Edgar Wallace: Zimmer 13

The films in the German-produced Edgar Wallace Krimi-collection, that ran between 1959 and approximately 1968, are often a hit or miss. Despite the potential, "Zimmer 13" is leaning towards a miss. It has an overly familiar plot, and the intriguing aspects are badly overshadowed by the clichéd and derivative trademarks of these type of films. Elderly and freshly released from prison gangster Joe Legge schemes a massive train heist, and to assure his cover, he's blackmailing the eminent politician Robert Marney by threatening to reveal a scandal that took place 20 years ago. Legge operates from a sleazy nightclub in Soho, but here is also a vicious serial killer active, who slits the throats of women with a sharp razor blade. In the end, the serial killer sub plot is the only interesting one to mention, but even then, the identity of the culprit is relatively easy to guess if you use a simple process of elimination. On the brighter side, Eddi Arent is a lot less annoying than usual in his role as police doctor with a passion for developing explosives and a fetish for mannequin dolls.