Das Ungeheuer von London-City

This is a decent if rather low-watt German krimi (a genre which itself was pretty low-watt compared to later Italian giallo genre it later inspired). The protagonist is a seemingly unstable, very method-like actor playing Jack the Ripper in a modern theatrical adaptation. Unfortunately, someone has begun committing a new series of Ripper-like murders and the intense actor becomes a likely suspect--or is he possibly being framed? As a murder mystery this is kind of weak tea, and as others have said the identity of the killer is pretty obvious. Unlike of a lot of the krimis, this movie was not based on a story by prolific English author Edgar Wallace (or even one by his less talented son Bryan Edgar Wallace). It has also had the misfortune of being released recently on a double-disc with another, inferior krimi "Secret of the Red Orchid", but one that stars Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski, and Marissa Mell. This one in contrast has no major stars in the cast, but is much better made.

What works best about this film is the style. Although the German filmmakers were doing their damnedest to capture the look of foggy London (usually using foggy Hamburg as a stand-in) where these films are almost always nominally set, they actually manage to capture some of the old ambiance of early 20th century Germany Expressionism. This interesting movement was destroyed in its native land by Hitler when he drove all the "decadent" Modernist artists out of the country. Many ended up in America where their artistic sensibilities informed 1940's American film noir. These German movies, by accident or design, capture a lot of this old visual style, even if plot-wise they're a lot closer to ridiculous, zany Italian gialli films they inspired than the fatalistic, downbeat film noir or old German horror films. What ALL of these genres have in common though is an emphasis on powerful visual style, which is unusual in the world of cinema, dominated as it has been by the heavily narrative Hollywood style.

But I digress. This isn't one of the best krimis, but any decent krimi in my book is certainly worth a look.

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY is another Wallace story idea from Wallace Jr. Unlike THE MAD EXECUTIONERS, the previous film in this series of Edgar Wallace-inspired krimis, the results this time are less than satisfying. The fourth film in the collection TERROR IN THE FOG: THE WALLACE KRIMIS AT CCC disappoints in more than one way. Ironically, the failure can be attributed to a lack of Englishness.

The Wallace krimis (that's German for "crime films") stand or fall by the believability factor-the degree to which they suspend belief that they are, in actuality, taking place in England. This is a curious starting point for a West German production, especially when the actors speak German, but when English murder mystery culture blends with Teutonic melodrama, the result can be a lot of fun. Here, it just doesn't work, possibly because Jack the Ripper (upon which this film is based) is too sordid a subject matter to take lightly.

There is nothing more "English" in the world of crime than the Jack the Ripper story. Perhaps the problem with THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY is it attempts to tell the tale by making the victims very beautiful young women, which is a bit like sweetening the gruesome facts (bloody murders), with confection sugar (eye candy). This approach just didn't work for me.

One item of interest, German actress Marianne Koch, who portrays one of the principal roles, soon after filming her part went to work with director Sergio Leone, paired with a young American actor named Clint Eastwood, then on the cusp of major cinematic stardom, in the first "Dollar" film, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. Koch, like Eastwood, has been blessed with longevity and is still active at age 93. Maybe they should team up again and call it SPOONFUL OF GERITOL?

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY's idea of focusing on an actor portraying Jack the Ripper while simultaneously the actual Ripper murders were taking place, has its basis in reality. At the time of the Ripper murders in London in 1888 a young German-born, English/American actor named Richard Mansfield was taking the London theatre world by storm with his performance as Jekyll/Hyde. His performance was so convincing he was for a time considered by the investigating authorities to be an actual suspect! Now that sounds like something Edgar Wallace might have dreamed up!

THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY isn't a bad film it just doesn't quite ring true no matter how many shots of Big Ben are included.

"Big Ben." "Ring true." Get it?

Never mind. You be the judge.

Horror crime thriller with Hansjörg Felmy and Marianne Koch

Of course, producer Artur BRAUNER had to react to the Wallace successes of arch-competitor Horst WENDLANDT and shot competing products based on Bryn Edgar WALLACE. This was also the case with this film, which was then marketed by Ilse KUBASCHEWSKI and her GLORIA film distributor. After all, 1.114 million visitors wanted to see the film in the cinema - but not enough for the time, the series was discontinued until 1970.

Hansjörg FELMY plays an actor who plays Jack the Ripper on stage in a successful play. Suddenly there are numerous Ripper murders in real life too. Of course, the capable inspector (Hans NIELSEN) immediately suspects the actor. Girlfriend (Marianne KOCH) and good friend (Dietmar SCHÖNHERR) are there to help the suspect. Chariklia BAXEVANOS and Peer SCHMIDT provide the comical touch as lively private detectives.

The connection with the play is quite successful. However, Hansjörg FELMY is a bit overwhelmed by his ambivalent role. But overall the cast is good. The Ripper's numerous victims are portrayed by well-built women.

Well worth seeing for fans of the extensive horror crime series!

The idea for this film isn't bad, but somehow when it all came together the whole thing was a bit dull and I had a very hard time sticking with it. This is a German film dubbed into English and I wonder if perhaps it might have played better in its original form. Regardless, I couldn't wait for it to end.

The story is set in 1960s London and a series of Jack the Ripper style have been occurring. At the same time, there's a play about the Ripper playing to huge crowds in the city and after a while it appears that the two might be related.

The problem I had is that the characters weren't that interesting and the mystery wasn't all that hard to predict. On top of that, things were made a bit worse by a horrible musical track made by a cheesy theater organ. Overall, you could do a lot better.

The Monster of London City is a Krimi not based on an Edgar Wallace book for a change: instead, it was written by Edgar Wallace's son Bryan Edgar Wallace! In this enjoyably daft murder mystery, someone is slicing up prostitutes in London a la Jack the Ripper (albeit with an open razor rather than a surgical blade). Could it be ex-drug addict turned successful actor Richard Sand, who is currently playing the 'ripper' in a popular stage play? Is it Maylor (Kurd Pieritz), Sand's agent, trying to drum up some free publicity for the show? Perhaps it is politician Sir George Edwards (Fritz Tillmann), who is trying to pass a censorship bill that would see violent stage plays prohibited. Another possible suspect is prop master Horrlick (Walter Pfeil), who once served time for manslaughter. Or maybe its just a random maniac with no real motive (of course not... I'm sure you'll guess who it really is long before the end, but perhaps not his back story).

With its jazzy score, crisp black and white cinematography, decent performances, and bizarre mix of thriller, horror, and comedy (the plot includes comic relief in the form of a dopey private detective and his ditzy girlfriend), The Monster of London City is a pretty fun way to waste some time, especially if you're a fan of all things 'ripper'. Director Edwin Zbonek maintains a decent pace, achieves some great visuals, and includes a fair few mean-spirited murders (the final one taking place in front of a little girl), and even though the film does stretch plausibility a tad too far at times, the unlikeliness of proceedings only adds to the enjoyment factor in my opinion. Yes, there are better examples of the genre out there, but this one is still good enough to warrant a watch.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for the wholly unconvincing painted backdrop that can be seen outside the front door of Sir George's house, for the occasional gratuitous nudity, and for the hilarious Benny Hill-style moment where a woman's skirt is whipped off by a speeding car.