Review: The Secret of the Red Orchid

Scotland Yard detective Adrian Hoven and a recently arrived American FBI agent played by Christopher Lee join forces to take down two rival Chicago gangs (led by, respectively Klaus Kinski and Eric Pohlmann) that have set up shop in London. Pinkas Braun plays the nephew of a murdered tycoon, and Eddi Arent plays a nosy, shifty butler.

 

One of the German-made films featuring a dubbed Christopher Lee, this 1962 gangster pic from director Helmuth Ashley (mostly a TV director including the popular “Derrick” TV series) and screenwriter Egon Els, is based on an Edgar Wallace novel. It’s not really my kind of thing, but it has a nice gritty B&W look to it, and it’s far from the worst thing Lee has been in. The story is interesting at times, if not original. From a cinematic history perspective, it’s interesting to see something like this, one of the more obscure films in Lee’s career. There’s something a bit weird about Germans trying to portray events from British and American points of view. It’s not very convincing to say the least, nor are the guys dubbing Lee and (especially) Klaus Kinski. That said, do you really want to hear Klaus Kinski attempt a wiseguy accent himself?

 

Eric Pohlmann is immediately well-cast and terrific, and lead actor Adrian Hoven is quite solid too, as is Pinkas Braun. Despite the dubbing Lee and in particular Kinski manage to convey enough of their performances through non-verbal means. Kinski probably ties with Pohlmann for scene-stealing prowess here. The problem with Lee really is that given Hoven and Braun are around, Lee’s participation here feels more marquee value. Even given the way the plot resolves, Lee’s character still doesn’t seem entirely necessary. Meanwhile, an actor named Eddi Arent is a constant source of irritation, though I suspect German audiences might take more kindly to his more comedic stylings. Cinematographer Franz Lederle (“Derrick”) offers up some nice use of shadow here and there, and there’s a nice, ironic twist towards the end, too. On the debit side is a dreadfully loud, dreadfully insistent music score by Peter Thomas (“The Trygon Factor” with Stewart Granger and Robert Morley).

 

An interesting but uneven curio, it’s the exact film it wants to be but it’s of intermittent appeal to me. Good-looking for something likely fairly cheap, though.

 

Rating: C+

 

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