Dead Eyes of London (1961)

Blistering performances.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Blistering performances.

A number of rich foreign businessmen living in London are being killed, their bodies tossed into the Thames & made to look like drownings. Scotland Yard inspector Larry Holt & his always cheerful colleague Sgt. Harvey are on the case. They find pieces of paper on each of the victims, written in Braille as well as a piece of rope on the feet on the victims. They bring in Nora Ward, an expert in Braille, who tells them that the deaths are the result of foul play & that the paper notes reveal that the killer is blind. Investigation also reveals that the victims had large insurance policies on themselves. Whilst investigating the insurance broker, Holt discovers a conspiracy by an unknown party to swindle the insurance money for gambling debts & that Nora Ward is actually the illegitimate daughter of one of the victims, as well as the sole beneficiary of the dead man's policy. At the same time, the mastermind behind the killings is competing with some of his underlings in a deadly game to collect the money.One of a number of German B-grade crime thrillers based on the works of Edgar Wallace that came about in the early 1960s, Dead Eyes of London is a pretty routine thriller as far as thrillers go. But what makes this quite interesting is the weird story that serves as the film's plot, as well as some inventive deaths & a modest atmosphere. In case you don't guess so from the English language version, the film is a German production with German actors (including Klaus Kinski) & dubbed into English, although the dubbing isn't obvious at first glance.Director Alfred Vohrer manages to make a passable detective yarn out of the convoluted storyline & despite the dragging pace, actually makes for an interesting watch. Some of the killings – everything from drownings in laundry vats (& the bodies tied to salt rocks that dissolve after a while to release the bodies & make them look like accidental deaths), hit-&-runs, gunshots to the face, a janitor getting shot in the eye while looking in a peephole, people thrown out the window & a priest wielding a flamethrower – are quite full-on for 1961 standards. Not just that, but there has to be something said for a film where the likes of Klaus Kinski (himself a very weird actor) is not the weirdest person in the cast. From a detective who knits clothes for the Salvation Army & who is always cheerful, even in dire circumstances, to the pudgy fat killer who resembles Tor Johnson in some aspects, Dead Eyes of London is chock-full of strangeness that will make this a reasonable night in.

"Dead Eyes of London" has some seriously creepy scenes. There's a chute that disposes bodies in river, two close-ups of dead people's faces and a guy falling to his death after a killer stomps on his hands that are holding on for dear life! This is NOT a typical Hollywood film as the American films of this era were a lot less visceral and violent--and the Germans made a scary one.The film involves several killings that are somehow connected to a freaky reverend--a blind one who ministers to a flock of blind men. You aren't sure exactly how he and his ministry is involved through most of the film--but some of the baddies are hiding out in his home for blind men. One is the beastly looking killer who manages to look a lot like Tor Johnson--but a lot uglier! There also is a part by Klaus Kinski--who looks goggle-eyed and crazy throughout the movie. I could say more about the film, but it would spoil the suspense of this horror thriller.Overall, while not a brilliant film (there are a few lulls here and there), it is very difficult not to be pulled into the film--mostly because it's so very brutal. Subtle it ain't--but it is exciting and very, very different.

This is my favorite of the German-made Edgar Wallaces. Brilliantly directed by Alfred Vohrer, atmospherically photographed and luxuriously produced, it imaginatively maintains atmosphere and suspense right from its dramatically eerie opening to the shattering surprise finale. (In an article on Edgar Wallace in Films In Review, Jack Edmund Nolan maintains that the plot, characters and background are closer to Wallace's conception than the 1940 British version of the novel, starring Bela Lugosi).It's hard to judge the quality of the acting from the dubbed edition, but the players do seem to acquit themselves well.And for once the dubbed version runs longer than that released in the home country!

This remake of DARK EYES OF London (1940), from an Edgar Wallace novel, joins the mere handful of Krimis that I've watched over the years; as far as I can recall, these extend to just 3 DR. MABUSE entries and CIRCUS OF FEAR (1966). I know many are ardent fans of this type of film but, personally, I don't think they have the same rewatchability value as the contemporaneous Italian gialli.The film is marked by directorial stylistics – arresting shock cuts, inventive transition between scenes (including the iris effect), etc. – and an avant-gardist score. It goes on too long, however, by having an inordinately convoluted plot that involves numerous characters; the original – a British B-movie – was, by necessity, far more compact and, consequently, more direct and effective. Still, the basic thriller elements remain undeniably engaging and the noir-ish atmosphere is thickly laid on (though undermined by the dupey, splicey print on the Retromedia DVD) – making the film quite enjoyable if, ultimately, nothing special.The cast is O.K.: likable middle-aged lead, attractive female roles, slightly overstated comic-relief sidekick; Bela Lugosi's role in the original is split into two here; the blind killer – played by a Tor Johnson look-alike former wrestler – is, again, depicted as a hairy grotesque; and it also features a young but typically intense Klaus Kinski in a supporting role.