Der Mönch mit der Peitsche

The German "krimis" were kind of a forerunner of the Italian gialli, but they are less famous today because being made mostly in the late 50's and 60's they don't have the graphic violence and sex of the gialli, and they don't feature any name directors like Bava, Argento, Fulci, Lenzi or Sergio Martino. They do have a lot of name actors, most notably Klaus Kinski and Christopher Lee, but also Marisa "Diabolik" Mell, future Jess Franco producer Adrian Hoven, and future giallo starlets Uschi Glass and Karin Baal. Even more so than the gialli, the krimis were connected to English mystery writer and Edgar Wallace, and like his very colorful and entertaining novels they manage to combine mass-murder mysteries, bizarro horror/science fiction plots, and underworld intrigue into fascinating, if often overcooked,stew.

This is the best of the krimis I've seen (with the possible exception of "Dead Eyes of London"). The delightfully ludicrous plot has a mad scientist who has invented a poisonous spray which he conceals in Bibles in order to kill people who open them. In order to deliver booby-trapped Bibles for some reason he needs the help of convicts who he sneaks out out of a nearby prison. As the title suggests the victims are all girls at a nearby college--a very strange college, I might add, where all the students look like voluptuous European fashion models and all the male professors (perhaps understandably)are lecherous perverts trying to get a leg over. Then there's the monk (did I mention the monk?) in a red robe going around breaking various people's necks with a bullwhip.

Obviously, the plot is ridiculous, but it's also a whole lot of fun. And wait until the final revelation where the identity of the hooded monk is revealed and the preposterous motive for the murders is given --like the Italian gialli "Seven Bloodstained Orchids", also based on a Wallace novel, the villain is willing to kill a ridiculous number of innocent people and go through ludicrous Rube Goldburg machinations just to get at his one intended victim. Still, this is a very enjoyable movie if you can suspend your disbelief (you might need a crane).

I'm still new to the Krimi genre and the only one I've seen prior to seeing this one was the earlier and somewhat disappointing 'The Dead Eyes of London', which didn't exactly inspire a great hope for the rest of the genre in me. If I'd seen this one first, however, the feeling would have been different as while The College Girl Murders is a bizarre and rather wacky attempt at a crime flick; it's great fun to watch and it's really hard to hate a film that throws so many weird and wonderful ideas into the script and manages to pull it off with style. The film begins in a lab where a crazy scientist has invented a new and highly toxic poison that kills its victim and makes it look like they died from a heart attack. This poison is used by a mysterious criminal mastermind who breaks common criminals out of jail to carry out his murders using this poison (and then has them put back in jail). As the title suggests, it's a nearby college full of girls that provides most of the victims. There's also a mysterious monk dressed in a red robe who marauds around breaking necks with a bullwhip.

Of course, with a plot like that; this is not exactly a serious affair and the director clearly knows that as there is a very tongue-in-cheek vibe to the film, which does bode well with the plot. The fact that there are so many different sides to the plot does unfortunately mean that everything does not run smoothly; although this isn't a big problem as things are kept ticking over nicely throughout the film and there's always enough going on to keep the audience interested. The atmosphere is superb and the colour scheme on display is great too look at. Of course, the film is based on an Edgar Wallace novel and clearly the man has a great imagination; the locations used are also superb and while a killer's lair decked out with a host of wild and exotic animals might not serve any relevance to the plot, it does help to give the film that extra 'something'. You cant expect a conclusion that fully makes sense after all the stuff that goes on in this film; but the reason for the murders sort of makes sense and is a satisfying way for the film to climax. Overall, College Girl Murders is an excellent little mystery flick and one that comes highly recommended!

Good acting, but Fuchsberger could have swallowed the gum. Contentwise and the titel is similar to The Sinister Monk, but it's more excitin and better written.

"The College Girl Murders" is my first acquaintance with the writing work of Edgar Wallace – and generally my first real acquaintance with "Krimi" films in general – and I can say that I'm moderately impressed. This stuff is really entertaining, although I never would have expected it to be so … goofy! The film has an exhilarating and nicely convoluted plot, with a healthy dose of humor, flamboyant twists and pretty inventive killings. There's some James Bond type of evil mastermind – who always sits in the shadow and in front of a large monitor - recruiting prisoners to kill certain girls at a specific college with a new type of poison. There's also a villainous monk with a whip, dressed like a communist KKK member, getting rid of the leftover characters, like overly curious teachers and such, as well as a kooky police commissioner who persists on solving the case with a psychological approach. Seriously, if I had known sooner that these Krimi films were so colorful and crazy, I would have purchased a whole collection of them already. The pretzel plot actually raises more questions than it answers in the end, and the overload of comical gimmicks on the account of Scotland Yard Inspector Higgins are sometimes a bit much to swallow, but I don't care because it was sublime entertainment. Even the funky 60's soundtrack remained stuck in my head for a long time. It's like a variant on the Italian Giallo, but with slapstick elements.

Students at a woman's college in England are turning up dead by poisonous gas or acid, which draws the attention of two Scotland Yard detectives. Witnesses tell of a mysterious person with a red monk robe and conical-shaped hood lurking around. What's going on?

A West German production, "The College Girl Murders" (1967) is a colorful Krimi, a crime mystery/thriller based on Edgar Wallace's novel "The Black Abbot." The original name is "The Monk with the Whip" (translated). It's similar to a Giallo, but with stabs of humor revolving around the bald inspector who plays opposite the smooth, handsome one (Joachim Fuchsberger).

I thought this was going to be a precursor to the slashers of the 70s-80s, but it's more multi-dimensional with the likes of mad scientists, a James Bond-ish mastermind & weapons, a quirky 60's score, poisonous Bibles, a red "clansman" brandishing a whip, and so on. To be expected in light of the milieu, there are several fetching females on hand, such as blonde Grit Boettcher as Betty.

While I suppose it's overall meh, it's oddball and entertaining enough for those interested.

The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot at Spandau Studios and on location in West Berlin.

GRADE: B-