CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND (1967)

David Emerson, of the wealthy Emerson family, is found guilty of the murder of his family's gardener and sent to Dr. Mangrove's asylum and tossed in a solitaire cell, proclaiming his innocence all the way. Someone tosses a key to him through his meal slot and he escapes (leaving behind a dead nurse whom he may or may not have strangled), heading for the family mansion, Castle Gentry, where no one really believes he's innocent, except maybe for his cousin Myrna and his twin brother Richard. After he arrives, he finds Richard is absent, so he borrows his clothes and passes himself off as Richard (seeming not at all insane). We find out that Lord Emerson took off years ago when accused of embezzlement and is assumed dead (but is he?), Lady Emerson and the family butler both act a bit suspicious at times, and soon someone with a sharp-clawed blue gauntlet (the Blue Hand of the title) begins killing people off. Police inspector Craig is soon on the case. Myrna gets a call to meet David at an empty bar and once there, she's attacked, though it's her brother Robert, trying to help her, who ends up dead. David, still as Richard, proves to be quite rational and winds up working with the police, and Myrna finds out that Dr. Mangrove takes bribes to declare people insane who aren't, and that the dead nurse from the beginning knew about him. Myrna herself is stashed away in a cell and threatened with snakes and rats. We find out that Dr. Mangrove, though definitely a bad guy, is himself taking orders from someone else. Ready to cry uncle yet? I hope not, because the revelations come fast and furious in the last half-hour, and the viewer needs to pay close attention.

When I was a kid, I got this movie title confused with the title of an Outer Limits episode, Demon with a Glass Hand, so I always assumed this was a science fiction film. It's not. It's a German krimi, based on a book by prolific crime writer Edgar Wallace. It also partakes of the Gothic 'old dark house' genre with horror overtones. Somewhat surprisingly, there is no real romance subplot, and the comic relief is kept to a minimum, mostly provided by Inspector Craig's boss, Sir John. A recurring "gag" involves men looking into the cell of a female inmate, a former stripper, who spends her time constantly stripping as though for an audience. The narrative is absolutely clotted with incident and plot twists, but it's fun to watch and ultimately getting confused is not a bar to enjoyment. Klaus Kinski plays the dual role of Paul and Richard, going over-the-top sweaty as Paul and calm and collected as Richard (or Paul as Richard). Though Kinski is the biggest name in the cast and gets lots of attention, Harald Leipnitz as the inspector is really the main character, with the Emerson brothers dropping out of the plot occasionally. The actor reminds me of John Vernon, who played Dean Wormer in ANIMAL HOUSE. Generally, it's good krimi fun, a bit more crazy-assed than is the norm. Pictured are Kinski and Leipnitz. [YouTube]