A Máscara da Morte

Self-entitled German Krimi this first movie lays out on conceive largely used in America on those serial theatre as "The Shadow" whereof had a hidden commander, "Vampire" French series from silent movie era, among other alike concept movies, thus the danish Rialto Film bought the copyrights from Edgar Wallace's novel and adapted to big screen in this debut picture that later will add up to 39 movies all made in Germany using the native actors and all happening take place in British island, mostly in London.

Also somehow it was a forerunner of Giallo genre later, the noirish style is blatantly in those fog London atmosphere, a slight expressionist as well on countless weirdo small characters and a massive use of these elements created a unique genre, actually a blending of several genres, the storyline follows the Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple neither, in well-set Whodunit concept, this early movie has a bit confusing plot, but with a keen eye the audience soon catches the offer.

The hero is an American amateur detective who coming together with his exotic butler as sidekick and the fake deaf Scotland Yard's Inspector Elk a cunning elder man, all mixing a delightful offering that certainly will please all viewers.

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Resume: First watch: 2024 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5.

Although not necessarily a personal favorite or an absolute must-see, "The Face of the Frog" is one of those movies I'll remain eternally grateful to, simply because they played an essential role in the founding of what eventually became my favorite exploitation/horror sub-genre. This was the first one of the German so-called "Krimis"; - a series of 30+ movies inspired by the writings of Edgar Wallace and practically always revolving around either the search for a sadist killer or relentless crime syndicates planning a massive heist. Out of these adaptations would later evolve the Italian gialli, with an even bigger emphasis on the whodunit aspect via flamboyant killers and their sickening modus operandi. Not every Krimi is great, mind you, but they are all worth seeking out. "The Face of the Frog" was the first, and paves the road with stylish elements and conceptual trademarks that would recur throughout the whole series. And, on the bright side, this film does not yet contain too many annoying comic relief aspects.

Scotland Yard is on the hunt for a criminal gang led by a relentless murderer/master thief only known as "The Frog", since he always wears a mask and not even his most loyal accomplices ever saw his face. In the end, the identity of the Frog wasn't too hard to guess for me, but that's probably because I saw hundreds of gialli, Agatha Christie whodunits and teen slashers. I know what to pay attention to, in other words, but I'm sure that certain revelations must have shocked the audiences in 1959. There are a few astounding moments, notably the brute and totally unexpected killing of a defenseless girl near the climax and two or three really clever red herrings, and the performances are very solid.

This movie is an abomination, and its making should have been considered a capital crime.

One of the great mysteries of film-making is why nobody ever has made a faithful movie adaptation of this wonderful mystery. It is a tale of a really gripping mystery, nice old-fashioned romance, and dry English humor. Why did the makers have to change Richard Gordon from a Scotland Yard policeman to an amateur detective, introduce the idiotic role and caricature of his English servant, change the part of the main storyline about the murder charge and circumstances of Gordon's struggle to save the accused, etc., etc.? These producers and directors who always think they can make a better story than the one in the book should write the original script themselves and not to rape another person's product.

The Frog is a master criminal who is sought both by the police and by an amateur American sleuth and his comical butler/sidekick. The Frog falls in love with a young woman and hatches a ridiculous Rube Goldbeg-like plot to get her to give herself him. He uses a singing siren named "Lolita" to ensnare her ne'r-do-well brother into a gruesome murder plot. The brother is convicted of the capital crime and sentenced to death only to find the executioner is someone very familiar to him.

As other have said, this is the first of West German Edgar Wallace krimis. It's certainly not the best, but it is pretty entertaining. The comical sidekick (here played by Eddie Aren't) would become a staple of this series, to the annoyance of some, but personally I don't think this kind of comedy really hurts these films that much because the plots are already delightfully absurd and villains like the Frog are more than a little cartoonish to begin with(but I mean that in a good way). The butler/sidekick here kind of anticipates (perhaps even influenced?) the "Kato" character in the "Pink Panther" series in that he is always sparring with his boss to keep him sharp. The bigger liability here, however, is the "American" protagonist himself. But Joachim Fuchsberger, who was in nearly all these movies, would get a lot better in the future entries in the series, especially when he got to play an "English" detective (a role at which the German actor was much more convincing).

But in addition to the serial-comic strip elements of the plot, there is also a little bit of raciness courtesy of "Lolita" (Eva Pflug), and some surprisingly gruesome violence--the centerpiece murder and a scene where the Frog very violently dispenses with one of his accomplices. In any event, if you enjoy the German krimi series (or the later but the closely related Italian gialli), you certainly won't want to miss this first one.

This is one of the better classic Edgar Wallace movies from the German series - it features all basics for a highly enjoyable Wallace crime flic movie way back from the 60ies: Although his majesty, Mr. Kinski, is missing you still have young Joachim 'Blacky' Fuchsberger, starring once again as the typical clever American 'womanizer', you have young Eddi Arendt in his best (and just as well typical) role ever - the cool, sophisticated British butler - and you have (not so young anymore) Lowitz as the melancholic yet very 'dry' ironic (and thus: highly entertaining) police investigator. Furthermore you'll get offered a freakish and very campy 'evil guy' behind a frog mask (hence the movie's title!), you'll get a crazed-out swinging soundtrack, classic b-movie action scenes, partly filmed out off the wildest perspectives (please remind the time of its origin!), yelling scream queens, and on and on... All those ingredients get shaken well up in a sweet tastin' cocktail of pure German Edgar Wallace campyness - highly recommended!!