''The Fellowship of the Frog'' is a 1925

crime novel 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, ...

by the British writer

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 ...

. It was part of a series of books featuring the character Inspector Elk of

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 ...

. In 1936 it was adapted into a West End play ''

The Frog ''The Frog'' is a 1937 British crime film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Gordon Harker, Noah Beery, Jack Hawkins and Carol Goodner. The film is about the police chasing a criminal mastermind who goes by the name of The Frog, and the 1936 ...

'' by

Ian Hay Major General John Hay Beith, Order of the British Empire, CBE Military Cross, MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, and historian who w ...

, which inspired the subsequent films.

Film adaptations

An American

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

Mark of the Frog ''Mark of the Frog'' is a 1928 American drama 10-chapter film serial directed by Arch Heath and written by Edgar Wallace. The film is now considered to be lost. Plot In search of missing treasure, a crime ring headed by the hooded "Frog" terr ...

'' was made in 1928. In 1937 it was turned into a British film ''

'' directed by

Jack Raymond Jack Raymond (1886–1953) was an English actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in '' A Detective for a Day''. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his a ...

and starring

Gordon Harker William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor. Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...

as Elk. Due to its popularity it was followed by a sequel ''

The Return of the Frog ''The Return of the Frog'' is a 1938 British crime film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Gordon Harker, Hartley Power and Rene Ray. It is a sequel to the 1937 film ''The Frog'', and was based on the 1929 novel '' The India-Rubber Men'' by Ed ...

'' the next year. In 1959 the West German film ''

Der Frosch mit der Maske ''Der Frosch mit der Maske'' (translation: ''The Frog with the Mask''), aka ''Face of the Frog'', is a 1959 West German-Danish black-and-white crime film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Siegfried Lowitz and Joachim Fuchsberger. It was the f ...

'' film was made, inspired the novel. It commenced a lengthy series of Wallace adaptations made by

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 ...

made over the following decade.

References

External links

* * 1925 British novels British crime novels British novels adapted into films Novels by Edgar Wallace {{1920s-crime-novel-stub