Edgar Wallace: Die Bande des Schreckens

The bad guy is captured and sentenced to swing. The priest says he's unrepentant. He certainly acts that way to the people who show up. He announces that they too will die; he will reach out from the grave and kill them. When they begin to die, Scotland Yard tries to figure it out in the person of Joachim Fuchsberger. How is a dead man committing a string of murders, and what has a strange and beautiful ring got to do with it all?

It's another of the seemingly innumerable German adaptations of Edgar Wallace stories. I looked at one with English dubbing, and was rather impressed at the beginning, with its Werner Kraus-like villain in a Caligari-esque setting. As the movie proceeds, things get murkier, but not in a good way, as the air of supernatural doom goes on and on until the fifteen-minute wrap-up, when everything falls apart rapidly.

The nation is relieved when the notorious robber/murderer Shelton is caught red-handed by the ambitious Scotland Yard detective Long. Shelton is executed, but he uses his final words to curse all the people who were involved in his arrest, and promises that they will die shortly after him. And, guess what, they do! Is Shelton murdering from beyond the grave, or does he have a band of accomplices extracting the vengeance for him? The above description is one of the oldest and most commonly used premises in horror, but based on the writings of Edgar Wallace and filmed as a stylish & atmospheric German Krimi, it's guaranteed suspenseful entertainment! All the wondrous Krimi-trademarks are there, like an uncanny ambiance, grim music, gruesome but inventive death sequences and a few convoluted plot-twists near the end. Eddi Arent provides the mandatory chuckles, as a crime scene photographer who constantly faints, while Otto Colin is genuinely menacing as the villain.

The restless spirit of an executed criminal returns in the flesh seeking revenge upon those responsible for his death.

A creepy Krimi thriller with horror elements. It's a great idea, and has enough tension and suspense to keep you distracted. Fuchsberger is a solid leading man who handles the action as well as the romance equally well. Karin Dor plays Nora Sanders a secretary to Mrs Revelstoke(Elizabeth Flickenschildt),one of the targets for Shelton. Elisabeth Flickenschildt is excellent in her role, has a very soft lilt to her voice yet still across sinister. Slightly plodding around mid-way, but overall a well-paced film, packed with atmosphere and ends with a killer twist. The identity of the killer came as a surprise.

German Scotland Yard Inspector Long drives a snazzy MG but prefers to carry a Walther police pistol in a shoulder holster!

His father and butler both look eerily like the wacky killer from beyond the grave that reappears every time anyone that had anything to do with his trial and sentencing to be hanged, is murdered... Karin Dor from You Only Lives Twice is always welcome... It's very offbeat, I like it!