''The Green Archer'' (German: ''Der grüne Bogenschütze'') is a 1961 West
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
black and white
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
Jürgen Roland
Jürgen Roland, born Jürgen Schellack (25 December 1925 – 21 September 2007) was a German film director. Roland was described as the "father of German TV crime shows". He directed about 80 TV productions and 30 movies.
Life and career
Rol ...
and starring
Gert Fröbe
Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was best known in English-speaking countries for his work as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Oper ...
,
Klausjürgen Wussow
Klausjürgen Wussow (30 April 1929 – 19 June 2007) was a German stage, film and television actor.
Early life
Wussow was born in Cammin, Province of Pomerania, Weimar Germany (modern Kamień Pomorski, Poland). His father was a teacher and ca ...
,
Karin Dor
Karin Dor (, born Kätherose Derr; 22 February 1938 – 6 November 2017) was a German actress. She was famous to international audiences for her role as Bond girl Helga Brandt in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) and her appea ...
and
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 ...
.
BFI.org
/ref> It is based on the 1923 novel '' The Green Archer'' by 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 ...
.
Plot
During a guided tour of Garre Castle, a man is killed by an arrow after sneaking away from the rest of the group. Shortly thereafter, Mr Howett and his adopted daughter, Valerie, move into Lady's Manor, next door to the castle. Valerie is looking for her mother she has not seen in 20 years. John Wood, a friend of Valerie's brother John Bellamy, who was killed in the war, is also there.
Abel Bellamy, Valerie’s uncle, an American with a murky past in Chicago, and owner of Garre Castle returns to London. At the airport he is questioned by journalists on the death in his home, and reacts aggressively. Spike Holland, a journalist, is asked by a man named Creager to come and see him to learn something of interest. Creager calls 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 ...
, offering them information on Bellamy but he is shot by the Green Archer. When Holland arrives at Creager's house, Creager is dead. The police investigation turns up that Bellamy has been paying 40 pounds per month to Creager. Bellamy claims it was because Creager saved his life once.
At night, the Green Archer appears in Bellamy's bedroom but Bellamy wakes up and drives him off with his pistol, wounding him in the process. A blood covered handkerchief with the initials "V.H." is found. It turns out that Bellamy keeps Valerie's mother Elaine imprisoned in the basement of his castle. She thinks both her son and daughter are dead. Valerie Howett learns from Bellamy's embezzling secretary Julius Savini, whom she has been paying for information, that Bellamy has contacted one Coldharbour Smith. He lived near her mother when she disappeared and now runs the Shanghai Bar. Valerie visits the bar and a confrontation ensues that is only ended by the arrival of Holland. Valerie next tries to sneak into Garre Castle at night. When she is threatened by Bellamy's dogs, one of them is shot and killed by the Green Archer.
Meanwhile, Inspector Featherstone of Scotland Yard has infiltrated the Bellamy household by hiring on as a member of the staff. His suspicions are aroused and a search of the castle is initiated. Nothing incriminating is found, however.
Valerie is kidnapped by Lacy, one of Bellamy's men, pretending to be a police officer and driven to the Shanghai Bar. Savini recognizes the man and follows them. There is a police raid at the bar, but Valerie has already been taken away via a secret exit to a freighter ship called "Calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...
". A police search of the ship fails to turn up anything, as Valerie is hidden in a concealed compartment. Savini manages to climb on board the ship, but is captured. Smith is killed by the Archer. Savini and Valerie escape.
Next day, when Bellamy opens the secret door he is overseen by the police. They go into the cellar, but the woman Bellamy held there is gone. The police leave. Bellamy tricks Savini and his wife and locks them into the basement.
Whilst phoning Featherstone, Valerie is kidnapped by the Archer and taken via a secret passage to the dungeon beneath Garre Castle. Featherstone arrives and is captured, too. Bellamy reveals that his brother stole his girlfriend from him. To take revenge, he locked her up and had her son sent to prison where he was tortured by prison guard Creager. Bellamy attempts to drown his prisoners by flooding the cellar.
The police arrive at Garre Castle and a shootout with Bellamy and his henchmen ensues. Bellamy is shot and killed by the Archer. An explosive device used by the police then inadvertently kills the Archer - he is discovered to be "John Wood", who is actually John Bellamy, Valerie's brother. He was on a crusade of revenge against those who were responsible for his incarceration and torture: Bellamy, Smith and Creager. The prisoners are freed. Bellamy's dead butler is discovered to also wear a green suit under his clothes. There were thus two Green Archers, one of them doing Bellamy's bidding, one trying to destroy him. According to Featherstone, Valerie's mother is safe.
Cast
* Gert Fröbe
Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was best known in English-speaking countries for his work as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Oper ...
as Abel Bellamy
* Klausjürgen Wussow
Klausjürgen Wussow (30 April 1929 – 19 June 2007) was a German stage, film and television actor.
Early life
Wussow was born in Cammin, Province of Pomerania, Weimar Germany (modern Kamień Pomorski, Poland). His father was a teacher and ca ...
as Inspector James Lamotte Featherstone
* Karin Dor
Karin Dor (, born Kätherose Derr; 22 February 1938 – 6 November 2017) was a German actress. She was famous to international audiences for her role as Bond girl Helga Brandt in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) and her appea ...
as Valerie Howett
* 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 Spike Holland
* Harry Wüstenhagen
Harry Wüstenhagen (11 January 1928 – 11 December 1999) was a German film actor. He appeared in 45 films between 1953 and 1988. He was born in Berlin, Germany and died in Florida. Wüstenhagen was the German dubbing voice for Sherlock Holm ...
as Julius Savini
* Wolfgang Völz
Wolfgang Otto Völz (16 August 1930 – 2 May 2018) was a German actor. He is known for his roles in theatre plays, TV shows, feature films (especially German films based on Edgar Wallace works) and taped radio shows. He was also a very prolif ...
as Sergeant Higgins
* Heinz Weiss
Heinz Weiss (12 June 192120 November 2010) was a German film actor.
Weiss is best known for playing the role of Phil Decker in the Jerry Cotton series of films and the role of Captain Heinz Hansen in ''Das Traumschiff''. He also played the chara ...
as John Wood
* Stanislav Ledinek
Stanislav Ledinek (26 June 1920 – 30 March 1969) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1953 and 1968. He died in Istanbul, Turkey.
Selected filmography
* '' Such a Charade'' (1953)
* ''Red Roses, Red Lips, Re ...
as Coldharbour Smith
* as Mr. Howett
* as Mr. Lacy
* as Fay Savini
* as Elaine Bellamy
* Helga Feddersen
Helga Feddersen (; 14 March 1930 – 24 November 1990) was a German actress, comedian, singer, author, and theater director.
Biography
Feddersen was born and died in Hamburg. She took up acting early in her life, first being cast for minor part ...
as Janet
* Karl-Heinz Peters
Karl-Heinz Peters (1903–1990) was a German film actor.
Selected filmography
* ''Alarm at Station III'' (1939)
* ''Men Are That Way'' (1939)
* '' The Governor'' (1939)
* ''Enemies'' (1940)
* '' Mein Leben für Irland'' (1940)
* ''Between Hamburg ...
as Mr. Creager
Production
Earlier film versions of Wallace's story were produced in the US as serials in 1925
Events January
* January 1
** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
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 ...
. The script for the German version was written by Wolfgang Schnitzler (aka ) with contributions by Wolfgang Menge
Wolfgang Menge (10 April 1924 – 17 October 2012) was a German television writer and journalist.
Life
Menge worked as television writer and journalist in Germany. He was married and had three sons.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 ...
who was previously employed by Artur Brauner
Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946.
Life and career
He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...
's CCC Film
CCC Film (German: Central Cinema Compagnie-Film GmbH) is a German film production company founded in 1946 by Artur Brauner. A Polish Jew who survived the Nazi era by fleeing to the Soviet Union, he lost dozens of relatives to the Nazis. His primar ...
.
This was Jürgen Roland's second (after '' The Crimson Circle'' ) and last film based on a Wallace novel. It was the fourth Wallace film made by Rialto.
Cinematography took place from October 1960 to January 1961. Interiors were filmed at Real Film
Real Film or Real-Film was a West German film production company. It was established in 1947 in Hamburg, then part of the British Zone of Occupation. Its founders were Walter Koppel and the Hungarian Gyula Trebitsch. The company released some rubbl ...
's Wandsbek Studios
The Wandsbek Studios are film production and television studios located in Wandsbek, a district of the German city of Hamburg.
The complex was established in 1948 when Real Film, set up the previous year, acquired a site in Wandsbek for construct ...
in Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, four later films from the series were also shot there. Exteriors were filmed at Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and at ''Schloss Ahrensburg
Schloss Ahrensburg (Ahrensburg Palace) is a former ''Herrenhaus'' (mansion) and is today referred to as a ''Schloss''. It is located in Ahrensburg in southern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, not far from the city of Hamburg.
History
Previous struct ...
''. The film's sets were designed by the art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
s Mathias Matthies
Mathias Matthies (August 7, 1911 – September 30, 2004) was a German art director. He designed the sets for around a hundred films and television programmes. He often collaborated with his wife Ellen Schmidt, including on some Edgar Wallace ada ...
and Ellen Schmidt
Ellen Schmidt (1922–1997) was a German art director active in film set design in the postwar era.Bergfelder p.254 She frequently collaborated with her husband Mathias Matthies, including on several Edgar Wallace adaptations.
Selected filmograp ...
, who frequently collaborated.
Release
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 12 years and up, unsuitable for screening on public holidays. It went on mass release on 3 February 1961, but there was no premiere.
Critical response
Commentary on the acting generally concluded that Fröbe dominated his fellow actors.
The ''Lexikon des Internationalen Films'' called the film "nicely spooky-comical, stuffed with clichés of the genre. Foggy streets, mysterious castles, trap doors, masked murderers and avengers, criminal types in dive bars and secret passages. Amusing entertainment."
See also
* '' The Green Archer'' (1925, film serial)
* '' The Green Archer'' (1940, film serial)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Archer
1961 films
1960s mystery thriller films
German mystery thriller films
West German films
1960s German-language films
Films based on works by Edgar Wallace
Films directed by Jürgen Roland
Films produced by Horst Wendlandt
Films shot in Hamburg
Films set in England
Films set in London
German black-and-white films
Remakes of American films
Films shot at Wandsbek Studios
Constantin Film films
1960s German films