L'araignée blanche défie Scotland Yard

Another decent krimi moving featuring the gorgeous Karin Dor as a wide-eyed widow trying to get to the bottom of her husband's fiery death. Although not based on the works of Edgar Wallace (or indeed his son Bryan), THE WHITE SPIDER is one of the better entries in the genre, a slightly plodding and plot-focused first half giving way to some memorably madcap hijinks in the second. The villain turns out to be a master of disguise with some very nifty dressing up scenes, and the hero is of a similar ilk which gives this a Holmesian flair. There are also a couple of fine fight scenes which I wasn't expecting from this genre. A youthful Horst Frank appears.

This film has been identified as one of the German series of Edgar and Bryan Wallace based films made in the 1960's. While it may have been made as part of the series since the film plays very much like the other films, it really can't be considered a Wallace film since its not based on a book by either Bryan or Edgar Wallace.

The plot of the film centers around a woman who's husband has died in a fiery car crash outside a gambling club. Broke from her husbands gambling debts and the cost of the funeral she tries to cash in her husbands insurance policy. The insurance company is suspicious, partly because the amount of the policy was recently raised and partly because there have been other suspicious deaths recently. Making matters worse is a lawyer who shows up on her door step wanting to be paid for covering some of her husbands debts. Unable to pay anyone the lawyer gets her a job working for a reform society that helps convicts get back into society. The woman also attempts to confront the people in the gambling club for what she feels is the real responsibility for her husbands death. All of this leads her down the rabbit hole as she comes face to face with the White Spider, a gang of murder for hire killers. She also is haunted by the police who thing she may have had something to do with her husbands demise and a recently released convict who seems to want to do more than help.

This is a good little thriller that is a nice way to spend an evening in front of the TV. The plot moves along nicely, isn't too complicated, or so complicated that we can't feel superior that we're a couple of steps ahead of the characters on the screen. Its well acted (though slightly less well dubbed) and moves along at a good clip. It does have that uniquely German feel of the Wallace films which are suppose to be set in England and London's Soho district, but look and feel nothing like Soho or anywhere else in England for that matter.

If you like the German Wallace films this is a must. If you like neat little thrillers with a smart edge and witty dialog this is also a must. Anyone else looking for a good excuse to spend two hours eating a bag of popcorn in front of the TV should also try this movie since its a very good mystery thriller for an evenings entertainment.

7.5 out of 10, raised to 8 out 10 for IMDb purposes.