THE RED CIRCLE (1960)

In a prologue, we see the execution of condemned murderer Henry Lightman by guillotine go awry when the drunken executioner leaves a nail in place that stops the blade just short of Lightman's head (he has a black cloth over his face so we can't see what he looks like). He manages to escape and eight years later, he returns as a sinister figure known as the Red Circle who blackmails rich people who are then killed if they don't pay up. He gets his name from the cryptic notes he leaves behind with a red circle as a signature—and in one case, a red burn mark left on a victim's arm from a car cigarette lighter. The caped and masked figure demands that Lady Doringham give him a valuable necklace belonging to her husband; he gives her an imitation one to replace it so the loss won't be detected. When she fails to follow through, he kills her in her car. A famous sculptor contacts Scotland Yard about a threat, but when they arrive at his studio, he is dead, hanging from the ceiling. Yard inspector Parr and his team, Lord Archibald and Sgt. Haggett, are roundly criticized in the press so Parr reluctantly hires famous private detective Derrick Yale to assist. Yale immediately picks up on the fact that the noose around the sculptor's neck was tied with a seaman's knot, which leads them to arrest an itinerant sailor named Selby. He admits the murder but says he was paid to do it by the Red Circle. Later, in his jail cell, he is poisoned while eating soup. Beardmore, a wealthy businessman, is the next target of the Red Circle, and the investigation of his case introduces us to his handsome nephew Jack, a businessman named Froyant who works in the Beardmore building, and his lovely secretary Thalia. At various times, both Jack and Thalia seem suspicious, as does the otherwise bumbling Sgt. Haggett. Thalia winds up getting fired and finds work with a banker named Barbazon; soon, he is pressured by the Red Circle into putting counterfeit bills into circulation. Lots of other characters and situations (including a kidnapped child) clutter up the narrative before the Red Circle is unmasked with the ultimate clue that he, Lightman under a different name, has a permanent red scar around his neck from the guillotine's pillory.

Based on an Edgar Wallace novel titled The Crimson Circle, this is the second 'official' krimi, a German crime film based on the work of Wallace. As I note in my review of the first one, FACE OF THE FROG, this shares with other krimi films an overstuffed plot, a large cast of characters (so lots of people can get killed off), and several red herrings. FROG was good but this one is almost deliriously fun with its huge cast and constant string of murders. At a little over 90 minutes, it starts to feel a bit long, but the end is worth it, as the identity of the killer is a satisfying surprise. There is no shortage of good looking actors here. Renate Ewart is sexy and seductive as Thalia, Klausjurgen Wussow is youthful and appealing as Yale, and even more handsome is Thomas Alder as Jack. Krimi regular Eddi Arent, pictured, is Haggett, doing double duty as mild comic relief and as a suspect. There's no use arguing about plotholes and inconsistencies, though I admit the idea that Yale, a private eye, might be seen as a serious contender for Parr's job, was just ridiculous. My first krimi kick was in 2023, but this might get me started on another one. Sadly, two young cast members died of suicide a few years later: Ewart and Alder. [YouTube, where it’s called The Crimson Circle]