|
Hot Picks
| |
|
Der Fluch der Gelben Schlange
The Curse of the Yellow Snake
West Germany 1963
produced by
Artur Brauner, Wolf Brauner (executive) for CCC Filmkunst
directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb
starring Joachim Fuchsberger, Brigitte Grothum, Pinkas Braun, Doris Kirchner, Werner Peters, Chrles Régnier, Claus Holm, Fritz Tillman, Eddi Arent, Zeev Berlinsky
screenplay by Janne Furch, Franz Josef Gottlieb, based on the novel The Yellow Snake by Edgar Wallace, music by Oskar Sala
Edgar Wallace made in Germany, Edgar Wallace by CCC Filmkunst
review by
Mike Haberfelner
|
|
|
 |
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
|
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
 |
|
 Flix.com
|
| |
A sculpture called the Yellow Snake is stolen from Joe Bray
(Fritz Tillmann) in Hong Kong, a sculpture that's supposed to unite the
Chinese to take over the world or something. Upon the theft, Bray sends
his adoptive son Cliff (Joachim Fuchsberger) to London to marry one of his
nieces, because their father/guardian Narth (Werner Peters) owes him lots
of money. In London, Cliff soon finds traces leading to the Yellow Snake -
and to his adoptive brother Fing Su (Pinkas Braun), who is indeed in the
possession of the snake and wants to take over the world. Somehow though,
Cliff manages to snatch the snake from Fing Su, upon which Fing Su kidnaps
Joan (Brigitte Grothum) - the one of his cousins Cliff has decided to
marry, and tries to bring Narth, her guardian, into his power ... but has
to kill him when he refuses to kill in his name. In the meantime, One of
Fing Su's hooded henchmen frees Joan, and upon her return, Cliff sets out
with Scotland Yard to raid Fing Su's headquarters. Fing Su in the meantime
makes a big speech to his hooded henchmen, when the one who has freed Joan
contradicts and turns out to be Fing Su's own father Joe Bray ... and he
shoots Fing Su in order to stop him.Fing Su's henchmen now set out to tear
Bray apart when Cliff and the police arrive to put an end to Fing Su's
whole operation. The film is full of Edgar Wallace-style pulp
mainstays like dagger-throwing Chinamen, secret organisations, hooded
henchmen, shady businessmen who try to marry their daughters/wards off
rich, and of course all sorts of eccentrics. Now this all makes up for
some good old-fashioned fun, but unfortunately the plot of Fluch der
Gelben Schlange is so ridiculously convoluted, riddled with plotholes
and often even devoid of reason that one can't always be sure if this film
was actually written (as in, they had a screenplay) and not just made up
as they went along. By the way, one of the few Edgar wallace
films made in Germany in the 1960's not produced by Rialto
but notorious bandwagon jumper CCC Filmkunst, and the company
didn't even shy away to hire Joachim Fuchsberger and Eddi Arent, two of
the most prolific actors of the Rialto-series,
to appear in this one. Interestingly though, F.J.Gottlieb, whose first
Edgar Wallace film this was, later went on to direct Edgar Wallace-movies
for Rialto.
|
amazon.co.uk
eThaiCD.com
