The best Edgar Wallace film adaptations in the West German film industry come from Alfred VOHRER, Jürgen ROLAND and the ACADEMY AWARD nominee Harald REINL (nominated in 1971 for his documentary film EREMNERUNGEN AN DIE ZUKUNFT).
In 1965, Harald REINL made the contribution DER UNHEIMLICHE MÖNCH, which with its suggestive black and white images became a highlight of the long-running series (1959 - 1973). An inheritance case, a dysfunctional family, an eerie castle (shot at Hastenbeck Castle near Hameln), a murderer disguised as a monk and many beautiful women! That's all it takes for a typical horror thriller from West German assembly line production.
REINL's second wife Karin DOR plays the young heiress Gwendolin Gilmore, who returns to the family castle after years and is immediately confronted with inheritance disputes and dark family secrets. Her aunt (Ilse STEPPAT) runs a girls' boarding school in the castle, so the people there are exclusively beautiful young ladies (Uschi GLAS / Uta LEVKA / Dunja RAJTER). An evil uncle (Siegfried LOWITZ), a crazy tenant (Rudolf SCHÜNDLER), a pushy janitor (Eddi ARENT) and of course the murderous monk round off the gruesome events. Inspector Bratt (Harald LEIPNITZ) and the scatterbrained Sir John (Siegfried SCHÜRENBERG) have their hands full trying to solve the case.
This horror thriller thrives on the spooky atmosphere, which is expertly created by the old master director REINL. A Wallace thriller like something out of a picture book, which lives enormously from the black and white images (from 1966 Edgar Wallace was in color!) and the outstanding acting ensemble. No wonder that actors like Karin DOR (YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE / TOPAZ), Ilse STEPPAT (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) and Rudolf SCHÜNDLER (THE EXORCIST / SUSPIRIA) have been cast in international films in the future.
An exciting and entertaining climax to the long-running Edgar Wallace series of successes in the West German film industry!
