Edgar Wallace - Watch Order: Reinl Films
This watch order lists the foundational films from Harald Reinl, the director who launched the Edgar Wallace series and established its early aesthetic. His five films span from the genre-defining original through to the mid-1960s, showcasing a more serious, noir-inflected approach.
Reinl's atmospheric direction emphasizes suspense and gothic elements, providing a fascinating contrast to the later, more playful entries. These films capture the series in its purest form, when the focus was on creating genuinely eerie crime thrillers in the classic tradition.
Fellowship of the Frog
Both Scotland Yard and an amateur American sleuth are tracking a master criminal known as The Frog. This moniker refers to the bulging-eyed mask worn by the evildoer, and is reflected by the frog icons painfully tatooed onto the forearms of his henchmen. The trail leads to the country manor of an enigmatic, steely-eyed nabob, whose repressed son has eyes for the artistes at the Lolita cabaret, and whose lovely daughter captures the fancy of both the American playboy and the villain himself. Murder, kidnapping and seduction ensue.
Room 13
A serial-killer is murdering the ladies of a night club. Detective Gray is seeking for the killer but can only find a lot of gangsters. And the killer is about to act again...
The Sinister Monk
A hooded serial killer finds a novel way to murder his victims--he lashes them to death with a whip. The police try to track him down before any more murders occur.
Related Film Series
Other Film Series
Bryan Edgar Wallace
A series of German crime thrillers produced by CCC Filmkunst in the 1960s-70s, marketed under the name of Edgar Wallace's son Bryan, featuring standalone mysteries with gothic atmosphere and masked killers.
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Scream
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