The Monster of London City

This is a decent if rather low-watt German krimi (a genre which itself was pretty low-watt compared to later Italian giallo genre it later inspired). The protagonist is a seemingly unstable, very method-like actor playing Jack the Ripper in a modern theatrical adaptation. Unfortunately, someone has begun committing a new series of Ripper-like murders and the intense actor becomes a likely suspect--or is he possibly being framed? As a murder mystery this is kind of weak tea, and as others have said the identity of the killer is pretty obvious. Unlike of a lot of the krimis, this movie was not based on a story by prolific English author Edgar Wallace (or even one by his less talented son Bryan Edgar Wallace). It has also had the misfortune of being released recently on a double-disc with another, inferior krimi "Secret of the Red Orchid", but one that stars Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski, and Marissa Mell. This one in contrast has no major stars in the cast, but is much better made.

What works best about this film is the style. Although the German filmmakers were doing their damnedest to capture the look of foggy London (usually using foggy Hamburg as a stand-in) where these films are almost always nominally set, they actually manage to capture some of the old ambiance of early 20th century Germany Expressionism. This interesting movement was destroyed in its native land by Hitler when he drove all the "decadent" Modernist artists out of the country. Many ended up in America where their artistic sensibilities informed 1940's American film noir. These German movies, by accident or design, capture a lot of this old visual style, even if plot-wise they're a lot closer to ridiculous, zany Italian gialli films they inspired than the fatalistic, downbeat film noir or old German horror films. What ALL of these genres have in common though is an emphasis on powerful visual style, which is unusual in the world of cinema, dominated as it has been by the heavily narrative Hollywood style.

But I digress. This isn't one of the best krimis, but any decent krimi in my book is certainly worth a look.

Pretty sure this is my first German 'krimi' and am rather surprised how much I enjoyed it. Said by some to be a precursor to the Italian giallo, I can now see why. Not only is there a silly/comic element but the actual kills are uncompromising with extensive use of force reducing victims to 'rag doll' like state and complete with body dragging and carrying sequences. My copy is dated 1964 and in some respects this looks earlier, being shot in b/w and featuring foggy streets (Hamburg standing in for London), complete with cobbles sparkling in their wetness. Also referencing back to the earliest German expressionist horror with curved brick walls extreme angles and long dark shadows creeping across the victim before the attack. In other ways the film strikes as later because 1964 would seem early to see such casual and concentrated violence and incidental sexuality. Very interesting and enjoyable watch.

I have seen most, but not all, of the German Edgar Wallace thrillers of the 60s. They do vary in quality, but when "on target" the filmmakers behind this peculiar franchise had a wonderful thing going. At their best these "krimis" (German equivalent of the Italian giallo) possess a unique flavor and style. They are dark and atmospheric, most activity seems to take place at night (or at least it should). Great advantage is taken of the opportunity to use the moody lighting of London at night, and these films do very well when the narrative allows for many scenes in seedy pubs, run down hotels, smoky nightclubs, Gothic mansions and the like. Characters tend to be exaggerated and grotesque, especially the villains. The violence is intense and shocking, and thankfully this welcomed potency is accomplished without the use of copious amounts of gore. One of the highlights of the franchise is the music. The scores are always noteworthy, either due to being outlandish and bizarre (avant garde and atonal), or more traditional but still overtly evocative and compelling. During the 1960s film composers in both Germany and Italy were riding a crest of supreme creativity, self-expression, and experimentation. In no films is this fantastic artistic freedom more evident than in the Edgar Wallace thrillers. The Monster of London City was scored by Martin Bottcher (pronounced "bett-ker"). Bottcher is a very well known and beloved musician in Germany, particularly to film fans (he is deeply affiliated with the German westerns of the 60s). His style is extremely smooth and elegant, usually relying on rich melodies and simple but emphatic designs. For those versed in the world of film music it will help to offer that his work is comparable to that of John Barry, Henry Mancini and Neal Hefti. Bottcher's main theme for The Monster of London City is typical of his service to the genre; it is a slinky and sensual jazz-infused instrumental. The melody is not complex, but nonetheless bold and effectively communicative of sex, sleaze and sin - three prime ingredients of any solid German-filmed Wallace mystery! As for the narrative, this is a good one. The story concerns a reincarnation of Jack the Ripper terrorizing the denizens of the London after-hours crowd, and the principles involved are an actor (coincidentally starring as the Ripper in a play that benefits from the publicity generated by the real-life murders), a stuffy politician and his beautiful niece (Marienne Koch of A Fistful of Dollars), her lover, and a bumbling detective. The story moves at steady clip and the desired ambiance of decadence and cosmopolitan glamor is thick and juicy. If you have a taste for such things you'll love it! - John Bender

The idea for this film isn't bad, but somehow when it all came together the whole thing was a bit dull and I had a very hard time sticking with it. This is a German film dubbed into English and I wonder if perhaps it might have played better in its original form. Regardless, I couldn't wait for it to end.

The story is set in 1960s London and a series of Jack the Ripper style have been occurring. At the same time, there's a play about the Ripper playing to huge crowds in the city and after a while it appears that the two might be related.

The problem I had is that the characters weren't that interesting and the mystery wasn't all that hard to predict. On top of that, things were made a bit worse by a horrible musical track made by a cheesy theater organ. Overall, you could do a lot better.

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY is another Wallace story idea from Wallace Jr. Unlike THE MAD EXECUTIONERS, the previous film in this series of Edgar Wallace-inspired krimis, the results this time are less than satisfying. The fourth film in the collection TERROR IN THE FOG: THE WALLACE KRIMIS AT CCC disappoints in more than one way. Ironically, the failure can be attributed to a lack of Englishness.

The Wallace krimis (that's German for "crime films") stand or fall by the believability factor-the degree to which they suspend belief that they are, in actuality, taking place in England. This is a curious starting point for a West German production, especially when the actors speak German, but when English murder mystery culture blends with Teutonic melodrama, the result can be a lot of fun. Here, it just doesn't work, possibly because Jack the Ripper (upon which this film is based) is too sordid a subject matter to take lightly.

There is nothing more "English" in the world of crime than the Jack the Ripper story. Perhaps the problem with THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY is it attempts to tell the tale by making the victims very beautiful young women, which is a bit like sweetening the gruesome facts (bloody murders), with confection sugar (eye candy). This approach just didn't work for me.

One item of interest, German actress Marianne Koch, who portrays one of the principal roles, soon after filming her part went to work with director Sergio Leone, paired with a young American actor named Clint Eastwood, then on the cusp of major cinematic stardom, in the first "Dollar" film, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. Koch, like Eastwood, has been blessed with longevity and is still active at age 93. Maybe they should team up again and call it SPOONFUL OF GERITOL?

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY's idea of focusing on an actor portraying Jack the Ripper while simultaneously the actual Ripper murders were taking place, has its basis in reality. At the time of the Ripper murders in London in 1888 a young German-born, English/American actor named Richard Mansfield was taking the London theatre world by storm with his performance as Jekyll/Hyde. His performance was so convincing he was for a time considered by the investigating authorities to be an actual suspect! Now that sounds like something Edgar Wallace might have dreamed up!

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY isn't a bad film it just doesn't quite ring true no matter how many shots of Big Ben are included.

"Big Ben." "Ring true." Get it?

Never mind. You be the judge.