Between 1959 and the early 1970s, German film companies released more than fifty low-budget crime thrillers inspired by the works of British writer Edgar Wallace. Featuring some of Europe’s most well-known cult and horror actors (including Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski and Gert Fröbe) the Edgar Wallace krimi combined fast-paced action, surprising violence and zany humour. Sold en masse to US television and shown in an edited and badly dubbed form, these films have rarely received the attention they deserve. Jim Harper explores the background and history of the Wallace krimi, from their beginnings to their long-term influence in Germany and beyond, discussing the charm and appeal of these quintessential European cult favourites.
JIM HARPER is a writer and film critic specializing in cult cinema from around the globe. He is the author of Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies (Headpress, 2004) and Flowers from Hell: The Modern Japanese Horror Film (Noir, 2008). His work has appeared in many publications and websites, including Midnight Eye, MYM, Electric Sheep, Necronomicon, V-Cinema, Deranged, Alternative and Scream, and he has contributed to Intellect’s ground-breaking Directory of World Cinema series, writing for the Spanish and Japanese volumes. Currently Harper is working on a revised and updated edition of Flowers from Hell, and preparing the first English-language book about the German Edgar Wallace films of the 1960s.
