Edgar Wallace: Das indische Tuch

What legendary author wrote the best murder mysteries/whodunits; - Agatha Christie or Edgar Wallace? For me, personally, the answer is undoubtedly Agatha Christie! And not just by a small mile, but with lightyears ahead. Nonetheless, I'm also a big fan of Wallace, and I'm eternally grateful to him, because his work kickstarted the German Krimi-films, and eventually the Italian giallo-boom.

"The Indian Scarf" is very reminiscent to Christie's most famous story, namely "And Then There Were None" aka "Ten Little Indians". It's the same old and traditional plot of greedy family members gathering in a gothic castle for the reading of a will, but then naturally get killed off one by one by someone whirling around scarves. It's a prototypic, but amusing and reasonably fast-paced Krimi, with familiar faces in the cast (Klaus Kinski, Eddi Arent, ...) and clichéd twists in the script. Whenever one of the characters is suspected by the others of being the killer, the suspect is killed him/herself. You know; - that sort of twists. I don't think I've ever seen a castle/mansion with SO many secret passageways and hidden doors, though...

Oh, and Eddi Arent - as the dry sarcastic butler - has a fully automated breakfast trolley, which results in a handful of subtle but hilarious comic-relief sequences.

It was a super entertaining watch, I enjoyed especially the humor indicating home gadgets a lot, that served the story. The oversized beethoven statue that holds some murder weapons, the tea wagon following Eddie Arent without a leash, the mysterious secret doors leading to cupboards, the weird clay statue of a stupid handyman, the oversized horse... set design in these Edgar Wallace adaptions in Germany is a real GEM and often overlooked. For me, the humor and the set design are a major plus point for the film experience, together with an EXTREMELY exciting cast, such as Eddie Arent, Heinz Drache and Elisabeth Flickenschild. Really fun, fast paced and easy going entertainment!

In another old-fashionable story devised by the cult British writer George Wallace where an elderly rich aristocratic man went to die hanged by an Indian scarf, due a contentious family such man required in his last testament that all them must keep together on the mansion for six days, thus the clever man expect they killing each other to take all properties and money, as he'd previously envisaged,aftermaths one by one appeared hanged by the deadly scarf.

The picture was led by the lawman Heinz Drache, the gorgeous lady Corny Collins, the iconic Klaus Kinski as illegitimate son, the wise butler Eddi Arent, the possessive mother Elisabeth Flickenschildt and his skilled piano player son Hans Clarin, fine mystery murder entertainment.

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2025 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.

"Das Indische Tuch" aka. "The Indian Scarf" of 1963 is a highly entertaining example for the German Edgar Wallace movies. Adaptations of Edgar Wallace's novels were immensely popular in Germany of the late 50s and early 60s, and these Edgar Wallace movies are sometimes considered to be the predecessors of the Italian Gialli. Even though the German murder mysteries do not nearly come up to the greatness of the Italian Thriller/Horror sub-genre (Giallo is one of my personal favorite genres), it is obvious why these comparisons are made, which "The Indian Scarf" is one of the best examples for. Released in the same year as the great Mario Bava's "La Ragazza che sapeva troppo" aka. "The Gril Who Knew Too Much", which is widely considered to be the very first Giallo ever, "The Indian Scarf" is a murder mystery that takes place in a mansion, where a bunch of relatives of a recently deceased man are to spend a week together in order to inherit his money. As the week goes on, the bodies pile up... The murders are shown from the killer's perspective, as it is the case in most Gialli. This may not be the most suspenseful thing in the world, but it is definitely a highly entertaining little murder mystery, with a nice style and interesting characters. The performances are fine, especially the immortal Klaus Kinski, who is still quite young here, is once again excellent in his role. Other very good performances include Elisabeth Flickenschildt as the imperious lady Lebanon, Eberhard Junkersdorf and Hans Nielsen. Every actor delivers, but, of course, Kinski steals the show as always. Fans of murder mysteries and cult cinema should not miss out on this moody little flick that promises a highly entertaining hour and a half!

When a wealthy man dies, his avaricious relatives look forward to inheriting all his money. However, he leaves a provision in his will that they all must spend a week together in his castle before they will be able to inherit anything. At the castle (which is cut off from the outside world), the relatives soon begin to be killed off one by one, each strangled with an Indian scarf.

Nicely shot Agatha Christie-esque stylistic German thriller that is a spin on the "ten people get bumped off a la And then there were none" storyline, however there's a freshness to the story mainly due to the self-aware humour, a wide cast of characters who are quite barmy and creepy, especially Kinski's character who is seen as a suspect, POV scarf strangling, a painting with peephole nipples, and the dense-like Gothic atmosphere. It's quite Fun, but then I am a sucker for the "ten people in an isolated castle getting bumped off by an unseen killer" story, and the identity of the killer came as a surprise. The Butler is quite hilarious with his one liners.