The Curse of the Hidden Vault

The beginning is memorable: a lady is rescued in a dramatic shoot-out, the words "THE END" appear - and when the camera zooms back, we realize this is a cinema, and one member of the audience has been murdered... Unfortunately, this first scene is already the best in the movie that goes on like this: an old gangster decides before his death to donate all his money to the daughter of a former victim. However, the treasure is locked behind a mysterious door, and every move of the girl is watched by other gangsters. The cast includes the usual suspects like Werner Peters (excellent!), Harald Leipnitz and the ubiquitous Kinski, but for the two very important roles of the heiress and the inspector, Judith Dornys and Harry Meyen were chosen who never appeared in a movie of the Wallace series before or after, and they are just not Dor and Fuchsberger. Meyen looks like a bank clerk rather than a law enforcer. But also for the story and more reasons, "Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschloß" by F.J.Gottlieb is not quite on the same level as the movies directed by Reinl or Vohrer for the series, simple truth.