... aka: Edgar Wallace e l'abate nero
Directed by:
Franz Josef Gottlieb
I usually like to start out my reviews doing a cursory overview of the
plot and characters, but I'm really going to have to restrain myself here.
I could probably do a write-up as long as the Edgar Wallace novel
this is based upon if I don't watch it. A very complex mystery that
requires a viewer's full attention, this is filled with scheming,
duplicitous characters who are all linked together in a variety of
different ways. Each has a past and each has their own possible motive for
murder. The events take place in and around the Chelford Manor; a huge
estate owned by the paranoid and possibly insane Harry Chelford (Dieter
Borsch) and rumored to have two-and-a-half tons of gold hidden
somewhere on the grounds. The film opens with the murder of a man lurking
around the abbey, who's stabbed in the back by a killer dressed in a black
abbot's robe. Harry was just taking a midnight stroll around where the
murder took place. His administrator Dick Alford (Joachim Fuchsberger)
found the body... and left behind his pipe at the scene of the crime. Ex
con butler Thomas Streisser (Klaus Kinski), who's now going by the
alias Thomas Fortuna, also stumbled upon the body... and Dick's pipe next
to it. These three are just the tip of the iceberg as far as suspects are
concerned.
Scotland Yard Inspector Puddler (Charles
Régnier) and his goofy
assistant Horatio W. Smith (Eddi Arent) set up shop inside the
Chelford home until the crime is solved and meet a host of potential
murderers. Harry is engaged to be married to the much-younger Leslie Gine
(Grit Böttcher),
who's actually in love with Dick (and vice versa). Harry really has
nothing to do with her ("Love is for people who lack the ability needed to
face reality.") and just wants her to produce an heir. She claims she's
only agreed to the loveless union because her lawyer brother Arthur (Harry Wüstenhagen) is in
dire need of money. Harry's former private secretary (and lover) Mary
Wenner (Eva Ingeborg Scholz)
once almost became the Lady of the estate, until he tossed her aside. Now
determined to get her hands on the treasure, she's discovered the
whereabouts of the gold but isn't going to squeal until Harry and Leslie
are split up so she can marry him and become the lady of the estate.
Meanwhile, Fabian Gilder (Werner Peters), pudgy head office clerk
at Arthur's firm, discovers his boss has falsified documents and forged
signatures pertaining to the Chelford estate. Having already skimmed
160,000 dollars from the company using a variety of false names, Gilder
decides to blackmail Arthur. What does he want? Well, he's also in love
with Leslie and wants to marry her...
So basically, Harry is set to be married to Leslie who is actually in love
with Dick but Fabian wants to marry Leslie and Mary wants to marry Harry.
Aside from the romantic complications, there's are a lot of business
intermingling I won't go into detail about. The less said about the
mystery the better. Horror fans can feast on atmospheric, foggy scenes set
in a cemetery and forest, a bat-filled secret tomb containing pieces of a
treasure map, the (maybe) ghost of the (supposedly) dead former lady of
the manor wandering the grounds and, or course, many sightings of the
black abbot phantom figure. And, of course, several more murders as the
suspect roster is whittled down. Though often confusing and hurt some by
Arent's irritating comic character, it's well-acted and very handsomely
photographed. Some of the camerawork is pretty offbeat (like an upside
down shot flipping around) and there are some great catacomb sets used at
the very end.
Something Weird originally released this on VHS and there's a restored German DVD from
Kinowelt (which has an English subtitle option). Director Gottlieb directed numerous other Wallace adaptations
(like the following year's The Phantom of Soho) and the non-Wallace
vampire flick Lady Vampire (1975), which is difficult to find these
days.
★★1/2
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