Face of the Frog

Harald Reinl, an excellent director who has made films from the Mabuse series and the Winnetou series. This one is very well done and comic too, a pleasure to watch even today in 2019, after 60 years: old movies are the best! Well, not all of them but, definitely, I prefer them to those painful superhero productions of today...

This was the first of the long-running German "krimi" series based on the mysteries of Edgar Wallace (actually, there were two simultaneous series from rival companies, the other based on the works of the author's son Bryan). As Tim Lucas and other astute critics have pointed out, the films were the precursors of the Italian giallos and ultimately the slasher pictures of the 70s and 80s. They also have obvious stylistic links to the superhero and superspy action genres of the 60s.

Most of the key elements of the series already appear in this effort -- the foggy Soho underworld settings; the cabaret shows (which became progressively sleazier); the archvillain with his bizarre modus operandi and grotesque henchmen; the clever, persevering but underappreciated Scotland Yard inspector; the flippant comic antics of Eddie Arent (here appearing as the consummate English butler with Kato leanings) who is always smarter than he seems; the statuesque ingenues; the unfathomable plots featuring dozens of red herrings; and the quite violent-for-the-time stalk-and-murder sequences. Later the series would rely more on flashy camera tricks and tongue-in-cheek stylistics (especially under Alfred Vohrer's nifty direction), but here the proceedings are mainly played straight. Harald Reinl's work was always atmospheric but rather stiff in its mise-en-scene and ragged in continuity. However, this film features quite a sadistic, eye-opening ending that seems to have wandered in from a Jess Franco opus. Well worth a look, especially for amateur film historians.

This is one of the better classic Edgar Wallace movies from the German series - it features all basics for a highly enjoyable Wallace crime flic movie way back from the 60ies: Although his majesty, Mr. Kinski, is missing you still have young Joachim 'Blacky' Fuchsberger, starring once again as the typical clever American 'womanizer', you have young Eddi Arendt in his best (and just as well typical) role ever - the cool, sophisticated British butler - and you have (not so young anymore) Lowitz as the melancholic yet very 'dry' ironic (and thus: highly entertaining) police investigator. Furthermore you'll get offered a freakish and very campy 'evil guy' behind a frog mask (hence the movie's title!), you'll get a crazed-out swinging soundtrack, classic b-movie action scenes, partly filmed out off the wildest perspectives (please remind the time of its origin!), yelling scream queens, and on and on... All those ingredients get shaken well up in a sweet tastin' cocktail of pure German Edgar Wallace campyness - highly recommended!!

This movie is an abomination, and its making should have been considered a capital crime.

One of the great mysteries of film-making is why nobody ever has made a faithful movie adaptation of this wonderful mystery. It is a tale of a really gripping mystery, nice old-fashioned romance, and dry English humor. Why did the makers have to change Richard Gordon from a Scotland Yard policeman to an amateur detective, introduce the idiotic role and caricature of his English servant, change the part of the main storyline about the murder charge and circumstances of Gordon's struggle to save the accused, etc., etc.? These producers and directors who always think they can make a better story than the one in the book should write the original script themselves and not to rape another person's product.

Second Wallace film I saw and I found it utterly delightful! Many comical and funny situations, sometimes not very serious, but lighthearted drama, I loved the visuals, the compositions, lighting... and the frog costume. They made Kopenhagen into a very believable London for my taste (with the tools they had). I know it is not the most serious art house cinema, but just delightful 60s vibe with love for details. I found many clichees depicted in those films, from the bored inspector to the dandylike police man... This seems a picture book of film noir, shot mainly for delight. it is just fun to watch, don't take it too seriously!