I'll load the gun alternately with a bullet made of lead and a fake one ...'"


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 16. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Lex Barker, Ralf Wolter and Friedrich von Ledebur in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "The Holy Mübarek faces his opponent, Kara Ben Nemsi. "This blonde Giaur will be punished because he shot a sacred raven. It is the will of Allah!" - You lie, Mübarek. It is not God's will but yours. You're afraid of me because I am a greater magician than you. I want to prove it to you. Here is a gun that shoots more accurately and better than any other. If you can meet with a single bullet, then it should belong to you, Mübarek. Halef, show him the rifle and how to fire it."

Heroic Kara Ben Nemsi

The secretive 'Schut' or 'The Yellow One' (Rik Battaglia) is a bandit king who terrorises a whole region in the land of the Skipetars - modern Albanians, one of the few Balkan people who adopted the Turkish Muslim faith. He controls the land in the disguise of the wealthy Persian carpet merchant Nirwan.

The Schut holds an English aristocrat and a French merchant for a ransom, then he also abducts the beautiful Tschita (Marie Versini), Kara's friend Omar's fiancée. The corrupt police force does not take any action against him.

Heroic Kara Ben Nemsi, the Turkish-Arabic name means 'black(bearded) German' (Lex Barker) tries to find the Schut's hiding-place in the mountains and free the prisoners. But the Schut has many rogues and assassins under his command who make this search long and dangerous.

After unmasking the Mübarek, a local phony 'magician', and dealing with some other ruffians and corruption, Kara Ben Nemsi and Lord Lindsay (Dieter Borsche) with his butler Archie (Chris Howland) set out to finish The Schut off.


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 17. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Friedrich von Ledebur in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "Do you see what's behind the mask of this saint? Halif has torn down his coat and forth came the tattered dress of the supposedly lame and deaf-mute beggar Busra. He was always everywhere and nowhere - despite his ill legs. Not the Ravens have told the Mübarek everything, but he could hear himself what was being said about him."


West-German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 20. Photo: CCC / Gloria-Verleih. Marie Versini in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "Let go of me! If you don't want to help me, then at least let me ride away. Let me go, I want to leave!"


West-German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 22. Photo: CCC / Gloria-Verleih. Marie Versini in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: Manach returned to the hostel and dragged Chita on. "Hello, shepherd! I've got a pretty little bird that Schut has been waiting for. I'll take her to a cave now. In the meantime, hold my horse!"


West-German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 24. Photo: CCC / Gloria-Verleih. Marie Versini in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "You have a visitor, gentlemen! Here sit all those who have disobeyed the Schut. That one, in the grey suit, is Monsieur Galingré, a man with a lot of money, haha!"


West-German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 25. Photo: CCC / Gloria-Verleih. Pierre Fromont and Marie Versini in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "Monsieur Galingré - for God's sake what are you doing!" - "Don't mind me! Get out of here as fast as you can, or you'll be lost!" - "You'll pay for this, Frenchman, you scoundrel!"


West-German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 26. Photo: CCC / Gloria-Verleih. Marie Versini in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: Chita, who escaped from prison as silently as a wildcat, is fighting for life and limb. Her unsuspecting guard is already a dead man.


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 29. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Marianne Hold and Lex Barker in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "How glad I am that nothing happened to you, Mister Kara (Lex Barker). I heard the shots ...." - 'As you can see, everything went well with this Mübarek, Madame Galingré (Marianne Hold). Fine that you brought the horses. Omar, Halef, and I can immediately do on with the persecution of The Yellow One'."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 31. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Lex Barker, Ralf Wolter and Marianne Hold in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "The fully loaded raft. A good target for the bandits, who are hiding between the rocks."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 36. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Dusan Janicijevic in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "For the last time! Where is my bride Tschita? Where did you drag her?"


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 37. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Lex Barker and Marianne Hold Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "A short break is inserted, so Madame Galingré can recover from the rigors of the raid. The next morning the search for the Yellow One will be continued."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 39. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Ralf Wolter in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "They have pulled Halef into the canyon lodge and tied him up there. 'Where is Kara holding on? Speak... or! '- But Halef remains silent and resists all threats and beatings."

Karl May's Oriental Cycle

Der Schut was not the first adaptation of the Oriental novels with Kara Ben Nemsi by Karl May. In 1920, May's friends Marie Luise Droop and her husband Adolf Droop among others founded in cooperation with the Karl May Press the production company Ustad-Film.

They produced three silent films: Auf den Trümmern des Paradieses/On the Brink of Paradise (Josef Stein, 1920), Die Todeskarawane/Caravan of Death (Josef Stein, 1920) and Die Teufelsanbeter/The Devil Worshippers (Marie Luise Droop, 1920), all starring Carl de Vogt as Kara Ben Nemsi. These three films are believed to be lost. Due to the low success, Ustad-Film went bankrupt in the following year.

The first sound film was Durch die Wüste/Through the Desert (J.A. Hübler-Kahla, 1936). Kara Ben Nemsi was played by Fred Raupach.

The German-Spanish Die Sklavenkarawane/Caravan of Slaves (Georg Marischka, Ramón Torrado, 1958) and its sequel Der Löwe von Babylon/The Lion of Babylon (Johannes Kai, Ramón Torrado, 1959) were the first colour films. In the first film, Kara Ben Nemsi was played by Viktor Staal and in the second by Helmuth Schneider. In both films, Halef was played by Georg Thomalla and Sir David Lindsay by Theo Lingen.

Famous is the Karl May film wave from 1962–1968, which was one of the most successful German film series ever. Most of these films were made separately by the two competitors Horst Wendlandt and Artur Brauner.

Most of the 17 films of this series were Westerns starring Pierre Brice as Winnetou, beginning with Der Schatz im Silbersee/The Treasure of the Silver Lake (Harald Reinl, 1962).

Three of the films were based on the Orient cycle. After Der Schut followed Durchs wilde Kurdistan/Wild Kurdistan (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1965) and Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen/Kingdom of the Silver Lion (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1965). In all three films, Lex Barker starred as Kara Ben Nemsi.


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 40. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Lex Barker and Ralf Wolter in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "Kara, who suddenly missed his faithful servant, has followed in his footsteps, and could free him in time from the clutches of the bandits. Kara now takes each bandit on the grain with his dreaded bear hunter."


West-German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 41. Photo: CCC / Gloria-Verleih. Marie Versini in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: By force, the Schut wants to subdue his beautiful prey. Greed and boundless jealousy surround her in a golden cage. How can I get out of here?, thinks Chita.


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 43. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Dieter Borsche and Chris Howland in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "'Archibald now what?', Sir Lindsay asks his butler, when The Shoot unexpectedly captures them in a cave, which is located beneath his palace."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 44. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Dieter Borsche and Chris Howland in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "The Lord and his servant won't be shaken by the situation. Archie has in his magical suitcase everything ready to make his Lord's stay in the cave as pleasant as possible."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 46. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Ralf Wolter and Marianne Hold in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "By a ruse and with the help of Turkish soldiers, the faithful servant Halef can free his beloved Lord, Kara Ben Nemsi, from the hands of the Yellow One, who has imprisoned him."


German postcard by Heinerle Karl-May-Postkarten, no. 48. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Ralf Wolter and Lex Barker in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964). Caption: "The Farewell Bell Tolls. Kara wants to return to his homeland. Sad Halef says his beloved Lord "Good-bye". 'Sidi, we 'll meet again, when the son of Rih has seen the light of day!'"


German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 921. Retail price: 10 Pfg. Photo: Gloria / Schnelle. Marie Versini as Tschita in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964).


German postcard by Rüdel-Verlag. Photo: CCC / Gloria. Rik Battaglia in Der Schut/The Yellow One (Robert Siodmak, 1964).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.