Films based on works by Edgar Wallace


was a British novelist, playwright and screenwriter whose works have been adapted for the screen on many occasions. His films fall into two categories, British adaptations and the German "Krimi" films.

British adaptations

His works were adapted for the silent screen as early as 1916, and continued to be adapted by British filmmakers into the 1940s. Anglo-Amalgamated later released a separate series of 47 features entitled the Edgar Wallace Mysteries, which ran from 1960 to 1965.

British silent films

  • The Man Who Bought London
  • The Green Terror based on the novel The Green Rust
  • Pallard the Punter based on the novel Grey Timothy
  • Angel Esquire
  • The River of Stars
  • The Four Just Men
  • Melody of Death
  • The Crimson Circle
  • Down Under Donovan
  • The Diamond Man
  • The Flying Fifty-Five
  • The Green Archer
  • Mark of the Frog serial
  • The Terrible People serial, made in the U.S.
  • Valley of Ghosts
  • The Forger
  • The Ringer
  • The Man Who Changed his Name
  • The Flying Squad
  • Prince Gabby
  • ''The Clue of the New Pin''

    British sound films

  • The Terror
  • The Crimson Circle a German film dubbed in English for British release
  • The Squeaker
  • The Yellow Mask
  • The Calendar
  • The Old Man
  • Hound of the Baskervilles based on the Arthur Conan Doyle novel, but the screenplay was written by Edgar Wallace
  • The Frightened Lady a.k.a. The Indian Scarf
  • The Jewel
  • Before Dawn Hollywood film based on the Edgar Wallace story Death Watch
  • Giallo - technically an Italian film, based on the Wallace novel The Man Who Changed His Mind
  • Mystery Liner
  • The Man Who Changed His Name
  • Sanders of the River
  • The Crimson Circle
  • Strangers on Honeymoon adapted from the novel The Northing Tramp
  • The Squeaker a.k.a. Murder on Diamond Row
  • The Frog
  • Return of the Frog
  • The Gaunt Stranger a.k.a. The Ringer
  • The Terror
  • Dangerous to Know made in U.S.
  • Mr. Reeder in Room 13 a.k.a. The Mystery of Room 13
  • The Mind of Mr. Reeder a.k.a. The Mysterious Mr. Reeder in U.S.
  • The Flying Fifty-Five
  • The Four Just Men a.k.a. The Secret Four
  • The Dark Eyes of London a.k.a.The Human Monster; starred Bela Lugosi
  • The Case of the Frightened Lady a.k.a. The Indian Scarf
  • The Green Archer serial
  • The Missing People
  • The Door with Seven Locks a.k.a. Chamber of Horrors
  • The Missing Million
  • The Calendar
  • The Squeaker made for BBC-TV
  • The Ringer Working title was ''The Gaunt Stranger''

    [Edgar Wallace Mysteries] (1960–1965)

This was a series of British B-Pictures, produced at Merton Park Studios for the Anglo-Amalgamated production company. There were 47 films in the series, all released theatrically between 1960 and 1965.

Harry Alan Towers films

produced four Edgar Wallace films in the early 1960s that were international co-productions with Germany:
  • Death Drums Along the River released in USA as Sanders
  • Coast of Skeletons a.k.a. Sanders and the Ship of Death
  • Circus of Fear based on the novel Again the Three Just Men
  • Five Golden Dragons this film was only periphally connected to Edgar Wallace, in that one of Wallace's characters was inserted into the film's storyline

    British television series

  • The Four Just Men was a series of 39 25-minute films/episodes produced by Sapphire Films for ITV in 1959.
  • The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder was a British television series with 16 episodes, based on Edgar Wallace's stories.

    German Krimi adaptations

The crime films produced by the West German company Rialto Film between 1959 and 1972 form their own subgenre known as Krimis. Aside from the Rialto productions, other Edgar Wallace adaptations in a similar style were made by the West Germans Artur Brauner and Kurt Ulrich as well as the British producer Harry Alan Towers.

Early history of the German Edgar Wallace movies

As early as the silent movie era, German film producers discovered that the novels of Edgar Wallace were easily adapted to the screen. The first German production of an Edgar Wallace story, Der große Unbekannte, was filmed in 1927. Wallace personally visited the production of the next movie Der rote Kreis in Berlin. The Crimson Circle was trade-shown in London in March 1929 in the Phonofilm sound-on-film system.
In 1931, Karel Lamač adapted The Squeaker, one of Wallace's best known works, as the sound film Der Zinker. Adaptations of The Ringer by Lamarc and The Double by E. W. Emo followed. From 1934 to the mid-1950s, no German-language films based on works by Edgar Wallace were produced. Then, in the mid-1950s, the West German film distributor Constantin Film began plans for a series of films. Due to the perceived unpopularity of the crime genre in West Germany at that time, however, no film producer willing to take such a risk could be found, delaying the project until 1959.

The 1960s German "Krimi" film movement

In 1959, the Danish company Rialto Film, with its producer Preben Philipsen produced Der Frosch mit der Maske, targeting the West German film market. The film turned out to be surprisingly successful and started a veritable fad of crime movies, known as Krimis which lasted until significant changes in the direction of the West German film industry in the early 1970s occurred. Rialto soon acquired the exclusive rights to nearly all the Wallace novels, founded a West German subsidiary company and, unconcerned by the many copycat productions by others, moved towards the artistic and commercial peak of the series in the early 1960s.
There were a total of 39 West German movies based on works by Edgar Wallace from 1959 to 1972. Beginning with Der grüne Bogenschütze, the leading examples of the genre were produced by Horst Wendlandt and directed by Alfred Vohrer or Harald Reinl. Following Der Bucklige von Soho, all of Rialto's Krimi movies were shot in color. Additionally, the original novels were increasingly disregarded in favour of original stories. From 1969 onwards, Rialto Film started four co-productions with Italian producers to minimize costs. Audiences began to lose interest in the genre, which ended with Das Rätsel des silbernen Halbmonds in 1972.

The German Edgar Wallace "Krimi" filmography (1959–72)

These films were all produced by Rialto Film of West Germany unless noted otherwise. Where the German title is different from the English release print, a translation of the German title is also provided.
YearGerman Film TitleEnglish Release TitleProduced byDirector
1959Der Frosch mit der Maske Face of the Frog Harald Reinl
1960Der rote Kreis The Crimson CircleJürgen Roland
1960Der RächerThe AvengerKurt Ulrich-FilmKarl Anton
1960Die Bande des Schreckens The Terrible People Harald Reinl
1961Der grüne BogenschützeThe Green ArcherJürgen Roland
1961Die toten Augen von LondonDead Eyes of London Alfred Vohrer
1961Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen The Devil's Daffodil Ákos Ráthonyi
1961Der Fälscher von LondonThe Forger of London Harald Reinl
1961Die seltsame GräfinThe Strange CountessJosef von Báky
1962Das Rätsel der roten OrchideeThe Puzzle of the Red Orchid Helmut Ashley
1962Die Tür mit den sieben SchlössernThe Door with Seven LocksAlfred Vohrer
1962Das Gasthaus an der Themse The Inn on the River Alfred Vohrer
1963Der Fluch der gelben SchlangeThe Curse of the Yellow Snake CCC-Film/ Artur BraunerFranz Josef Gottlieb
1963Der ZinkerThe SqueakerAlfred Vohrer
1963Der schwarze AbtThe Black AbbotFranz Josef Gottlieb
1963Das indische TuchThe Indian ScarfAlfred Vohrer
1963Zimmer 13Room 13Harald Reinl
1963Todestrommeln am großen FlußDeath Drums Along the River Harry Alan TowersLawrence Huntington
1964Die Gruft mit dem RätselschloßThe Curse of the Hidden Vault Franz Josef Gottlieb
1964Der HexerThe Ringer Alfred Vohrer
1964Das VerrätertorTraitor's GateFreddie Francis
1964Sanders und das Schiff des Todes Coast of SkeletonsHarry Alan TowersRobert Lynn
1965Neues vom HexerAgain the RingerAlfred Vohrer
1965Der unheimliche MönchThe Sinister Monk Harald Reinl
1966Der Bucklige von SohoThe Hunchback of SohoAlfred Vohrer
1966Das Geheimnis der weißen Nonne The Trygon Factor Cyril Frankel
1966Das Rätsel des silbernen Dreieck Circus of Fear ; based on the novel Again the Three Just MenHarry Alan TowersJohn Llewellyn Moxey
1967Die Blaue Hand Creature with the Blue Hand; re-edited in 1987 as The Bloody Dead with added gore by producer Sam ShermanAlfred Vohrer
1967Der Mönch mit der PeitscheThe Monk with the Whip; a.k.a. The College Girl Murders Alfred Vohrer
1967Five Golden DragonsHarry Alan TowersJeremy Summers
1968Der Hund von Blackwood CastleThe Hound of Blackwood Castle Alfred Vohrer
1968Im Banne des Unheimlichen The Hand of Power; a.k.a. The Zombie Walks Alfred Vohrer
1968Der Gorilla von SohoThe Gorilla of Soho Alfred Vohrer
1969Der Mann mit dem GlasaugeThe Man with the Glass Eye Alfred Vohrer
1969Das Gesicht im Dunkeln Double Face ''A doppia faccia; a.k.a. Puzzle of HorrorsRiccardo Freda
1971Der Teufel kam aus AkasavaThe Devil Came from Akasava CCC-Film/ Artur BraunerJesus Franco
1971Die Tote aus der Themse Angels of Terror Harald Philipp
1972Das Geheimnis der grünen Stecknadel ; a.k.a. The School That Couldn't Scream Massimo Dallamano
1972Das Rätsel des silbernen Halbmonds Seven Blood-Stained Orchids/ Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso'' Umberto Lenzi