''The Indian Scarf'' (german: Das indische Tuch) is a 1963 West German

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by Alfred Vohrer. It was part of a very successful series of German films based on the writings of Edgar Wallace and adapted from the 1931 play ''The Case of the Frightened Lady''.

Plot

After the rich Lord Lebanon has been strangled, a group of different characters assembles at Mark's Priory, his lonely manor in the north of Scotland, to attend the reading of his will. However, as lawyer Frank Tanner explains—in reading a "second-to-last-will"—to the potential heirs, they will first have to stay together at the manor for six days and six nights. Thinking that Lebanon has died of heart failure they all agree. It turns out to be a dangerous requirement as the manor is cut off from the outside world by a storm and one by one the visitors are murdered—strangled with an Indian scarf. In the end, of all the guests, family and staff only Tanner, Isla Harris and Bonwit the butler survive. The last will is read and it is revealed that Lord Lebanon has in fact left all his money to the man he considered to be the greatest of the century: Edgar Wallace.

Cast

* Heinz Drache as Frank Tanner *

Corny Collins Corny Collins (born 1933) is a former German stage, film and television actress.Bergfelder p.259 She was married to the actor Christian Wolff. Selected filmography * ''Voyage to Italy, Complete with Love'' (1958) * ''Father, Mother and Nine Ch ...

as Isla Harris *

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

as Peter Ross *

Gisela Uhlen Gisela Uhlen (16 May 1919 – 16 January 2007) was a German film actress and occasional screen writer. Biography Uhlen was born Gisela Friedlinde Schreck (German national library entry) in Leipzig, Germany as fourth child of Luise Frieda and ...

as Mrs. Tilling, née Lebanon * Hans Nielsen as Mr. Tilling * Siegfried Schürenberg as Sir Henry Hockbridge *

Richard Häussler Richard Häussler (26 October 1908 – 28 September 1964) was a German actor and film director. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1936 and 1964. He also directed seven films between 1951 and 1957. He was born in Munich, Germany and d ...

as Dr. Amersham * Hans Clarin as Lord Edward Lebanon * Alexander Engel as Reverend Hastings *

Ady Berber Ady Berber (4 February 1913 – 3 January 1966) was an Austrian film actor, professional wrestler and café owner. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1936 and 1966. He was born and died in Vienna, Austria. Selected filmography * '' C ...

as Chiko * Eddi Arent as Richard Maria Bonwit * Elisabeth Flickenschildt as Lady Emily Lebanon *

Rainer Brandt Rainer Brandt (born 19 January 1936) is a German film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1959 and 1986. He was born in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography Actor * ''The Red Hand'' (1960) * ''The Juvenile Judge'' (1960) as Kurt * ''Horrors ...

as Inspector Fuchsberger (voice) (uncredited) * as Edgar Wallace's secretary/ body in the morgue (uncredited) *

Eberhard Junkersdorf Hans-Eberhard Junkersdorf (born 27 September 1938) is a German film producer. He has produced more than 50 films since 1975. He was a member of the jury at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected filmography * '' Room 13'' (1964 ...

as Lord Edward Lebanon / killer with the scarf (uncredited) * Alfred Vohrer as Edgar Wallace / Sir Henry's parrot (voice) / radio announcer(voice) (uncredited) *

Wilhelm Vorwerg Wilhelm Vorwerg (1899–1990) was a German art director who designed the sets for over fifty films including a number of Rialto Film's series of Edgar Wallace adaptations in the 1960s.Bergfelder p.256 Selected filmography * '' In the Name of the ...

as Lord Frances Percival Lebanon (uncredited)

Production

''Das indische Tuch'' was part of a series of films based on works by Edgar Wallace made in the late 1950s and 1960s by producer

Horst Wendlandt Horst Otto Gregor Wendlandt (15 March 1922 – 30 August 2002) was a German film producer. He produced more than 100 films between 1956 and 2002. In the 1960s Horst Wendlandt's production company Rialto Film produced films based on Edgar Wa ...

for

Rialto Film Rialto Film is a German motion-picture production company headquartered in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make ...

. The script to the film was adapted first by Georg Hurdalek and then Harald G. Petersson from an original treatment by

Egon Eis Egon Eis, born Egon Eisler (6 October 1910 – 6 September 1994) was an Austrian screenwriter. He wrote for nearly 50 films between 1930 and 1983. Eis was forced into exile during the Nazi era, but returned to work in the German film industry ...

, written under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Trygve Larsen, that had not found the approval of the producer. At this stage, the film was to be called ''Der Unheimliche''. The scripts were derived from the Edgar Wallace play ''The Frightened Lady''. There were two previous film versions based on it, both British and called ''The Frightened Lady'', made in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. Of the three, Vohrer's version was the one that deviated most from the original play. The story becomes a case of ''

Ten Little Indians "Ten Little Indians" is a traditional American children's counting out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12976. The term "Indians" in this sense refers to Indigenous North American peoples. In 1868, songwriter Septimus Winner adapt ...

'', as the protagonists are killed off one by one. Unusually for a film of the series, even leading man Heinz Drache's character comes under suspicion. Heinz Drache was cast for this film after having starred as the hero of a very successful TV production of

Francis Durbridge Francis Henry Durbridge (; 25 November 1912 – 11 April 1998) was an English dramatist and author, best known for the creation of the character Paul Temple, the gentlemanly detective who appeared in 16 BBC multi-part radio serials from 1 ...

's ''The Scarf'' ('), which involved a similar

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

and was first aired in 1962. Several other actors, like Kinski, Arent and Schürenberg, had by that time become regulars in the film series. The film was shot between 8 July and 13 August 1963 entirely in the Spandau Studios in West Berlin. There were no exterior shots at all. Wilhelm Vorwerk, who appears as Lord Lebanon, was not an actor, but rather the production designer at the Spandau studios. Eva Ebner was Vohrer's assistant. A final in-joke that was cut from more recent TV versions but restored for the DVD is a telephone call purporting to be from an "Inspector Fuchsberger", a reference to actor Joachim Fuchsberger, another leading man from the series of Wallace films made by Rialto. The

FSK FSK may refer to: * FSK (band), a German band * Federal Counterintelligence Service, (Russian ') of Russia * Fiskerton railway station, in England * Forskolin, a diterpene * Forsvarets Spesialkommando, a Norwegian special forces unit * Fort Scott M ...

gave the film a rating of 16 years and up and deemed it not appropriate for screenings on public holidays. It was released on 13 September 1963.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Scarf, The 1963 films 1960s mystery thriller films German mystery thriller films West German films 1960s German-language films German black-and-white films German films based on plays Remakes of British films Films directed by Alfred Vohrer Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Films produced by Horst Wendlandt Films set in Scotland Films shot at Spandau Studios Films about inheritances Films set in country houses 1960s German films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links