Wednesday, December 9, 2015

DAS GEHEIMNIS DER SCHWARZEN KOFFER - Gert Wilden - "The Secret Of The Black Trunk" (1962)

Holiday greetings, and welcome to another Edgar Wallace Wednesday down in The Dungeon!

Tonight's feature is titled "Das Geheimnis Der Schwarzen Koffer," or "The Secret Of The Black Trunk!"

Here are the stars of the show, the black trunk, and his buddy, the little dark satchel!

Here's the deal!
We're back in jolly olde London, and somebody is murdering people, but the trick this time is that before he kills them, as some kind of special courtesy and going away gift, he packs their bags for them!

All the Soho locals know the story, so if they happen to mysteriously find their bags packed, they know what's going to happen to them whether they like it or not!

The murderer is an exceptionally good knife thrower, being able to skewer his victims from over 50 yards away, so the authorities are speculating that it might be some angry ex-circus performer!

Rule number one, never trust a blind man in a wheelchair selling razor blades and shoelaces!

Here's a different take on peeping from behind a painting!

I just like this shot because all the industrial stuff in the background makes this car look like it's got one Helluva exhaust system!

Okay, enough with the mayhem and murder, it's time for some fun down at the local club, and a good spot to stop and tell you that the music in
"The Secret Of The Black Trunk" was written by the very talented Gert Wilden!
Gert's style is quite interesting compared to some other mundane composers.
You'll be able to tell by this whimsical theme song that the man had quite a playful approach to music! It's no wonder he went on to write the music for a few 70's soft-core flicks like "Sex Is Not For Virgins," and "Swinging Wives!"
Gert just passed away a couple of months ago at the age of 98!

The main act in this club is a dancer named Lissy as played by the lovely Helga (The Phantom Of Soho, Man On A Spying Trapeze) Sommerfeld! Helga passed away on my birthday some 24 years ago at the age of 50! That's a raw deal!

This is Joachim (Mission Stardust) Hansen as Inspector Robert Finch, the man in charge of these murder investigations!
I spent the first 45 minutes of the film trying to figure out why Edgar Wallace stalwart Joachim Fuchsberger looked so different before I figured out it was a different Joachim! What a maroon!
 
The main female character and Inspector Finch's love interest is the scintillating Senta (The Terror Of Dr. Mabuse, Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace, When Women Had Tails) Berger as Susan Brown!

Besides a bunch or murders, there's another story line about people addicted to a drug called Mescadrine, a synthetic form of Mescaline that is pretty weird! This is a picture of interrogation tools! The tape recorder keeps repeating the same lines over and over! Where does the Mescadrine come from? Who is your supplier?"

Here's the end of yet another fellow that had his bags packed for him!

This just might be something the police would be interested in! If you're planning on going on a murder spree, it's a good idea to have a good solid list of victims like this, just in case you lose track, or if Santa Claus was a hit man, this could be your wish list!

"The Secret Of The Black Trunk" was written by Edgar Wallace's son Bryan! While not as prolific as his famous Father, Bryan Edgar Wallace does get credit for quite a few thrillers like "The Dead Are Alive, "Der Phantom Von Soho," and "The Mad Executioners," and was an early influence on Giallo Maestro Dario Argento!

"The Secret Of The Black Trunk" is another release from those fine folks over at
Sinister Cinema or Amazon just in case you want to add it to your freaky X-Mas death wish list!

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