Films based on works by Edgar Wallace

Style in 1960s "Krimis" films

The typical Krimi movie of the Sixties contains a number of distinct stylistic traits, which not only makes the films a true series, but – seen in context with other, similar German crime movies of that time – marks them as part of a true film subgenre as well.

In particular, the two directors Harald Reinl (5 movies) and Alfred Vohrer (14 movies) made their mark. While Reinl preferred long dolly shots /pans and exterior shots, Vohrer's films are known for their slight overacting and their distinct zoom and editing styles.

The titles, which are usually the German novel titles, were intended to evoke the typical image of an Edgar Wallace movie. Most titles mention the villain, like Der Frosch mit der Maske (literally "The Frog with the Mask"), Der Zinker ("The Squeaker") and Der Hexer ("The Ringer"). More abstract titles usually feature the words Rätsel ("mystery" or "enigma") or Geheimnis ("secret"), for example Das Rätsel der roten Orchidee ("Secret of the Red Orchid") Das Rätsel des silbernen Dreiecks ("The Mystery of the Silver Triangle") and Das Geheimnis der grünen Stecknadel ("The Secret of the Green Pin"), while others hint at the location of the story, for example Der Fälscher von London ("The Forger of London"), Der Bucklige von Soho ("The Hunchback of Soho") and Die Tote aus der Themse ("The Dead Girl in the Thames").

The repeated casting of the same actors, generally for similar roles, is typical for the sixties Wallace movies as well. Among the most popular investigators are Joachim Fuchsberger, Heinz Drache and Siegfried Lowitz. Shady characters were mostly played by Fritz Rasp, Pinkas Braun, Harry Wüstenhagen and especially Klaus Kinski, while comic relief was offered by Eddi Arent, Siegfried Schürenberg and later Hubert von Meyerinck, or even Chris Howland. Additionally, well-known film and stage actors like Elisabeth Flickenschildt, Gert Fröbe, Dieter Borsche, Lil Dagover and Rudolf Forster repeatedly acted in important guest roles.

The location of the story is, like in the novels, mostly London and its proximity, with the characters mostly moving through old castles, mansions or country houses – even if the real sets were actually in Germany. Seedy night clubs, asylums, dark basements as well as, especially in later movies, girl's colleges and of course Scotland Yard are popular main and side locations for Edgar Wallace movies.

The stories are very similar across the series as well. The plot is most often centered around one inventively masked main villain. In contrast to thrillers, the most important technique of creating suspense is the "whodunit". This means that it is generally unknown who the villain really is until the end of the movie. The motivations for the crimes are mostly greed, revenge, legacy hunting, and, especially in later movies, white slavery and the drug trade.

Not unlike the later Italian subgenre of Giallo, the Wallace Krimi movies heavily center around the work of the police or a private investigator. Another typical feature is the heroine, who has to be protected from the schemes and misdeeds of the villain by the Scotland Yard inspector. This theme is repeated in virtually all Krimi movies, and it is not uncommon for the two protagonists to be happily in love at the conclusion of the story.

To make the movies even more recognisable besides the typical introduction (usually a murder is committed before the film's title sequence), the title sequences were all in color from 1961 onwards, even if the rest of the film was in black and white. There are only two exceptions. Also, in 1962 the voiceover "Hallo, hier spricht Edgar Wallace" ("Hello, this is Edgar Wallace speaking") was added to the beginning of the title sequence in the German version.

A very distinct trait is the score by Martin Böttcher and especially by Peter Thomas. Three of the four late German-Italian coproductions are even scored by Ennio Morricone. Little is known about the composer Keith Papworth, who scored Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen, except that he died in March 1992.

	Hallo, hier spricht Edgar Wallace The opening voiceover of the Rialto Edgar Wallace films from 1962 onwards – 23 KB
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Other Edgar Wallace-type German movies and influences on other works

In the wake of the Edgar Wallace movies, the Krimi genre became a staple of the German filmmaking scene, which also featured some mostly less successful and definitely shorter-lived series based on the works of other authors. Especially notable are the Artur Brauner-produced Doktor Mabuse and Bryan Edgar Wallace (Wallace's son, also a crime novelist) movies such as Der Henker von London and Das Phantom von Soho, and some Louis Weinert-Wilton adaptations. Also, the Jerry Cotton, Kommissar X movie series and Father Brown series are stylistically closely related to the Wallace movies and fall within the Krimi genre.

The movies are still very well known in Germany today, and there are frequent reruns of them on television – even if a large part of their appeal is their high camp factor. Since the Edgar Wallace style is a stock motive of German filmmaking, there are numerous parodies and spoofs, most recently the 2004 movie Der WiXXer (approximately "The Wanker", a parody of Der Hexer) and its 2007 sequel Neues vom WiXXer (a parody of Neues vom Hexer), making fun of the now clichéd conventions of the genre.