Kommissar X or Commissioner X is a German

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

series of books from the Pabel Moewig publishing house. "Kommissar X" is a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

named Joe Louis Walker who was a counterpart of the German

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Special Agent

Jerry Cotton Jerry Cotton is the fictional character in a series of pulp magazine-type crime novels. The novels have been written by many different writers in German-speaking countries and in Finland over the course of several decades. Overview The novel ...

. In addition to the vast collection of books, between 1965 and 1971 seven Kommissar X films were made with Tony Kendall as the laid back swinging

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

private eye Joe Walker balanced against the serious muscular

New York City Police The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

Captain Tom Rowland played by

Brad Harris Bradford Harris (July 16, 1933 – November 7, 2017) was an American actor, stuntman, and executive producer. He appeared in a variety of roles in over 50 films, mostly in European productions. He was an inductee in the Stuntman's Hall of Fame ...

Beginnings

The Kommissar X series of crime novels were written by Bert F. Island whose real name was Paul Alfred Mueller (18 October 1901 – 1 January 1970). Beginning in 1959, Island wrote 620 "Kommissar X" books.

Films

With the international success of the films of Ian Fleming's

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

and the German

(played by

George Nader George Garfield Nader, Jr. (October 19, 1921 – February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, including ''Sins of Jezebel'' (1953), ''Congo Crossing'' (1956), and ''The Female Animal'' ...

) series, seven Commissioner X films, mostly written and directed by

Gianfranco Parolini Gianfranco Parolini (20 February 1925 in Rome, Italy – 26 April 2018 in Rome, Italy) was an Italian film director. He is often credited as Frank Kramer. Among his films are '' The Sabata Trilogy'', several sword and sandal films, most of the Ko ...

and starring Tony Kendall as

Joe Walker and

Lieutenant Tom Rowland, were made. These films were not only released internationally, but became a staple of American television movies in the mid-1960s when American stations sought colour films to show. The films were *1966: '' Kommissar X – Jagd auf Unbekannt'' - ''Hunt for the Unknown'' a.k.a. ''Kiss Kiss Kill Kill'' *1966: ''

Kommissar X – Drei gelbe Katzen ''Kommissar X – Drei gelbe Katzen'' is a 1966 Eurospy film written and co-directed by Rudolf Zehetgruber and Gianfranco Parolini. Filmed in Ceylon, it stars Tony Kendall, Brad Harris and Dan Vadis with Harris and Vadis doing their own stuntw ...

'' - ''Three Yellow Cats'' a.k.a. ''Death is Nimble, Death is Quick'' *1966: '' Kommissar X – In den Klauen des goldenen Drachen'' - ''So Darling, So Deadly'' *1967: ''

Kommissar X – Drei grüne Hunde ''Kommissar X Drei grüne Hunde'', it, Strategic command chiama Jo Walker, also known as ''Death Trip'' and ''Kill Me Gently'' is a 1967 West German-Italian-French-Lebanese-Hungarian international co-production Eurospy film written, co-produced ...

'' - ''Death Trip'' *1968: ' - ''Three Blue Panthers'' a.k.a. ''Kill Panther Kill'' *1969: ''

Kommissar X – Drei goldene Schlangen ''Kommissar X – Drei goldene Schlangen'' (translation: ''Commissioner X: Three Golden Snakes'') is a 1969 international co-production Eurospy film directed by Roberto Mauri and starring Tony Kendall and Brad Harris that was shot in Thailand. ...

'' - ''Three Golden Serpents'' a.k.a. ''Island of Lost Girls'' *1971: '' Kommissar X jagt die roten Tiger'' - ''FBI: Operation Pakistan'' a.k.a. ''Tiger Gang''

DVD release

The first three Kommissar X films have been released in the United States but in the same faded and English dubbed versions that were on American television in the 1960s. Remastered versions of the first six films were released in Germany, which include the English dub.

In popular culture

In 2012 a German comedy directed by Reginald Ginster titled ''Die X-Männer schlagen zurück'' featured Harris, Kendall and Parolini.

References

German crime films Characters in German novels German film series Fictional private investigators Fictional characters from New York City {{novel-char-stub