THE TERRIBLE PEOPLE

Elisabeth Flickenschildt and Joachim Fuchsberger

THE TERRIBLE PEOPLE (aka Die Bande des Schreckens/1960). Director: Harald Reinl.

Before he is hanged for his many crimes, Clay Shelton (Otto Collin) -- who was captured during a bank robbery -- vows to kill Inspector Long (Joachim Fuchsberger), the judge, the hangman, even a woman, Mrs. Revelstoke (Elisabeth Flickenschildt), who got in his way as he tried to escape, and others. As usual in these kind of movies, the police do a lousy job of protecting these folks, who are killed off one by one. Shelton's grave is empty, and people keep seeing the supposedly dead man in the distance. Then there are the sinister members of a gang called The Gallow's Hand. Long comes to realize that his own father (Fritz Rasp) may somehow be involved in the case, along with Nora Sanders (Karin Dor), who is Mrs. Revelstoke's confused and frightened secretary. Will Long be able to find out what's going on and who is responsible before every witness is killed off?

Fuchsberger with Fritz Rasp

This is another West German Edgar Wallace adaptation, and it is suspenseful and fun, if rather far-fetched. Clay Shelton makes a creepy-looking adversary, and the identity of the true mastermind behind it all comes as a big surprise. The action scenes in the film, especially at the climax, are very well handled. One interesting sequence has the hangman himself being strangled with a noose. When Long receives a written message, someone asks him: "Menacing message or love letter?" To which he replies: "Love letters are always menacing." Eddi Arent plays a crime scene photographer who keeps fainting every time he sees a body, a recurring joke that is never that funny. There are times when this seems very much like a Dr. Mabuse movie.

When I watched this for free on Tubi, the last twenty minutes or so suddenly switched from the dubbed English version to the German-language version -- with no subtitles. Fortunately Amazon Prime also had the film -- in English -- so I was able to learn what everyone was saying, although I had to rent the darn thing to do so.  

Verdict: Another interesting West German crime film. ***.