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IMDbPro

Le défi du Maltais

Original title: Der Hexer
  • 1964
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
Heinz Drache, Joachim Fuchsberger, and Sophie Hardy in Le défi du Maltais (1964)
CrimeMystery

The sister of the criminal named "Hexer" is murdered. Scotland Yard Inspector Higgins believes that the criminal will surface to take his revenge and plans to set a trap to finally capture h... Read allThe sister of the criminal named "Hexer" is murdered. Scotland Yard Inspector Higgins believes that the criminal will surface to take his revenge and plans to set a trap to finally capture him. However, bodies soon start piling up.The sister of the criminal named "Hexer" is murdered. Scotland Yard Inspector Higgins believes that the criminal will surface to take his revenge and plans to set a trap to finally capture him. However, bodies soon start piling up.

  • Director
    • Alfred Vohrer
  • Writers
    • Herbert Reinecker
    • Edgar Wallace
    • Harald G. Petersson
  • Stars
    • Joachim Fuchsberger
    • Heinz Drache
    • Sophie Hardy
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    1.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alfred Vohrer
    • Writers
      • Herbert Reinecker
      • Edgar Wallace
      • Harald G. Petersson
    • Stars
      • Joachim Fuchsberger
      • Heinz Drache
      • Sophie Hardy
    • 15User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos53

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    Top cast22

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    Joachim Fuchsberger
    Joachim Fuchsberger
    • Inspector Bryan Edgar Higgins
    Heinz Drache
    Heinz Drache
    • James W. Wesby
    Sophie Hardy
    Sophie Hardy
    • Elise Penton
    Siegfried Lowitz
    Siegfried Lowitz
    • Inspektor Warren
    Carl Lange
    Carl Lange
    • Rev. Hopkins
    Margot Trooger
    Margot Trooger
    • Cora Ann Milton
    Jochen Brockmann
    Jochen Brockmann
    • Maurice Messer
    Siegfried Schürenberg
    • Sir John
    Karl John
    Karl John
    • Shelby
    Kurt Waitzmann
    • Reddingwood
    Anneli Sauli
    Anneli Sauli
    • Jean Osbourne
    • (as Ann Savo)
    Hilde Sessak
    Hilde Sessak
    • Wardress
    Petra von der Linde
    Petra von der Linde
    • Gwenda Milton
    • (as Petra v.d. Linde)
    Eddi Arent
    Eddi Arent
    • Archibald Finch
    René Deltgen
    René Deltgen
    • Henry Arthur 'Der Hexer' Milton
    Marie-Louise Hengherr
    • Entführtes Mädchen
    • (rumored)
    • (uncredited)
    Inge Keck
    • Blumenmädchen
    • (uncredited)
    Gerd Martienzen
    • Newspaper Seller
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Vohrer
    • Writers
      • Herbert Reinecker
      • Edgar Wallace
      • Harald G. Petersson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews15

    6.61.7K
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    Featured reviews

    8Coventry

    Good Krimi, GREAT ending

    Many of the German Krimi movies in the Edgar Wallace collection that I've seen thus far are enjoyable, for sure, but also excessively complex and featuring a climax that is both too grotesque and made less impactful by the many plot-twists that came before already. With that in mind, I can honestly state that "Der Hexer" is the best and most effective Krimi of the whole collection! The plot is simple, relatively straightforward, and steadily builds up to a fantastic climax. And the climax truly is fantastic, I assure you, with a dazzling revelation and an even more dazzling surprise ending.

    Following the murder of his sister, a wanted criminal known as The Magician is expected by Scotland Yard to pop up in London and extract vengeance on the murderers. Inspector Higgens must even accept the help of the now retired but former Scotland Yard top-agent Warren, and meanwhile also uncover the reason by who and why The Magician's sister got murdered in the first place. The lame humor (as usual provided by Siegfried Schürenberg and Eddi Arent) is luckily kept to a minimum and replaced by good red herrings and feminine beauty. As the tense climax approaches, there's a joyous gimmick where the screen turns black and displays the question: "do YOU already know who The Magician is?". I loved it. Reminded me of William Castle, in fact.
    8The_Void

    One of the major highlights of the Krimi genre!

    The best Krimi films are based on a novel by English crime writer Edgar Wallace and directed by prolific German director Alfred Vohrer; and Der Hexer boasts the inclusion of both. Thanks to a thrilling narrative and some interesting lead characters - this film is clearly one of the best of the genre. Der Hexer roughly translates into English as 'The Magician' and the title alludes to the central character - a highly cunning criminal with the ability to baffle police through the use of trickery and disguises. The film begins with the murder of a young girl; whom we later discover is the sister of the aforementioned master criminal. When this comes to the attention of the police, naturally they expect 'The Magician' to return to London for revenge and so begin an investigation in order to catch the criminal. The Magician is indeed plotting to kill off those responsible for the death of his sister and comes to London with this agenda; facing the murderers themselves and the best detectives of Scotland Yard.

    What really makes this film great is the plot line; which is as cunning and clever as the lead character. Alfred Vohrer deftly handles the story, which is streamlined and features no filler, and ensures that the film is exciting and interesting at all times. There are several twists and turns throughout the plot (the mostly unseen lead character providing most of the entertainment) and the film never dries up or becomes boring. As is usually the case, the story takes place in London and the director does well at establishing the atmosphere of the city, which bodes well with the plot line. The plot works in such a way that eventually everyone comes under suspicion of being the murderer and this helps a lot when it comes to generating the suspense. Naturally all these twists and turns need a good twisted ending to wrap everything up; and Der Hexer certainly does not disappoint in that respect. The ending is very well done and provides some surprises. Overall, this is an excellent entry in the Krimi genre and comes recommended.
    6Boba_Fett1138

    Enjoyable watch.

    It's obvious that this movie was supposed to be the German answer to the popular James Bond franchise. In the '60's, actually quite an handful of these sort of spy/detective movies got made but most of them are forgotten now days, including the British and American ones, while in fact they actually were some quite amusing movies to watch. And this movie is also definitely an enjoyable one but not really the best to be based off Edgar Wallace's work.

    It remains a bit weird to see all of these German movies, based on Edgar Wallace his novels, which are set in London and features some all-British characters, with all-British names. But no, this all seems to matter very little when watching this movie, since it's quite hard to take it all very seriously. It's a movie made purely for entertainment and it's being a quite silly one with its story and somewhat quirky characters (just like a James Bond movie).

    But the series of movies based on the Edgar Wallace novels definitely have some better movies to offer than this one. This isn't really the most exciting watch and at times I wished more would be happening in the story. It all remains quite simplistic, which does certainly go at the expense of its entertainment value at times.

    Other than that, it still remains a well made movie. It obviously didn't cost an awful lot of money to make but they did a more than decent job with its resources. It's actually also being a quite creative movie to watch at times, with it directing and cinematography. Perhaps you could say that the movie also benefits from the fact that it's shot in black & white, since somehow I think the movie would had been a far more silly one to watch had it been done in full color.

    Not the greatest but still a enjoyable enough, short watch.

    6/10

    http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
    10Liedzeit

    The best film of the Edgar Wallace series

    During the sixties and early seventies dozens of Edgar Wallace films were made in Germany, all of them highly popular. Most of them black and white, most of them with Eddi Aren't and Siegfried Schürenberg two of the unknown geniuses of German cinema. This one is the best of the lot. The sister of a famous retired criminal, Arthur Milton, aka der Hexer, (literally the Magician but I think called the Ringer in the Wallace book) is murdered. Scottland Yard thinks that Milton will return to revenge her. Inspector Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger in typical role) with the help of Warren (Siefried Löwitz) is trying to get him. There is also a mysterious Australian writer called Wesby (Heinz Drache). Is he the Hexer? One by one of the murderers is killed by the Hexer. Very questionable ethics, of course. But our sympathies are with him. You never see him until the very end, but you see his wife, played by the most elegant of German actresses, Margot Trooger. And a man with a wife like that cannot be really bad. There is wonderful innocent sixties charm all the way through, suspense and humour which make this film a true highlite. Siegfried Schürenberg as Sir John has one of the best running gags in movie history there. "Das hätten Sie doch berücksichtigen müssen." (You should have thought of that). Nice twist ending. The only post war German movie that ranks among the best films ever made.
    8unbrokenmetal

    Who is the Hexer?

    When Gwenda Milton is murdered in London, her brother returns from Australia to find the killers. His nickname is "Hexer" ("wizard") because he wears many masks and can disappear without a trace. The police have a love/hate relationship with him, because he takes justice into his own hands, but justice it undeniably is. The success of this movie is owed to an excellent marketing strategy. The production company locked the final pages of the screenplay away, so that even the actors didn't know before the day of shooting who would be the Hexer in disguise. Neither will I tell you now. The whole movie builds up tension until this final revelation.

    Of course there are the popular actors of the Edgar Wallace series (Fuchsberger, Drache, Lowitz, Aren't, Schürenberg), plus an excellent Margot Trooger - calm, yet charming -, but it's the story in the first place which makes "Der Hexer" memorable.

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Producer Horst Wendlandt kept the last pages of the screenplay in a safe and had each of the leading actors sign a special insurance document in order to keep the surprise ending a secret.
    • Goofs
      A short scene with Finch buying a newspaper on Piccadilly Circus is footage taken from L'énigme du serpent noir (1963). Although wearing a bowler hat, Arent's sideburns are visibly shorter than in preceding and following scenes.
    • Connections
      Edited from L'énigme du serpent noir (1963)

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • April 28, 1965 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • West Germany
    • Language
      • German
    • Also known as
      • The Mysterious Magician
    • Filming locations
      • Berlin, Germany
    • Production company
      • Rialto Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Heinz Drache, Joachim Fuchsberger, and Sophie Hardy in Le défi du Maltais (1964)
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