Studio: Eureka Entertainment
Release Date: 5/27/2025
Rating: NR, but I’d classify them as ranging from PG to PG-13
Film Grades: The Curse of the Yellow Snake: B-
The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle: C+
The Mad Executioners: B-
The Phantom of Soho: C+
The Monster of London City: B
The Racetrack Murders: C-
The Stories:The Curse of the Yellow Snake: A Chinese artifact with a foreboding legacy is sought after for its rumored mysterious powers that could lead to a resurgence of an empire. Can it be recovered and returned to safety before it’s too late?
The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle: At a formal dinner party, Lucius Clark tells his guests that he’s soon to be knighted by the Queen for his dedication to the colonial service. But as those festivities go on, a masked man has broached the grounds, strangling a gardener and carving the letter M in the dead man’s forehead. The mysterious intruder knows one of Clark’s most dire secrets that could upend any hopes for nobility and issues an ultimatum to him.
The Mad Executioners: A series of executions have gripped London. Men that have legally escaped the justice system have been hanged in public by a secret group of hooded vigilantes. At the same time, a maniac has been decapitating young women with surgical precision, leaving the police stumped. Are the cases somehow connected?
The Phantom of Soho: A string of murders takes place in Soho, with all the victims being left with a letter in hand, each containing a clue. What is the do they all have in common, who will be the next victim, and how can the killer be stopped?
The Monster of London City: Dead prostitutes have been turning up around London, all horribly mutilated after strangulation. And it just so happens that there’s a popular stage play about Jack the Ripper running at the Edgar Allan Poe Theater. Are the two connected?
The Racetrack Murders: In the buildup to the derby, a series of murders happen around the grounds and stables of an English mansion. Are they prompted by the upcoming race, or is there another motive behind them?
My Takes: This was my first encounter with the Krimi genre, a name derived from Kriminalroman, German for crime stories. Think of them being akin to dime store novels in the tradition of the pulp genre. One of the most prolific writers was Edgar Wallace, whose massive output wasn’t only appreciated in his native England, but also across Europe, holding a special fascination with Germans. His son, Bryan Edgar Wallace, followed in those footsteps, penning his own series of stories, not unwilling to capitalize on his father’s name recognition.
One of the movies in this set is based on the elder’s work, while the other five are credited to the son. This should be taken with a grain of salt, as almost all of these are said to bear little resemblance to the books they’re named after. The studio used the Wallace name as a marketing tool, letting the audience know exactly what kind of movie to expect, rather than faithfully adapting something for the big screen.
So, what should you expect? Bold, dramatic titles set the stage for the story. As mysteries, they’re held together by common themes. Money, deception, blackmail, revenge, warped applications of justice, and the study of the thin veneer that separates both aristocratic society and various levels of government from the common man’s baser proclivities. The plots themselves are surprisingly dense, with an exploration of various motives and relationships woven into the plot. Suspects abound, and there’s some comic relief mixed into the stories that works effectively without derailing the story.
All set in a grandiose vision of London and England that emphasizes stately manors with secret lairs, tidy police stations, dimly lit city streets, and undeveloped countryside. Think of romanticized, gothic castles filled with all the expected trappings mixed with cramped, but sparsely populated, grittier parts of the city. Realism isn’t the goal here. Rather it’s to instill a specific feel, almost time-defying, of a moody, mysterious, mixture of places with danger awaiting behind every corner.
Even though the movies are steeped in murder, they’re surprisingly discreet with their violence. There’s very little blood, with much of the action either obscured or shot from a distance, leaving it up to the viewer’s imagination to fill in the details. Even with that in mind, there are clear lines drawn to the tropes of the slasher genre that would come decades later. Point of view shots from both the killer and victims, masked villains stalking their prey, using inventive ways of dispatching them, but all sans anything resembling realistic gore. They’re similar to the giallo films of Italy, but I’d consider the latter much more focused on fashion, beauty, lurid details, and general gaudiness than on plot or character motivations.
The films themselves are low budget productions that often featured the same repertoire of actors shuffled through the many films. Sets and props can be reused, and stock footage is often used for establishing scenes. None of that distracts from the films, but just something to consider when viewing.
The Curse of the Yellow Snake has the broadest scope of the six, starting in Hong Kong with a secret sinister sect attempting an early, daring heist. It quickly moves to London and adds a romantic subplot built around securing a desperately needed inheritance. A variety of motives are in play, with the film placing an emphasis on family relationships that are driven by cold calculations rather than warmth and compassion.
It features Joachim Fuchsberger as wealthy playboy, Clifford Lynn. A man with competing motives who’s investigating the circumstance behind the missing, titular artifact. Pinkas Braun plays his half-brother and rival Fing-Su, in a strong, calculating role who challenges Cliff for the attention of a young lady. A sensitive modern audience may find great offence with the role, seeing a German actor with eyes taped back to portray the half-Asian, half-brother. This was not an uncommon practice at the time, especially considering the low budget of a small studio. Eddi Arent adds a good sense of fun as the fussy antiques collector, Samuel Carter.
The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle gives us the familiar themes of family, but this time the story is much more focused on dirty doings masked by the pretense of upper-class nobility, even if wealth is just a crackling illusion. It turns out Clark is only renting the Castle from the eccentric owner, Lord Blackmoor. The setting affords much of the fun for this story, with the old keep holding lots of secrets, the grounds offering hiding places, and a questionable inn acting as its own cover for shady happenings.
Rudolf Fernau plays Clark with cold, cocky confidence and steely nerves. Karin Dor is his spunky niece, who happens to be a rising reporter, in a surprisingly strong female role for the time. Harry Riebauer appears as Inspector Jeff Mitchell, with a keen eye for details. Here, the comedic role goes to Walter Giller as the kilt-wearing lord of the manor. The movie tries to do too much during its short runtime, hurting its continuity, and the plot never seems to fully come together, even with all of the great trappings.
The Mad Executioners delves into the concept of justice and those who might escape its reach. Featuring rather heady subject matter for a tale featuring hangings and decapitations, there are discussions of punishment versus treatment, compassion balanced with public safety, and if there’s any justification for vigilantism. Matching the ambitious themes is the plot that interweaves two different stories and investigations with an ending that unexpectedly swerves hard into speculative science and philosophical dualism.
There’s a rich cast of characters here, with Hansjörg Felmy playing lead inspector John Hillier, determined and ambitious, but always one step behind the perpetrators, threatening his career. Harry Riebauer appears again, but filling the role of Philip Trooper, friend of Hillier and employed as a doctor on the police force. Maria Perschy is Hillier’s girlfriend, Ann, whose father is a stern, retired judge. Comic relief is provided by Chris Howland, as the private investigator and master of disguise, Gabby Pennypacker.
For all of its ambition, the movie strains credibility with the ending as we find out the secrets behind both cases. Still, the setting is fun and the way the movie plays with concepts of justice and punishment offer the audience something to think about.
The Phantom of Soho is both the seamiest and lightest of these movies, all of the murders in question seem to revolve around the Sansibar nightclub, which is also a front for a prostitution operation and hotel. Even so, it’s tame for today’s standards, with only some brief showgirl nudity during a couple of visits to the seedy establishment.
Dieter Borsche plays investigator Hugh Patton, a seasoned veteran who takes his work seriously. In contrast, he’s paired with Peter Vogel as Sergeant Hallam, providing the comedic element to the story as he seems very familiar with the nightclub and staff. Hans Söhnker plays Sir Philip as the Chief of Scotland Yard, who happens to be completely and totally enamored with crime novelist Clarinda Smith, played with insightful intelligence by Barbara Rütting. This adds a fun element as she works to piece together all of the puzzle’s parts at the same time as the police, while also tipping a hat to the literary origins of all these tales.
The Monster of London City was my favorite of this set, with all the distinctive elements of the earlier entries and adding a mysterious cloaked figure skulking around the streets of London under similar circumstances as the historical Jack the Ripper. The play within a movie has been done before, but this one is quite clever blending both aspects as the story unfolds. Additionally, there are further thematic elements that enrich the story, as it discusses the threat of government censorship to protect its citizenry, the connection between sex workers, theater, and public officials, while also adding in subplots about mental illness. It’s the most rounded of all the tales, and also the only one to display true passion as two lovers share an open mouth kiss.
Hansjörg Felmy returns, this time playing actor Richard Sand, lead of the Jack the Ripper play. He gives the character added dimension here, in a challenging part that he struggles with as reality seems to reflects the stage. Dietmar Schönherr plays his friend and doctor, Morely Greely who has concerns for his friend. Marianne Koch is Ann, love interest of both Sand and Greely, forming a short-lived love triangle. And Fritz Tillmann portrays Sir George, uncle to Ann and the man who raised both her and Greely. This go round, comic relief is provided by the team of Peer Schmidt as hapless private detective Teddy and the rambunctious Chariklia Baxevanos as his girlfriend and assistant, Betty. They’re desperate for the reward being offered for catching the copycat killer.
Stress builds as the murders mount up, with the public growing ever more anxious, fed by dramatic newspaper headlines, weary of waiting for the police to capture the perpetrator. Conditions are ripe for mob action. There’s only one segment that wasn’t handled well, involving a car, but it’s not hard to look past that and get reabsorbed into them movie.
The Racetrack Murders is the weakest story of the set. I couldn’t find it as engaging as the others, with the disdain held by the aristocrats towards the common man feeling too caustic to feel believable. It departs from many of the others with a disappointingly weak reveal and an incredibly crass final shot that feels completely off-putting and out of character for the genre.
The snobbery of the elite residents of the manor makes it hard to elicit sympathy as the events unfold. Walter Rilla gives Lord John Mant a dismissive air, but it’s Lady Stratford, played by Alice Treff, that really turns off the audience, as she laments that some suggested a party be canceled after an unfortunate death or that things like this only happen to the working class, after someone is murdered. Returning actors include Harry Riebauer as veterinarian caring for the favored horse, and Hansjörg Felmy as the quirky and eccentric Peter Brooks. Wolfgang Lukschy portrays the shady head of a bookie agency. Adding female interest is Ann Smyrner as Avril Mant, niece of Lord Mant and a skilled rider. The amusing Peer Schmidt comes back, this time to play the wry butler, Irving. I can’t fault the cast for any of their performances; it’s really the script that is to blame.
Visuals: One of the main features of these movies is how much fun the cinematography is. Good use of camera angles, stark lighting, foggy outdoor scenes, long shadows, all evoke a special mood that is enhanced by the black and white film. Not that everything is colorless. Title sequences commonly use bold, splashy colors to grab the audience’s immediate attention. Less convincing are the generic outdoor establishing shots of London, which don’t have the same distinctive look as the rest of the film. This is likely a budgetary consideration.
The transfers themselves are high-quality, with a good representation of grain and contrast. There are some shots where the grain is highly noticeable, but understandable considering the age of the film and it was never distracting. I considered it part of the charm.
The Curse of the Yellow Snake has plenty of camera movement, with tight closeups, contrasted with large sets with a rich variety of styles. Domestic interiors are brightly lit, with the dim nighttime shots that still keep the actors dramatically bathed or focused in light, emphasizing facial features. The aspect ratio is 1.66:1
The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle: This one skips the usual color titles and opts for stark blacks with a white accent framing the left of the letters, superimposed on a stylish backdrop of the primary setting. There’s a nice feeling of the outdoors when the story switches to the castle grounds, with daylight scenes having a diffused, hazy lighting. Considering the time, the movie does feature one of the more gruesome shots of a murder victim, one leading to a scene that will be repeated in a much more famous film. Again, we have an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The film has one of the worst looking birds I’ve ever seen in a movie. Real birds must have been scarce that day of filming.
The Mad Executioners: Titles are just pure black and white for this one. The film features some great set pieces, with an underground catacomb serving as a makeshift jury chamber, adorned with coffins for desks. An elaborately carved horse-driven hearse carries the guilty victim. Others include a meticulous medical laboratory, stately manor, swanky avant-garde art collection, and a police museum. Dramatic lighting is used throughout, with faces clearly lit, at least went not hooded. With all that, the film seems the most conventionally shot, with slightly less camera movement and fewer off kilter camera angles. We switch to a 2.35:1 aspect ratio for this one.
The Phantom of Soho: Color titles are back. Sadly, high quality film elements couldn’t be used for this title, so it’s presented in standard definition. Even so, it’s not a bad presentation, with good contrast and deep darks. This is also the most visually interesting of all the films in this set, often employing unique camera placement and tilted views. A girl spins on a wheel while the featured knife thrower tosses daggers at her, when the camera suddenly switches to her spinning point of view. The camera uses first person shots for the kills, a technique that has become commonplace these days. There’s lots of visual interest for the audience here, one hopes they may have the chance to use higher quality elements for it at some point. It’s presented with the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
The Monster of London City: Here we get color titles again. Cinematographer Siegfried Hold puts shadows to great use here, with long, drawn-out forms reaching across streets and walls. Another is used to frame a victim as she stands helpless with nowhere to run. The camera work perfectly fits the mood and feel of the movie. It features the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
The Racetrack Murders: While the weakest of this set story-wise, the visuals don’t disappoint. Bright bold colors are used for the striking titles. All kinds of unconventional camera angles and movement keep the viewer’s attention. Lighting is dramatic, offering clear shots of interiors and it also has some of the best outdoor photography. Oddly, this is the one film in this set that was shot with an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, due to the studio’s desire to sell it to the television market after its theatrical run.
Audio: Even though they’re all mono, one of the features of these movies are the inventive and distinct scores that work well to complement the stories. While not heavily used, most have an upbeat, jazzy touch, they’ll often include some use of reverb and electronic enhancements to heighten the mood and tension.
Dialog is clear and prominent, typically foregoing other sound elements. It is all in German, and oddly, some of the subtitles aren’t exactly literal. One thing to be aware of is that the words fly fast, so you’ll occasionally find yourself struggling to keep up with both reading and watching if you’re not a native speaker of the language. That said, I wouldn’t sacrifice any of the performers’ voicework by switching to the dubbed versions. I sampled some of them and just can’t make any kind of case for listening to them.
The Curse of the Yellow Snake: The soundtrack is minimal, with music being used to selectively to underscore the dramatic moments and a haunting choral piece being used during the third act. Sound effects are often dubbed in but work to relay the action on screen. Edgar Wallace’s voice is heard during the open credits, a posthumous welcome.
The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle: Again, music is used infrequently, but here we’re treated to an electronic score by Oskar Sala (The Birds) featuring unnerving, inorganic sounds with lots of reverb.
The Mad Executioners: Mostly forgoing the electronic music of the earlier two movies, this one is dominated by a heavy brass jazz component that almost oozes 007 vibes. Tribunal scenes are underscored with drums. There’s even a bar scene with a musical performance.
The Phantom of Soho: Martin Böttcher a tight score for the film and provides the song Soho as bookends to the film. Dancing girl scenes at the club are backed up with appropriately jaunty tunes.
The Monster of London City: Martin Böttcher returns to scoring for this one again, adding those familiar jazz elements to the soundtrack, with downbeat tones until the electronic score kicks in for the murders.
The Racetrack Murders: Raimund Rosenberger scores this one with bold panache, starting with the opening titles. There are some lighter comedic sections that have their own amusing themes.
Special Features: This set will give you all you need to dig into the history of these movies and also give you a good understanding of the Krimi genre. These are worth reading and listening to broaden one’s appreciation.
- Limited Edition Box Set [2000 copies]
- Limited edition hardcase featuring new artwork by Poochamin [2000 copies]
- Limited edition 60-page collector’s book featuring a new introduction to the Wallace krimi cycle by film writer Howard Hughes, a new essay on Edgar Wallace and Bryan Edgar Wallace by crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw and new notes on each film by Holger Haase, co-editor of Krimi! magazine [2000 copies]
- All five films presented in 1080p HD from 2K restorations of the original film elements undertaken by CCC Film
- The Phantom of Soho (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1964) – bonus feature (presented in SD)
- Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
- Optional English dubs for all films in this set
- New introductions to each film by genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas
- New audio commentaries on The Curse of the Yellow Snake and The Phantom of Soho by Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
- New audio commentaries on The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle, The Mad Executioners and The Racetrack Murders by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
- New audio commentary on The Monster of London City by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones
- Bryan Edgar Wallace: An Era – new interview with Alice Brauner, producer and managing director of CCC Film and daughter of Artur Brauner
- Passing the Blade – new video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas exploring the influence of the Wallace krimi on the Italian giallo and the American slasher film
- Terror in the Fog – new 84 minute in-depth discussion between film historians Tim Lucas and Stephen Bissette
Final Verdict: Growing up in the pre-VHS era, much of my younger days were spent watching old black and white movies through syndication. One of those staples were the Universal monster films and the old detective series, such as Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, and Mr. Moto. There are a lot of similarities between those films and this collection in both look and feel. The press release description raised my interest, and the trailer sealed it. I was not disappointed by the finished product.
This is a full package, offering value past the movies themselves, offering insight into a genre I didn’t know even existed. Kudos to Eureka for putting together such a quality box set.
I was listening to the commentary for another movie recently, and the speaker mentioned that he was surprised to hear that younger viewers are completely dismissive of anything that hasn’t been filmed this century. Sadly, this echoes some of the comments I’ve seen on other forums. That’s a shame, because they’re missing out on both the history of what’s lead up to this point and examples of genres that are no longer made. Plus, the human condition hasn’t changed all that much in the last century, even if the trappings around us are different. The same motivations, perils, foibles, inquisitiveness and resilience are still part of everyday life.
This is a solid set for anyone that is interested in the crime investigation genre and who appreciates a return visit to the earlier days of cinema that evoke mystery, feature distinct characters, and a gothic, romanticized version of London. The supplementary materials do a wonderful job of filling in any gaps for those not familiar with this specific take on murder mysteries.
Fun Fact: Writer Edgar Wallace’s work may not be all that familiar to American audiences, but most will have heard of his most famous non-published work; he wrote the first draft of the 1933 classic, King Kong, right before his death.
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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