''The Hunchback of Soho'' (german: Der Bucklige von Soho) is a 1966 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 Alfred Vohrer (29 December 1914 – 3 February 1986) was a German film director and actor. He directed 48 films between 1958 and 1984. His 1969 film ''Seven Days Grace'' was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1972 ...

and starring

Günther Stoll Günther Stoll (Duisburg, 18 August 1924 – Gelsenkirchen, 10 January 1977) was a German actor. Partial filmography * ''Liebe, wie die Frau sie wünscht'' (1957) .... Toni * ''Epitafios gia ehthrous kai filous'' (1965) .... Captain Ivanov * ' ...

Pinkas Braun Pinkas Braun (7 January 1923 – 24 June 2008) was a Swiss film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1952 and 2002. He was born in Zürich, Switzerland and died in Munich, Germany. Partial filmography * ''Sky Without Stars'' (1955) - Kom ...

and

Monika Peitsch Monika may refer to: People * Monika (given name) Films and video games * ''Monika'' (1938 film), a German film * ''Monika'' (1974 film), an Italian film Music * ''Monika'' (opera), a 1937 opera by Nico Dostal * Monika Christodoulou, a Greek ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p. 253 It was part of

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 ...

's long-running group of

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

adaptations, and was the first in the series to be shot in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

. It was made at the

Spandau Studios The Spandau Studios or CCC Studios were film and television studios located in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin. They were established in 1949 following the Second World War by the producer Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; ...

and on location in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Plot

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

investigate a series of murders at a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

which is now being used as a girls school.

Cast

as Inspektor Hopkins *

as Wanda Merville *

as Alan Davis *

Eddi Arent Gebhardt Georg Arendt (5 May 1925 – 28 May 2013) was a German actor, cabaret artist and comedian. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1956 and 2002. He was born in Danzig, Free City of Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) and died in ...

as Reverend David *

Siegfried Schürenberg Siegfried Schürenberg (12 January 1900 – 31 August 1993) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1933 and 1974. He was born in Detmold, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany in 1993, at age 93. Although he never p ...

as Sir John *

Agnes Windeck Agnes Windeck (; 27 March 1888 – 28 September 1975) was a German theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1939 and 1973. She was born in Hamburg and started her career at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in 1904. Sh ...

as Lady Marjorie Perkins *

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. Tyndal *

Hubert von Meyerinck Hubert "Hubsi" von Meyerinck (23 August 1896 – 13 May 1971) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1970. Biography Meyerinck was born in Potsdam, Brandenburg, the son of Friedrich von Meyerinck (1858� ...

as General Edward Perkins *

Uta Levka Uta Levka (born 1942) is a former German film and television actress active during the 1960s and early 1970s. She was discovered by the actress Maria Schell while working at the Bavaria Studios in Munich and appeared in a succession of glamorous ...

as Gladys Gardner *

Suzanne Roquette Suzanne Roquette (30 August 1942 – 28 May 2020) was a German actress. She is best known for her role as Main Mission Operative Tanya Alexander in Year One of the science fiction television series '' Space: 1999''. Space: 1999 costar Prentis Hanc ...

as Laura *

Joachim Teege Joachim Teege (November 30, 1925 – November 19, 1969) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''The Adventures of Fridolin'' (1948) - Heini Bock * ''Und wieder 48'' (1948) - Reisender * '' The Staircase'' (1950) - Herbert Ehrke * ''The Merry ...

as Lawyer Harold Stone *

Hilde Sessak Hilde Sessak (27 July 1915 – 17 April 2003) was a German actress who appeared in more than ninety film and television series during her career. She appeared in a number of films during the Nazi era including ''Quax the Crash Pilot'' (1941).Reim ...

as Oberin *

Susanne Hsiao Susanne may refer to: * Susanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) *, later USS ''SP-411'', a United States Navy patrol boat in commission from 1917 to 1919 *, the proposed name and designation for a ves ...

as Viola *

Kurt Waitzmann Kurt Waitzmann (30 January 1905 – 21 May 1985) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1937 and 1969. Selected filmography * ''Unternehmen Michael'' (1937) - Oblt. Weber * '' Urlaub auf Ehrenwort'' (1938) - Gef ...

as Sergeant *

Ilse Pagé Ilse Pagé (29 May 1939 – 19 June 2017) was a German film and television actress. Selected filmography * ''Berlin, Schoenhauser Corner'' (1957) - Angela * ''Arzt aus Leidenschaft'' (1959) - Ein junges Mädchen * ''...und noch frech dazu!'' (19 ...

as Jane *

Albert Bessler Albert Bessler (15 February 1905 – 4 December 1975) was a German film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1942 and 1975. He was born in Hamburg, Germany and died in West Berlin, West Germany. Partial filmography * ''Front Theatre'' (1 ...

as Butler Anthony *

Richard Haller Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

as Der Bucklige

Reception

Dave Sindelar from ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'' felt that by shooting the film in color it "stripped the series of one of its strengths", also criticizing the film's first half, score, and dubbing. Andrew Pragasam from ''The Spinning Image'' awarded the film six out of ten stars, noting the film's uneven narrative, but stated that its mixture of humor and horror was still entertaining.

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* * * 1966 films 1960s mystery films 1960s crime thriller films German mystery thriller films German crime thriller films West German films 1960s German-language films Films directed by Alfred Vohrer Constantin Film films Films set in London Color sequels of black-and-white films Films based on British novels Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Films shot at Spandau Studios 1960s German films {{crime-thriller-film-stub