Gli occhi di Londra

This is my favorite of the German-made Edgar Wallaces. Brilliantly directed by Alfred Vohrer, atmospherically photographed and luxuriously produced, it imaginatively maintains atmosphere and suspense right from its dramatically eerie opening to the shattering surprise finale. (In an article on Edgar Wallace in Films In Review, Jack Edmund Nolan maintains that the plot, characters and background are closer to Wallace's conception than the 1940 British version of the novel, starring Bela Lugosi).

It's hard to judge the quality of the acting from the dubbed edition, but the players do seem to acquit themselves well.

And for once the dubbed version runs longer than that released in the home country!

Joachim Fuchsberger is the Scotland Yard inspector again, and Karin Baal the pretty girl who keeps showing up in this mystery about a series of accidental drowning victims, all of whom have insurance policies with Wolfgang Lukschy. Lukschy is being semi-blackmailed about his dead brother, so it all becomes murkier and murkier... and there's Klaus Kinski as a flunky who always wears sunglasses. Gotta keep an eye on him!

Some of these German adaptations of Edgar Wallace mysteries -- I looked at a dubbed version -- seem to spend their time confusing the audience with atmosphere. This one is just as obscure, but it seems to be better put together as a mystery. It's not a great movie, but as usual, it's a well-constructed time-waster.

This remake of DARK EYES OF London (1940), from an Edgar Wallace novel, joins the mere handful of Krimis that I've watched over the years; as far as I can recall, these extend to just 3 DR. MABUSE entries and CIRCUS OF FEAR (1966). I know many are ardent fans of this type of film but, personally, I don't think they have the same rewatchability value as the contemporaneous Italian gialli.

The film is marked by directorial stylistics – arresting shock cuts, inventive transition between scenes (including the iris effect), etc. – and an avant-gardist score. It goes on too long, however, by having an inordinately convoluted plot that involves numerous characters; the original – a British B-movie – was, by necessity, far more compact and, consequently, more direct and effective. Still, the basic thriller elements remain undeniably engaging and the noir-ish atmosphere is thickly laid on (though undermined by the dupey, splicey print on the Retromedia DVD) – making the film quite enjoyable if, ultimately, nothing special.

The cast is O.K.: likable middle-aged lead, attractive female roles, slightly overstated comic-relief sidekick; Bela Lugosi's role in the original is split into two here; the blind killer – played by a Tor Johnson look-alike former wrestler – is, again, depicted as a hairy grotesque; and it also features a young but typically intense Klaus Kinski in a supporting role.

This is the second adaptation of Edgar Wallace's 1924 novel The Dark Eyes of London, the first featuring Bela Lugosi in 1939. A German production, this 1961 version stars Joachim Fuchsberger as Inspector Larry Holt who investigates a series of murders, the victims all wealthy men with hefty insurance policies. Holt's enquiries lead him to believe that the killings are somehow linked to a home for blind men run by Reverend Dearborn (Dieter Borsche). Glamour is provided by Karin Baal as Eleanor "Nora" Ward, an expert in Braille who helps Holt unravel the mystery.

Not nearly as effective as the 1939 movie, Dead Eyes of London suffers from a sloppy, convoluted script and muddled direction that ultimately leads to confusion. That said, even though the plot doesn't make much sense (why were all of the murder victims spectacle wearers?), there are still things to enjoy about the film: the hulking, sightless, hairy maniac called Blind Jack (Ady Berber); a weaselly lowlife by the name of Fleabite Fred (Harry Wüstenhagen); Holt's comedy relief sidekick "Sunny" Harvey, who likes to knit; Klaus Kinski looking creepy; a few cold-blooded killings; a jazzy avant-garde score; and, best of all, a POV shot from inside a man's mouth, which is so unexpected and bizarre that it automatically earns the film an extra point, raising my rating from 4.5/10 to 5.5 (rounded up to 6 for IMDb).

Interesting film with some really thoughtful details and noirish elements. The camera work was especially arresting with liberal facial close-ups and scenery that reminded me of "The Third Man". The story is interesting enough to keep the viewer occupied although the dialog dubbed from German to English was quite distracting. It would have been better to release it with subtitles. Part of its appeal was the diversity of the characters and the fact that the outcome was truly unexpected. It kept me guessing all the way up to the end like all good thrillers. On the negative side it dragged at times and some of the scenes, especially some with the Inspector's sidekick, seemed to have been inserted as fillers. Overall though I was pleasantly surprised.