(1963)
Overall: MEH
Director Franz Josef Gottlieb's first in a series of Edgar Wallace adaptations that he would mostly yet not exclusively make for Constantin Films, The Curse of the Yellow Snake, (Der Fluch der gelben Schlange), dips its toes into the horror genre more than most. This is due to the story, (based off of Wallace's 1926 novel The Yellow Snake), featuring an evil cult, who wear hoods, sacrifice people, perform rituals, and are hellbent on world domination. According to legend, the coveted serpent artifact of the title will allow for anyone possessing it to win any war that they launch, so long as they do so on a specific date. This gives the plot a race against time urgency, and it is a nice change to see naughty characters who are not just motivated by getting their mits on copious amounts of money. There is a character who has acquired substantial debt and must turn to the wealthy cult leader for a bail out, (after he promises one of his daughters to get married off), but the narrative increasingly shifts to the Fu Manchu-tinged exploits of Swiss actor Pinkas Braun, who is supposed to be half Chinese under these circumstances.
(1963)
Overall: MEH
One of the more convoluted of Edgar Wallace stories, The Black Abbot, (Der Schwarze Abt), has a slew of shady characters, a Lord who goes cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, police inspectors of course, blackmail of course, a convict posing as a butler who is also a double agent, a woman who is in love with her fiancée's cousin, another insane person who is kept secret from some of her family, a "dead" mother who returns from the grave, a buried treasure, and two different culprits who end up masquerading as the mysterious and hooded title character. Director/co-screenwriter Franz Josef Gottlieb stages things as if it is an old dark house mystery, turning an imposing mansion into a Gothic fortress of sinister shadows as the bodies pile up and people deliver lots of dialog to each other while investigating. It is easy to get lost in the weeds with so much going on, as so many frequented tropes fighting each other for screen time is bound to frustrate more than enthrall. Still, a flashy opening title sequence and seeing Klaus Kinski play the aforementioned butler who is not on the up and up, (even if his role is one of the smallest), are worth something.
(1963)
Overall: MEH
Shifting gears from Edgar Wallace, The Secret of the Black Widow, (Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Witwe), sees director Franz Josef Gottlieb adapting the work of another author, Louis Weinert-Wilton. Based on the novel The Queen of the Night, it follows the same narrative and cinematic trajectory of the Wallace krimi movies, distributed this time by the lesser known International Germania Film instead of the comparative heavyweights Constantin Film. Perhaps because of this, its contemporary setting affords no Gothic scenery, but it still barrels through a barrage of characters with questionable pasts and eyebrow raising motives, eventually leading to the only possible culprit who is still left standing. The point of view stems from O. W. Fischer's aggressive and chauvinistic news reporter, who steps on the police department's investigation, refuses to take any of Karin Dor's "nos" for an answer, and also refuses to take any of the proceedings seriously. Klaus Kinski is once again portraying a mysterious fellow here, but he is actually on the side of the law for a change as a Scotland Yard agent that is trying to get to the bottom of who is offing several connected people with a pistol that shoots plastic black widow poison cartridges. We also get a title song of sorts that is sung in a nightclub scene by Belina, making her first and only film appearance of any kind.
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