During the end of the ’50s until the early ’70s, Krimi was a hot genre of movies produced in West Germany. The crime movies had one thing in common: they were based on the works of the English mystery writer Edgar Wallace. He was an extremely successful novelist in the early 20th Century who brought a touch of horror to his mysterious whodunits. He was a cross between Agatha Christie and Stephen King with probably the same sales numbers if those two writers merged. The Danish studio Rialto had options on most of Edgar Wallace’s books so they dominated the genre with over 30 titles that they made in West Germany. What was the Berlin based CCC Film Filmkunst supposed to do to get into the Krimi market? Turns out Edgar had a son who had also found success as a mystery novelist with story twists like his old man. CCC negotiated the rights to several Bryan Edgar Wallace books. The studio seemed eager for cinema goers to confuse the son with his father. CCC’s films also wanted the audiences to think the movies took place in England with Scotland Yard investigating instead of taking place in West Germany with the Polizei on the job. Terror In The Fog: The Wallace Krimi At CCC brings together six feature films from the studio that will lead you guessing who is the killer and their next victim.
The Curse of the Yellow Snake (1963 – 98 minutes) is a real Edgar Wallace adaptation. There’s plenty of death and destruction for control of a cobra statue that’s supposed to have magical powers to fulfill the desires of the owners – whether they be for good or bad intentions. Cliff Lynn (What Have You Done To Solange?‘s Joachim Fuchsberger) gets drawn into the mystery of the statue that involves his half-brother Fing-su (The Zombie Walks‘ Pinkas Braun), who is half Chinese. Both men seem to find themselves targets by a cult from Hong Kong wanting that precious snake. The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (1963 – 87 minutes) takes place on an English estate that has a serious problem. Lucius Clark (Rudolf Fernau) is a rather shady businessman who rents the castle from the broke royal owner (Hans Nielsen). What he doesn’t know about his rental is along with the majestic space is a strangler on the loose and he does more than just choke out his victims. He’s looking for something inside the castle and refuses to be stopped by the colorful characters in the area. Ultimately Scotland Yard’s Inspector Jeff Mitchell (Harry Riebauer) arrives on the scene to help unmask the killer. There are little details that makes this fun to watch including a bar manager’s office where the “warning” light is attached to the back of a wired up turtle shell. One of the actors sports a mustache that needs to make a comeback.
The Mad Executioners (1963 – 84 minutes) has a secret justice system in London lurking beneath a cemetery. The judge and jury wear black hoods as they put on speedy trials of criminals who have alluded the usual form of justice or had a good lawyer. The film opens with a man getting convicted and hung off a bridge above the Thames. Scotland Yard isn’t too happy that the Executioner of London is doing their work. Making it extra frustrating is the “killer” is using the hangman’s rope on display in Scotland Yard’s museum. The detectives stake out the rope hoping it will lead to the vigilantes. The Phantom of Soho (1964 – 96 minutes) takes us to a rather unglamourous part of Swinging London where the streetwalkers lurk outside those kind of clubs. While waiting to enter a massage parlor, a rather posh looking gentleman gets stabbed to death. Scotland Yard is finally assigned to investigate the violence taking place near one notorious club. The main clue seems to be a small African statue found on the latest victim. They also discover a knife throwing act that might be connected. There’s a lot of suspect in this part of London town.
The Monster of London City (1964 – 90 minutes) takes us back to that seedy part of London except instead of a nightclub we’re treated to a night at the theater. Instead of Shakespeare, the performance is about Jack the Ripper. It’s rather graphic about the violence. Is the main actor taking his work off the stage? Is this case going to be that easy when Scotland Yard investigators arrive on the scene? The Racetrack Murders (1964 – 94 minutes) opens with someone messing with a prize horse by tossing a python near the best during a ride through the training grounds. The jockey goes heels over head and dies on impact. Who could be so wicked? After another nasty instance at the stable, Scotland Yard sends an investigator to unmask the culprit and find a date. The best part of the film is that the horse at the center is named Satan. Maybe Satan is doing the killings?
Terror In The Fog: The Wallace Krimi At CCC is perfect if you are enjoying Eureka!’s recent Mabuse Lives! Dr Mabuse At CCC: 1960-1964. The Krimi films have the same vibe as the Mabuse flicks with the black and white action. What gets me about the films is they also share the same strange perspective found on the early episodes of The Avengers (with John Steed – not the Marvel movies). Getting all six films in one boxset allows you to really get into the Krimi atmosphere. It’s best to run the English dub simply because everyone is supposed to be in England. Can you take a Scotland Yard inspector seriously when they speak perfect German? The six films are twisty with so many of the characters looking like they wouldn’t mind being criminal masterminds or homicidal maniacs. Terror In The Fog: The Wallace Krimi At CCC will keep you guessing as the body counts build up.
The Video is The Curse of the Yellow Snake, and The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle is 1.66:1 anamorphic. The Mad Executioners, Phantom of Soho, The Monster of London City is 2.35:1. The Racetrack Murders is 1.33:1 full frame. Five of the films are 2K restoration transfers. Phantom of Soho is upconverted from a video master. The Audio is LPCM 1.0 mono in German for all the films. There are LPCM 1.0 Mono English dubs. The restored soundtracks will let you hear the killers creep up on their victims. The movies feature English subtitles.
Limited edition 60-page collector’s book features essays by film writer Howard Hughes, Barry Forshaw and Holger’s notes on each film.
What Is Krimi? (5:51) is Tim Lucas explaining how this West German genre evolved. The key to the films was to solve the mystery around the same time that the main detective got more involved with the woman in jeopardy. He names his favorite directors from the era.
Introductions to each movie are done by Tim Lucas. They features images and posters from the various films. The Curse of the Yellow Snake (12:26) gives the background on how CCC got into the Krimi game. Turns out somehow Rialto didn’t get the rights to this Edgar Wallace book so CCC started with the father before swapping over to the son. The Stranger of Blackmoor Castle (10:05) gets us to know that Bryan Edgar Wallace didn’t start writing novels until the ’60s. He made a deal with CCC to sell them both books and treatments of future books. The studio wanted Wallace’s name on the films. There is no novel to this movie. The Mad Executioners (11:12) gets how it develops CCC’s approach to Krimi. He goes into the various actors that appeared in the ominous hoods. The Phantom of Soho (8:45) went into production before the previous film was released. CCC wasn’t going to sit on Krimi madness. This is another movie not based on a Bryan Edgar Wallace book, but he didn’t mind his name attached to the credits. The Monster of London City (7:44) has him point out that this film has the same sets as The Phantom of Soho. We learn which cast member went off to star in Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood. The Racetrack Murders (7:42) has him explain that the reason the film wasn’t called The Seventh Victim in America and other territories was that title was used by a different film. This movie is based on an actual Bryan Edgar Wallace novel.
New audio commentaries on The Curse of the Yellow Snake and The Phantom of Soho by Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw, The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle, The Mad Executioners and The Racetrack Murders feature Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby and The Monster of London City teams up Kim Newman and Stephen Jones. All of them add to the experience of watching the film as they go into cast, crew and context.
Terror In the Fog is a conversation between Tim Lucas and Stephen Bissette about all the films. It’s a commentary track for The Racetrack Murders. There’s a discussion about how the dub versions of the films played on American TV.
The Curse of the Yellow Snake German Trailer (3:12) lets you know from the start that this is an Edgar Wallace movie.
Trailers for The Mad Executioners includes The German version (3:46) and U.S. version (1:48).
Trailers for The Phantom of Soho includes German Trailer (2:55), International Trailer (2:55) and US Release (1:14). The US version talks about the “world that swings.”
The Monster of London City German Trailer (3:28) makes us suspect someone in the Jack the Ripper play.
The Racetrack Murders German Trailer (3:16) has it listed as The Seventh Victim.
Bryan Edgar Wallace: An Era (9:58) is a recent interview with Alice Brauner, producer and managing director of CCC Film and daughter of Artur Brauner. She explains how her dad wanted to get into the Edgar Wallace business even though Rialto thought it had cornered the genre. She points out how Bryan’s name was in a small font than “Wallace” to trick the audience. Bryan did work on a script. The best part is hearing about the films her dad showed her when she was young that scarred her.
Passing the Blade (18:24) is a video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas the links the Wallace krimi to the Italian giallo and American slasher films. We see the element which while tame in the mid-60s, would go further when the R-rated action became normal in a few years and the blood could flow.
Eureka! Entertainment presents Terror In The Fog: The Wallace Krimi At CCC: Limited Edition. Adapted From the Works of Edgar Wallace and Bryan Edgar Wallace. Starring Rudolf Fernau, Pinkas Braun, Harry Riebauer and Joachim Fuchsberger. Boxset Contents: 6 movies on 4 Blu-ray discs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: May 27, 2025.
