''Kommissar X – Drei gelbe Katzen'' is a 1966
Eurospy
Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Cinema of Italy, Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the ...
film written and co-directed by
Rudolf Zehetgruber
Rudolf Zehetgruber (16 September 1926 – 2 July 2023) was an Austrian film director and producer, screenwriter and actor who directed 17 films between 1960 and 1985. He was most known for writing and directing the yellow Volkswagen beetle Sup ...
and
Gianfranco Parolini
Gianfranco Parolini (20 February 1925 in Rome, Italy – 26 April 2018 in Rome, Italy) was an Italian people, Italian film director. He is often credited as Frank Kramer. Among his films are ''The Sabata Trilogy'', several sword and sandal films, m ...
. Filmed in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, it stars
Tony Kendall,
Brad Harris and
Dan Vadis
Dan Vadis (born Constantine Daniel Vafiadis, January 3, 1938 – June 11, 1987) was a Chinese-born American actor, of Greek descent, famous for his lead roles in many Italian films made in the 1960s.
Biography
Vadis was of Greek descent, wit ...
with Harris and Vadis doing their own stuntwork. It is the second of seven
films
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...
, loosely based on the 1961
Kommissar X
Kommissar X or Commissioner X is a German crime fiction series of books from the Pabel Moewig publishing house. "Kommissar X" is a private detective named Joe Louis Walker who was a counterpart of the German crime fiction FBI Special Agent Jerry ...
#73 detective novel from the Pabel Moewig publishing house, though the original novel was set in
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
.
[Marco Giusti. ''007 all'italiana''. Isbn Edizioni, 2010. .]
In the film, an American police officer and a private investigator arrive in
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
to protect a family of
landowners from mysterious enemies. They are informed that the actual enemy is a cat-themed
terrorist organization
Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...
.
Plot
Tom Rowland from the
New York Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
is sent to
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
to investigate the murder of a US embassy official killed protecting the daughter of a wealthy expatriate American landowner. At the same time New York
Private Investigator
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...
Joe Walker has been hired by the landowner's daughter to protect her father from being extorted for one million dollars. Through the
Ceylon Police
Sri Lanka Police (; ) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the p ...
they discover a
terrorist organisation known as the Three Golden Cats are responsible for both activities and a string of murders with the victims killed by karate blows or by biological chemicals.
Cast
*
Tony Kendall ... Joe Louis Walker, aka Kommissar X
*
Brad Harris ... Captain Tom Rowland
*
Ann Smyrner
Ann Smyrner (3 November 1934 – 29 August 2016) was a Danish actress who was active in the 1960s in Italy, the United States, Austria and West Germany. She played in adventure, comedy, science fiction, crime, and horror movies, among which are ...
... Babs Lincoln
*
Michèle Mahaut... Michèle
*
Dan Vadis
Dan Vadis (born Constantine Daniel Vafiadis, January 3, 1938 – June 11, 1987) was a Chinese-born American actor, of Greek descent, famous for his lead roles in many Italian films made in the 1960s.
Biography
Vadis was of Greek descent, wit ...
... King
*
Siegfried Rauch
Siegfried Rauch (2 April 1932 – 11 March 2018) was a German film and television actor. In a career spanning over 60 years, he appeared in several international film productions and had leading roles in numerous German television productions.
...
... Nitro
*
H.D. Kulatunga ... Sunny
*
Philippe Lemaire
Philippe Lemaire (14 March 1927 – 15 March 2004) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 90 films from 1946 to 2004.
Lemaire was married three times; Nicole Pinton (1949–1951) (divorced); Juliette Gréco from 1953 to 1956, had one da ...
... Philip Dawson
*
Erno Crisa
Erno Crisa (10 March 1914 – 4 April 1968) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1944 and 1968. His last film was the spaghetti western '' Sugar Colt''.
Partial filmography
* '' Sideral Cruises'' (1942) - L'h ...
... Baker
*
Rudolf Zehetgruber
Rudolf Zehetgruber (16 September 1926 – 2 July 2023) was an Austrian film director and producer, screenwriter and actor who directed 17 films between 1960 and 1985. He was most known for writing and directing the yellow Volkswagen beetle Sup ...
(as Rolf Zehett) ... Barrett
*
A. Jayaratii ... Insp. DaSilva
*
Theo Maria Werner (as Werner Hauff) ... Geldbote
*
Paul Beckmann ... Rogers
*
Chandrika 'Champa' Liyanage ... Photographer
* Ananda Jayaratne ... Police Chief inspector
*
Joe Abeywickrama
Deshabandu Gammana Patabendige Don John Abeywickrama ( Sinhala:ජෝ අබේවික්රම) (22 June 1927 – 21 September 2011), popularly as Joe Abeywickrama, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Initially famed ...
... Police constable
Release
''Kommissar X – Drei gelbe Katzen'' was released in Austria on 17 May 1966.
References
External links
*
{{Kommissar X
1966 films
1960s spy action films
1966 action films
1960s buddy films
1960s martial arts films
1960s spy thriller films
1966 multilingual films
1960s Italian films
1960s German films
German spy action films
Italian spy action films
Italian buddy films
West German films
1960s Italian-language films
1960s German-language films
Films directed by Rudolf Zehetgruber
Films directed by Gianfranco Parolini
Films shot in Sri Lanka
Films set in Sri Lanka
Kommissar X films
German multilingual films
Italian multilingual films
Austrian multilingual films
Films about terrorism in Asia
Films about landlords