Das Ungeheuer von London-City

The 'Krimi' genre is mostly made up of films based on stories by novelist Edgar Wallace and many of the best of them were directed by the prolific Alfred Vohrer. The Monster of London City does not benefit from the input of either of these two genre luminaries and is undoubtedly one of the weaker films of its type out there. As mentioned, the film is not based on a novel by Edgar Wallace; but it does boast perhaps the next best thing as the story used for this film was penned by none other than Wallace's son, Bryan Edgar Wallace. Like many films of this type, the story takes influence from the murders committed by Jack the Ripper and we focus on a stage play about the serial killer. Unfortunately, someone has taken it upon themselves to begin copying The Ripper and is murdering girls throughout London. Naturally this means that a harrowing eye is cast upon the play; and the lead actor soon becomes the chief suspect in the investigation carried out by the London police.

Naturally the film is set in London; and director Edwin Zbonek does a good job of capturing the fog drenched streets which help to give the film a thick and foreboding atmosphere. It's often the style that I like most about these films; and while this one is not so heavy on the style as some other films in this genre; the style is once again the best thing about it. The cast list does not include any well known actors; although as an ensemble there is nothing wrong with the performances. The story is the biggest let-down, however, as while there are certainly opportunities for a good, strong thriller here; it unfortunately falls somewhat short of the potential. There is very little in the way of suspense and therefore it is easy to get rather bored with the investigation. Naturally the murders are not very grisly; but they're not really memorable either and this also harms the film. The ending is a particular disappointment and can be seen coming a mile away. Overall, this film might be worth a look if you're a big Krimi fan, but I wouldn't bother with it otherwise.

The Monster of London City is a Krimi not based on an Edgar Wallace book for a change: instead, it was written by Edgar Wallace's son Bryan Edgar Wallace! In this enjoyably daft murder mystery, someone is slicing up prostitutes in London a la Jack the Ripper (albeit with an open razor rather than a surgical blade). Could it be ex-drug addict turned successful actor Richard Sand, who is currently playing the 'ripper' in a popular stage play? Is it Maylor (Kurd Pieritz), Sand's agent, trying to drum up some free publicity for the show? Perhaps it is politician Sir George Edwards (Fritz Tillmann), who is trying to pass a censorship bill that would see violent stage plays prohibited. Another possible suspect is prop master Horrlick (Walter Pfeil), who once served time for manslaughter. Or maybe its just a random maniac with no real motive (of course not... I'm sure you'll guess who it really is long before the end, but perhaps not his back story).

With its jazzy score, crisp black and white cinematography, decent performances, and bizarre mix of thriller, horror, and comedy (the plot includes comic relief in the form of a dopey private detective and his ditzy girlfriend), The Monster of London City is a pretty fun way to waste some time, especially if you're a fan of all things 'ripper'. Director Edwin Zbonek maintains a decent pace, achieves some great visuals, and includes a fair few mean-spirited murders (the final one taking place in front of a little girl), and even though the film does stretch plausibility a tad too far at times, the unlikeliness of proceedings only adds to the enjoyment factor in my opinion. Yes, there are better examples of the genre out there, but this one is still good enough to warrant a watch.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for the wholly unconvincing painted backdrop that can be seen outside the front door of Sir George's house, for the occasional gratuitous nudity, and for the hilarious Benny Hill-style moment where a woman's skirt is whipped off by a speeding car.

The idea for this film isn't bad, but somehow when it all came together the whole thing was a bit dull and I had a very hard time sticking with it. This is a German film dubbed into English and I wonder if perhaps it might have played better in its original form. Regardless, I couldn't wait for it to end.

The story is set in 1960s London and a series of Jack the Ripper style have been occurring. At the same time, there's a play about the Ripper playing to huge crowds in the city and after a while it appears that the two might be related.

The problem I had is that the characters weren't that interesting and the mystery wasn't all that hard to predict. On top of that, things were made a bit worse by a horrible musical track made by a cheesy theater organ. Overall, you could do a lot better.

Horror crime thriller with Hansjörg Felmy and Marianne Koch

Of course, producer Artur BRAUNER had to react to the Wallace successes of arch-competitor Horst WENDLANDT and shot competing products based on Bryn Edgar WALLACE. This was also the case with this film, which was then marketed by Ilse KUBASCHEWSKI and her GLORIA film distributor. After all, 1.114 million visitors wanted to see the film in the cinema - but not enough for the time, the series was discontinued until 1970.

Hansjörg FELMY plays an actor who plays Jack the Ripper on stage in a successful play. Suddenly there are numerous Ripper murders in real life too. Of course, the capable inspector (Hans NIELSEN) immediately suspects the actor. Girlfriend (Marianne KOCH) and good friend (Dietmar SCHÖNHERR) are there to help the suspect. Chariklia BAXEVANOS and Peer SCHMIDT provide the comical touch as lively private detectives.

The connection with the play is quite successful. However, Hansjörg FELMY is a bit overwhelmed by his ambivalent role. But overall the cast is good. The Ripper's numerous victims are portrayed by well-built women.

Well worth seeing for fans of the extensive horror crime series!

This is a decent if rather low-watt German krimi (a genre which itself was pretty low-watt compared to later Italian giallo genre it later inspired). The protagonist is a seemingly unstable, very method-like actor playing Jack the Ripper in a modern theatrical adaptation. Unfortunately, someone has begun committing a new series of Ripper-like murders and the intense actor becomes a likely suspect--or is he possibly being framed? As a murder mystery this is kind of weak tea, and as others have said the identity of the killer is pretty obvious. Unlike of a lot of the krimis, this movie was not based on a story by prolific English author Edgar Wallace (or even one by his less talented son Bryan Edgar Wallace). It has also had the misfortune of being released recently on a double-disc with another, inferior krimi "Secret of the Red Orchid", but one that stars Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski, and Marissa Mell. This one in contrast has no major stars in the cast, but is much better made.

What works best about this film is the style. Although the German filmmakers were doing their damnedest to capture the look of foggy London (usually using foggy Hamburg as a stand-in) where these films are almost always nominally set, they actually manage to capture some of the old ambiance of early 20th century Germany Expressionism. This interesting movement was destroyed in its native land by Hitler when he drove all the "decadent" Modernist artists out of the country. Many ended up in America where their artistic sensibilities informed 1940's American film noir. These German movies, by accident or design, capture a lot of this old visual style, even if plot-wise they're a lot closer to ridiculous, zany Italian gialli films they inspired than the fatalistic, downbeat film noir or old German horror films. What ALL of these genres have in common though is an emphasis on powerful visual style, which is unusual in the world of cinema, dominated as it has been by the heavily narrative Hollywood style.

But I digress. This isn't one of the best krimis, but any decent krimi in my book is certainly worth a look.