Import/Export: The Terrible People (1960)

Another German Murder Mystery- it's been a while.  This is The Terrible People, a 1960 Thriller based on an Edgar Wallace Story.  The guy is kind of an underrated/remembered Writer.  While modern Writers like Stephen King or their forebearers like Richard Matheson get all the glory, people like Wallace did alot.  He wrote many Crime Novels and Thrillers & is most notable to film geeks for helping write King Kong!  For whatever reason(s), his works are HUGE in Germany, so many adaptations like this come from there.  So that's the big wrinkle- the Film is set in England, but made in German.  Distracting, no?  The Plot involves a criminal's dying threat seeming to come true.  Is he really alive?  Will any of his targets survive?  The Lead is Joachim Fuchsberger, a man you will see in alot of these Films.  In fact, he's in over a dozen Edgar Wallace Adaptations!  He's even in what I think is one of the more underrated Giallos- What Have You Done to Solange?  In this one, he plays a cocky Detective who refuses to back down in the face of danger.  To see if he made the right call, read on...

A Bank Robber named Shelton is caught in the act, thanks to a Detective's trap.

Naturally, this dangerous trap is done in public, with many bystanders.  Cops are great!

As his time at the gallows- they still hang people in England?!?- arrives, the man threatens to come back for revenge on all involved.

I liked it better when a Warlock did it in Mexico.

The man's potential targets are a group of random people that include a Socialite, a Judge, an Attorney and others.

Speaking of targets, was this an acceptable thing to have this thing in your House?!?

As the targets get picked off, the Detective is also targeted.  Thankfully he wore this vest made out of the chainmail that Scott Steiner used to wear on his head.

Oh and this Film is chock full of TERRIBLE Rear Projection Effects for people in Cars and Boats.  Enjoy.

Despite Shelton's grave being empty, people swearing that they saw him and his named targets dying, it is somehow hard to get the Chief on board.

Thank you, pointless drama padding.

In the midst of stopping a murder spree from a seemingly-dead killer, Joachim finds time for romance.  Gotta prioritize, man!

As the final victims are targeted, I must highlight the biggest issue with the story for me- this poor woman.

Over the course of the last forty-minutes of Film, she is kidnapped THREE TIMES and only once gets to do anything but be in peril!!!

I'd blame Wallace, but he was already dead for 27 years at this point and I have no idea if this is from the Story or not.

It turns out that Shelton was dead and his three sons were the culprits.  Although if all 3 are dead, then who is this guy?

It's not!  This Film 'Scooby-Doo's itself (predating the Show, I know) by revealing that the Heiress thought dead (but who's body wasn't found) was the real ringleader.

She quickly exposits how she was married to our Lead's Dad and then Shelton, before offing herself to end the Film.

A quirky mystery that has alot of style, but is a bit lacking in substance.  The Plot is both simple and dense.  On the surface, we get a killer vowing revenge and people being killed.  Simple, right?  Once you get into the weeds of it though, we get a bunch of random people constantly fighting for attention.  The point is theoretically to make it hard to figure out who the culprit is.  There are too many of them and it is just hard to keep track though.  This should be easy viewing, but you practically need a flow chart.  We have a bunch of random victims, possible suspects, periphery characters and our Leads.  On top of that, they introduce and kill off a random Character before the 3rd Act.  We meet the ex-girlfriend of Shelton, who proves herself to be capable by one-upping the Detective.  In the next Scene, she is 100% ineffectual and killed off in mean fashion.  What was the point of that?!?  Putting aside all of the dated aspects, there are some fun moments and creative bits.  I don't believe that falling through the stairs and hitting the ground 4 feet away would actually kill you, but neat visual.  The Film is kind of silly and kind of a mess, but a fun one.  It's not the greatest Mystery Film.  You have to accept that everyone is German, even as the Film is set in England.  Is this an alternate Timeline where they won WWII?!?  All in all, People is a silly Mystery that old school fans will like, but is probably too dated for newer fans.

Next time, I move to the 1970s for a slightly-less dated Film.  It will still be my kind of fun though.  Stay tuned...