''The Crimson Circle'' (German: ''Der rote Kreis'') is a 1960

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

/ Danish black and white

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Jürgen Roland Jürgen Roland, born Jürgen Schellack (25 December 1925 – 21 September 2007) was a German film director. Roland was described as the "father of German TV crime shows". He directed about 80 TV productions and 30 movies. Life and career Rol ...

and starring

Renate Ewert Renate Ewert (9 November 1933 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany - now Kaliningrad, Russia – 4 December 1966, Munich, West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its format ...

Klausjürgen Wussow Klausjürgen Wussow (30 April 1929 – 19 June 2007) was a German stage, film and television actor. Early life Wussow was born in Cammin, Province of Pomerania, Weimar Germany (modern Kamień Pomorski, Poland). His father was a teacher and ca ...

and Karl-Georg Saebisch.BFI.org
/ref> It was an adaptation of the 1922 novel '' The Crimson Circle'' by the British writer

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer of crime and adventure fiction. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was ...

Plot

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

detectives pursue a ruthless league of

blackmailer Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a th ...

s known as The Crimson Circle.

Cast

as Thalia Drummond *

as Derrick Yale * Karl-Georg Saebisch as Inspector Parr * Thomas Alder as Jack Beardmore *

Ernst Fritz Fürbringer Ernst Fritz Fürbringer (27 July 1900 – 30 October 1988) was a German film actor. He appeared in 130 films between 1933 and 1983. He was born in Brunswick, Germany and died in Munich, Germany. Selected filmography * ''Die große und die ...

as Sir Archibald Morton *

Erica Beer Erica Beer (19 January 1925 – 27 December 2013) was a German film actress. She was born in Munich. Selected filmography * ''Captive Soul'' (1952) * ''The Last Waltz'' (1953) * '' Heartbroken on the Moselle'' (1953) * '' They Were So Young'' ...

as Mrs. Carlyle *

Fritz Rasp Fritz Heinrich Rasp (13 May 1891 – 30 November 1976) was a German film actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1916 and 1976. His obituary in ''Der Spiegel'' described Rasp as "the German film villain in service, for over 60 years." ...

as Froyant *

Eddi Arent Gebhardt Georg Arendt (5 May 1925 – 28 May 2013) was a German actor, cabaret artist and comedian. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1956 and 2002. He was born in Danzig, Free City of Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) and died in ...

as Sergeant Haggett * Edith Mill as Lady Doringham *

Ulrich Beiger Ulrich Beiger (26 August 1918 – 18 September 1996) was a German actor. Selected filmography * '' The Little Residence'' (1942) - Möller * ''The Trip to Marrakesh'' (1949) - Mixer * ''Sensation in Savoy'' (1950) - young Indian * ''Scandal at ...

as Osborne *

Richard Lauffen Richard Lauffen (June 2, 1907 – August 28, 1990) was a German actor. Filmography References External links

* 1907 births 1990 deaths German male film actors Actors from Mönchengladbach 20th-century German male actors Male actors fr ...

as Marles * Heinz Klevenow as Brabazon * Alfred Schlageter as Mr Beardmore *

Panos Papadopulos Panos Papadopoulos (Greek: Πάνος Παπαδόπουλος; 1 August 1920, in Kerassus, Ottoman Empire – 18 February 2001, in Munich) was a Greek actor. Selected filmography * '' Hello, Fraulein!'' (1949) – Musiker * '' Jonny Saves Neb ...

as Sailor Selby * Albert Watson as Sergeant Johnson * Richard Grupe as James *

Karl-Heinz Peters Karl-Heinz Peters (28 August 1903 – 5 September 1990) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' Alarm at Station III'' (1939) * ''Men Are That Way'' (1939) * '' The Governor'' (1939) * '' Enemies'' (1940) * '' Mein Leben für Irlan ...

as Executioner *

Friedrich Schütter Friedrich Schütter (1921–1995) was a German film and television actor. He was the German dubbing voice of Lorne Greene. Selected filmography * ''Operation Sleeping Bag'' (1955) * '' The Heart of St. Pauli'' (1957) * ''Doctor Crippen Lives'' ...

as Henry Charles Lightman (and the masked head of the Crimson Circle) * Alf Marholm as Prison warden * Günter Hauer as Conductor *

as Policeman

Production

A previous German/British adaptation of the novel '' The Crimson Circle'' by

was made in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. Other versions were produced in the UK in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. For this version, the second film in the Wallace series produced by Rialto, the novel was adapted for the screen by

Egon Eis Egon Eis (born Egon Eisler; 6 October 1910 – 6 September 1994) was an Austrian screenwriter. He wrote for nearly 50 films between 1930 and 1983. Eis was forced into exile during the Nazi era, but returned to work in the German film industry ...

under his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

"Trygve Larsen".

Wolfgang Menge Wolfgang Menge (10 April 1924 – 17 October 2012) was a German Screenwriter, television writer and journalist. Personal life He was married and had three sons.Stahlnetz ''Stahlnetz'' was a German police procedural television series with many similarities to '' Dragnet'' running from 1958 to 1968, and from 1999 to 2003. See also * Episodes ''Stahlnetz'' 1958-1968 *List of German television series The followi ...

''. Cinematography took place in November and December 1959. The studio for interiors was ''Palladium Atelier'' at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Exteriors were also shot at Kopenhagen. Stock footage from London shot during production of the previous film ''

Der Frosch mit der Maske ''Der Frosch mit der Maske'' (translation: ''The Frog with the Mask''), aka ''Face of the Frog'', is a 1959 West German-Danish black-and-white crime film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Siegfried Lowitz and Joachim Fuchsberger. It was the ...

'' was used.

Release

The FSK gave the film a rating of 16 years and up, unsuitable for screening on public holidays. It premiered on 2 March 1960 at the Unversum at Stuttgart. The film's success encouraged the producers to meet with Penelope Wallace and secure the film rights for all available Wallace novels.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crimson Circle, The 1960 films 1960s mystery films 1960s crime thriller films German mystery films German crime thriller films West German films 1960s German-language films Films directed by Jürgen Roland Films based on British novels Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Films set in England Films shot in Denmark German black-and-white films Remakes of British films Constantin Film films Films set in London UFA GmbH films 1960s German films