THE CURSE OF THE HIDDEN VAULT

Ernst Fritz Furbringer and Harald Leipnitz

THE CURSE OF THE HIDDEN VAULT (aka Die Gruft mit dem Ratselschloss/1964.) Director: Franz Josef Gottlieb.  

An old gangster named Real (Rudolf Roster) has amassed a fortune -- mostly from others -- and placed it in a booby-trapped vault on his estate. Real wants to leave his fortune to Kathleen Kent (Judith Dornys), the daughter of a man he cheated years ago, but all of Real's associates want their cut first and will kidnap and murder anyone they can to get it. Kathleen is accompanied by her nerdy, officious lawyer, Ferry Westlake (Eddi Arent) and is befriended by the mysterious Jimmy Flynn (Harald Leipnitz), who seems to be playing both sides against the other. Meanwhile Inspector Angel (Harry Meyen), egged on by Sir John (Siegfried Schurenberg), tries to get enough on everyone to make an arrest. 

Klaus Kinski

The main problem with Hidden Vault is that it can't make up its mind if its a serious thriller or a parody of one. The presence of Eddi Arent, playing his usual role of comedy relief, doesn't help at all, although he does get the last laugh at the very end. While much of the film is tedious, there are a couple of good scenes set in an old mill, and a gruesome business where one character falls in front of a grindstone. Klaus Kinski [Schizoid] plays a sinister mute character who slithers about causing mischief and worse. The movie has just a few James Bond-like touches and there are some surprises to boot. For the record the vault in this movie is hardly "hidden" as lots of characters find it with ease. Franz Josef Gottlieb also directed the eurospy feature Die Slowly, You'll Enjoy it More with Lex Barker.   

Verdict: Another Edgar Wallace adaptation from West Germany. **1/4.