Der schwarze Abt

Atmospheric Edgar Wallace thriller, about a large treasure hidden in an old country estate. Several persons show up, who happen to be employed by the lord of the estate, but only to get their hands on the treasure. However, a black-hooded killer soon makes his entrance, and begins killing those who know the secret. This is one of the better Edgar Wallace thrillers I've seen to date, and features some really spooky scenarios.

This one is closer to the straight drama of the British Edgar Wallace series, despite the presence of the ubiquitous Eddi Aren't, whose presence serves to lighten the tone; on this occasion he's the assistant to the investigating police officer, and displays an unexpected talent for wrestling.

It features so many characters and subplots - swindlers and forgers, gold-diggers and blackmailers; to name just four - that it's quite easy to get lost in the plot, or sub-plots, but as long as you concentrate on the main plot thread that treasure is buried in the grounds of Lord Chelford's estate; that it is being protected by a mysterious 'Black Abbott' figure; and that literally everybody wants to get their hands on it, you can settle back and let the proceedings unfold. It helps,also, that the investigating officer seems to have an uncanny knack of getting to the heart of the matter - without seemingly doing much investigating - and thus does all the figuring out for you.

Aren't aside, it boasts wonderful ensemble playing from actors, many of whom I've come to know and love as staples of the series, including Joachim Fuchsberger, as Dick Alford; Werner Peters, as Fabian Gilder, and a young Klaus Kinski, as an ex-con butler.

The film has a number of good nocturnal chase scenes, excitingly filmed. It also boasts a wonderfully kitschy soundtrack.

Ratings-wise, I'd probably say 7/10: the first-third of the film where too many characters are introduced causes it to drag, unduly; the final third more than makes up for it in my book; as does the ensemble playing, the chase and fight scenes; the music, and the nocturnal cinematography.

The so-called Krimi-movies based on the books by Edgar Wallace follow a very strict, yet simple and successful formula. They work with frequently returning actors and directors, and there's always minimally one character - usually a police inspector - providing comic relief. The comedy is presumably inserted because the whodunit stories of Edgar Wallace are convoluted, talkative and often requiring a fairly long time to shift into gear.

"The Black Abbott" is slightly atypical in the plotting department, though, since it's not a genuine whodunit/mystery. The story revolves around an ancient gold treasure, hidden somewhere in an eerie abbey, and everybody who unravels the mystery of where exactly it's hidden gets murdered by a killer dressed up as a monk with a black cape. The first hour of the film is overly talkative and confusing, with too many characters to tell apart and the numerous intrigues between them. It's also doesn't help that the only two female characters almost look identical. The last half hour contains a lot of action and excitement, though, and the set-pieces are deliciously grim.

Several employees on a nobleman's estate show up at a former abbey, reputed to be haunted, to search for a hidden treasure. However, a mysterious hooded figure begins killing off those who may have figured out where the treasure is hidden.

Less gruesome representative of the Edgar Wallace series, I found this thriller fairly acceptable and watchable for the most part, though it can get complicated, have too much dialogue and not enough action. Dieter Borsche, Joachim Fuchsberger and Klaus Kinski act well. There's some good atmosphere, fine set-pieces. The last twenty minutes are in particular are quite good.

The Austrian director Franz Josef GOTTLIEB was known to many who grew up in the 1980s for his excellent youth series such as MANNI, DER LIBERO (1982) and MANDARA (1983), but he was certainly not a gifted filmmaker. Nevertheless, in the 1960s he was allowed to make a few of the horror thrillers that were very popular in German-speaking countries at the time. The best of his is certainly the Edgar Wallace film DER SCHWARZE ABT, which came out in 1963.

Shot at Herdringen Castle (near Arnsberg) and in Klein-Glienicke Park (on Berlin's Wannsee), this black-and-white film is characterized by a spooky, beautiful atmosphere. A genuine horror thriller, straight out of the textbook. In the cast list you stumble across veterans of the Wallace crime series such as Joachim FUCHSBERGER, Werner PETERS, Eddi ARENT and of course Klaus KINSKI. Eva Ingeborg SCHOLZ and Alice TREFF make one-off guest appearances. Charles REGNIER can be seen as the investigating inspector in this film.

Dieter BORSCHE, who in the 1950s was the great love interest in the films of West German mega-stars Maria SCHELL and Ruth LEUWERIK, once again makes a brilliant appearance as the opaque lord of the castle. The damsel in distress is played by the wonderful Grit BÖTTCHER, who has to endure a lot in this Wallace classic. Grit BÖTTCHER's colorful second appearance in a Wallace horror thriller is also unforgettable: THE COLLEGE GIRL MURDERS (1967).

Highly recommended entry in the popular film series!