DAS RÄTSEL DER ROTEN ORCHIDEE - Peter Thomas - "The Secret Of The Red Orchid" (1962)

This week I've got a mini Christopher Lee Tribute for you! Two movies where Chris Lee is not from the UK! In this one he's from the U.S. and in the other one he's from Hong Kong!  This with be the 7th movie we've listed with foliage or vegetation in the title, the other six are "Attack Of The Mushroom People," "The Beast Of Yucca Flats," "The Blue Gardenia," "The Case Of The Bloody Iris," "The Day Of The Triffids,"  and "No Orchids For Miss Blandish!"

In the "Secret Of The Red Orchid," Christopher Lee has the role of hard-nosed American FBI agent Captain Allerman! It's not the greatest movie in the world, but the music is by Dungeon top dawg,  the always interesting Peter Thomas! So what is the secret of the red orchid you ask, beats the crap outta me!

Chicago: A place that produces Presidents and more gangland crime than is even imaginable in the 1960's right up to this day! Some things change, Chicago hasn't!

There's nothing like a good old-fashioned poker match to get things started, but you know there's always interruptions at these things usually involving guns! This one would be no exception!

Klaus Kinski is once again in there as sleazy slimeball Steve this time!

Looks like you damn well better have permission to enter this joint, or at least know what the password is! Tell 'em Joe sent you, and just see if they laugh out loud!

What was I telling you about that poker game?

                                                                    Beautiful shot!!

Hard to imagine, but Christopher Lee has over 275 acting roles to his credit, and most of them are major parts, and he's still going strong with appearances in the two new Hobbit movies!

At 6' 5", Christopher Lee towers over the 5' 8" Klaus Kinski, but Klaus has got Krazy on his side!

Captain Allerman comes out guns a' blazin'! For some strange reason, in the dubbed into English version, they don't use either Chris Lee's or Klaus Kinski's real voices! That's just weird, and it really detracts from the film!

The two crime bosses discuss their options from different ends of the table! I love the whole hat and glove routine!

"Secret Of The Red Orchid" is a fairly straight ahead crime drama with lots of Knives.............

........Guns and..........

.........Dead Bodies!!!!

It's got a lot of the regular Edgar Wallace elements, but when you make as many EW movies as these people did, you're not going to knock it out of the ballpark each and every time! Sometimes there's going to be lots of walks! This is one of those one to nothing in the ninth inning kind of games!

The combined talents of Klaus Kinski and Christopher Lee are what make "Secret Of The Red Orchid" watchable, but it will never be considered to be the best thing that they, or Edgar Wallace ever did!

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if in this one case, the book was better than the movie!

Once again, like in countless other Edgar Wallace German made films, Eddi Arent provides the comedy relief, unfortunately, some movies don't need comedy relief, and if you don't think Eddi Arent is the best thing to come along since liquid soap, then you're not likely to like this film at all! The good news is that "Secret Of The Red Orchid" is on DVD as a double Feature with a better film, "Monster Of London City" so you really can't go wrong, it's just like an added bonus!

DER FÄLSCHER VON LONDON - Martin Böttcher - "The Forger Of London" (1961)

It's time for another edition of Edgar Wallace Wednesday down in The Dungeon! 

Headed into the holidays, and you don't know what to give that someone special, well, then it might just be time to start thinking Edgar Wallace, the gift of writing that keeps on giving!

The original title of the film is "Der Fälscher Von London" and is based on the Edgar Wallace novel titled "The Forger!"

 Siegfried (The Brain) Lowitz as Oberinspektor Bourke pretty much steals the show!

A most uncomfortable marriage is arranged between Hellmut (FBI Operation Yellow Viper) Lange as Peter Clifton, and Karin (You Only Live Twice) Dor as his newly betrothed spouse Jane Clifton!

And there's a grand after wedding party that features some cool music by one of my favorite movie soundtrack composers, Maestro Martin (Dead Sexy) Böttcher!

This looks like a fine place to go on a honeymoon if you are a lonely vampire!
Schloss Herdringen (Herdringen Castle) is a castle in the German town of Arnsberg! It was built from 1844 to 1853!

This happy honeymoon couple is going to have to do some work on this relationship no doubt!

She's even got a separate bedroom! This marriage is going to require a lot of damage control!

Atmosphericalatious!

Dungeon Darlin' Karin Dor does a great job of not knowing what the Hell is going on!

Not everybody is so happy about this marriage, first it's weapons........

.............Next it's dead bodies!

Eddi Arent makes a brief appearance as another one of his patented annoying characters, and then reappears at the end!

Karin Dor rocks this floral print!

My, my, how mobile communication has progressed over the past few years!

More than anything, "The Forger Of London" is a film about characters!

And more characters!

And even more characters!

Characters and atmosphere, that says it all!

Most of these Edgar Wallace films are available from The Trash Palace, or Sinister Cinema (Who are having a great sale right now with 12 movies for 98 bucks!) That makes for some great cheap gift giving, if you know what I mean!

DER UNHEIMLICHE MÖNCH - "The Sinister Monk" (1965)

 

It's a Sinister Saturday Night Special down in The Dungeon with another Edgar Wallace tale of woe, "Der Unheimliche Mönch," oder auf Englisch................................

 

 

........."The Sinister Monk!"

 

"We know where to find him, it's right about here, in London some place!"

And this would be the him in question! This is a story of cold-blooded murderer, and what happens after a young girl is murdered in a famous English boarding school.

 "The Sinister Monk" has an all-star cast that includes:

Harald (The Brides Of Fu Manchu) Leipnitz as Inspector Bratt, the man who has to untangle the whole mess!

 

Perennial Dungeon favourite Karin Dor is Gwendolin Gilmore, the girl who inherited the money, because of course, there has to be a girl who inherits the money, and a seriously nasty family who all want to get their mitts on it!

"The entire country lives in terror. The newspapers call the mad killer "The Sinister Monk."

Siegfried (The Mysterious Magician) Lowitz is the villainous Sir Richard.

Ilse (The Curse Of The Hidden Vault) Steppat is Lady Patricia.

 

Hartmut (Überfahrt) Reck is the sniveling Ronny.

Uta (The Oblong Box) Levka is Lola.

Rudolf (The College Girl Murders) Schündler is the eccentric mask making in house artiste!

Dieter (Curse Of The Blood Ghouls) Eppler is Sir William. 

There are a lot of Sirs in this film, but not many gentlemen!

"Who is "The Sinister Monk?"

Siegfried (Room 13) Schürenberg is back as Sir John, a role he would play for at least six more movies after this. "The Sinister Monk" was also the last of this series of Edgar Wallace films that was in black and white.

Und..........Last but not least is Eddi Arent as Smith, who if I counted correctly was in eighteen of these Edgar Wallace masterpieces!

 

Let us not forget the man who wrote this show, Mr. Edgar Wallace!

And his Co-star, the man who wrote the score, the always astounding, Maestro Peter Thomas!