I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"Das Rätsel der roten Orchidee" (sucks this isn't in color doesn't it?) or "The Secret of the Red Orchid" is a West German black-and-white film from the early 1960s, so this one is already over 50 years old. It is a fairly early addition to the famous German-language Edgar Wallace series. Director Helmut Ashley has not worked on other films from the franchise, so I believe this is probably his biggest achievement. Writer Egon Eis is a name I have not heard before, but he has a fairly decent body of work, also including titles that may still be somewhat famous over half a century later. And the cast includes a couple decent names too, mostly Christopher Lee playing the lead detective in here. And the best thing is, he was fluent in German and we really hear his voice. Adrian Hoven and Eddi Aren't may be known too to German audiences. The biggest female character is played by the stunning, tragically short-lived Marisa Mell. And last but not least, Klaus Kinski plays a mysterious antagonist(?) as he does in some other Edgar Wallace movies. In any case, he is a scene stealer. But all these talented actors are not enough if the script and story in here is so underwhelming as it is here. What a disappointment. This film had potential for so much more. I cannot say if it's Eis' or Wallace's fault, but the plot was just never interesting and the reference in the title (not yet the antagonist as later on) feels pretty random. I have to give this one a thumbs down. Not recommended and I am glad it runs for only slightly over 80 minutes.

This is yet another "Krimi" pairing Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski; the hero this time around is, like them, a Jess Franco regular i.e. Adrian Hoven, and the leading lady future "Euro-Cult" starlet Marisa Mell. The film, however, is not only inferior to THE DEVIL'S DAFFODIL (1961) – which preceded this viewing – but only marginally a genre entry…as, rather, than a sadistic masked killer (the German "Krimis" were obvious precursors to the Italian "Gialli") we get rival gangs of Chicago hoodlums who improbably relocate to London to first extort and then dispatch various wealthy elders when they invariably turn to Scotland Yard for protection! Why this is done is never quite clear, especially since they never get to collect; incidentally, we start off with one mobster eliminating his opponents – but the only survivor, Kinski, soon sets up his own unit of gun-happy thugs whilst retaining an ostensibly respectable front as a tobacconist. One of the victims bequeaths his fortune to his secretary (Mell) rather than his sole ne'er-do-well relative (who has a propensity for orchids, the only link to the title – that is to say, extremely cursory – provided by the narrative!); still, he proves to be not what he seems – with his final trapping of the heroine inside a bank vault one of the very few scenes pertaining to the form's recognizable style (another highlight has a car going off the rails after a large mirror set up along the road gave the illusion to the bewildered driver of an imminent head-on collision).Lee does not have much of substance to do as an F.B.I.(!) agent, but he at least gets to display his quick two-gun draw in a shoot-out with one of the baddies. Somewhat more prevalent, regrettably, is a comic-relief butler who happens to have served each of the murdered parties immediately prior to their untimely demise…and, ultimately, even offers his would-be expert services to both one of the perpetrators – who promptly winds up dead himself – and the Police!

Yet another film in the long running cycle of Edgar/Bryan Wallace films that flowed out of Germany in the 1960's and early 1970's. This time the story concerns a blackmailer who threatens very rich men with death if they don't pay up. The bodies of those that don't pay are dumped in front of Scotland Yard. As with many of these films its a bit confusing at first with several plot threads wandering through the story (Chicago gangsters, FBI agent, the blackmail scheme) before coming together at the end. Unfortunately this really isn't a story where its worth seeing how it all comes together. The plot is more than a bit unfocused, even by this series standards,There are too many characters and too much comedy so that the film fails to be compelling. My unhappiness with the film could be the result of the English dub which has even Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski dubbed by other actors who's vocal performances don't even approximate how Lee or Kinski would have done it themselves. The result is that you never really buy whats going on screen. Certainly this would be perfect if you stumbled on it at 2am on late night TV, but I would be hard pressed to suggest actually renting or buying this on DVD and putting it on willingly.

A series of wealthy individuals are being blackmailed throughout England. It's either pay up or die. Two different Chicago gangs are believed to be behind the blackmail schemes, but the police are unable to gather enough evidence to put them out of business. It's up to Scotland Yard Inspector Weston (Adrian Hoven) and the FBI's Captain Allerman (Christopher Lee) to put the bad guys behind bars.The Secret of the Red Orchid is an interesting mix of comedy and crime. There's probably more comedy in this Krimi than I've seen in my limited experience with these movies and, fortunately, some of it works. Eddi Arnett's "Butler of Death" is a character that could have been really annoying in lesser hands. The rest of the cast is just as capable. In addition to Lee and Hoven, the film also features genre legend Klaus Kinski as mob boss head Gunner Steve and the always delightful Marisa Mell in an early role. Lee, Hoven, Kinski, and Mell in the same movie! It's a Euro-film lovers dream! On the downside, there are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. Why does it take the police so long to catch the blackmailers? They know right from the start who is responsible for the killings. Another big problem with the film is the dubbing. Lee's dubbing is horrible. He sounds as flat as can be. And the dubbing of the gangsters has them sounding like a bunch of cartoon characters. The poor dubbing certainly takes away from the enjoyment of the film.