Das Phantom von Soho

The killings in question take place around a seedy Soho den of ill repute known as the Sansibar, run by the wheelchair-bound crime boss Joanna Filiati (Elisabeth Flickenschildt). Somebody in sparkly golden Michael Jackson gloves is running around in the shadows stabbing people in the heart, something Joanna is trying to keep quiet, so as not to draw attention to her ring of prostitution, insurance scams, and other plain and sundry dirty dealings. Unfortunately for her, Scotland Yard is on the case, specifically Chief Inspector Hugh Patton (Dieter Borsche). Even more unfortunately for her, crime novelist Clarinda Smith (Barbara Rütting) is dogging him to let her tag along on the case, and the more he refuses, the more she seeks to prove herself an even better investigator than he is.

Despite this film featuring the comings and goings of the criminal element of London and their interactions with the Scotland Yard, this is a sort of a slasher thriller- the serial killer whodunit is front and center, forming the backbone of the entire plot. It's fast-paced, dark, seedy and sleazy with some surprising nudity by a dancer in the club. It's dripping with black and-white atmosphere, with cigarette embers lighting dark corners of the grimy street, and pale white disembodied faces peering around corners in harsh contrast with the dim London fog. Solid atmosphere, but it can be a bit too seedy for me. Surprising unraveling of the killer, with a tragic motive.

A number of important men are being murdered in the London Soho district while attempting to make sexual liasons. The murders, perpetrated by the so-called "Phantom of Soho," seem to center around a seedy burlesque nightclub populated by a bizarre array of characters including the "crippled" female proprietor, her bent doctor/psychologist, and a pretty naive photographer. Eventually the Scotland Yard detectives and Agatha Christie-type female mystery writer tie the murders to a luxury yacht that sunk off the coast a couple years earlier. But the ending and the identity of the Phantom is a genuine surprise.

Although this is actually based on a novel of Edgar Wallace's much less talented son Bryan Edgar Wallace, this is actually a superior entry in the West German Wallace "krimi" series. It has a strong plot and an effective fog-shrouded atmosphere. It is also surprisingly risqué for the period with some of the nightclub acts culminating in some discrete toplessness, and the movie itself exuding a definite air of sexual decadence.

It is currently available on an apparently uncut Retrocinema double disc with the much weaker Edgar Wallace krimi "Curse of the Yellow Snake". That one is not really very worthwhile, but this one is definitely recommended.

The Phantom of Soho takes us to a setting of dark alleys and the dirty, crime infested streets of Soho England. We meet a varied assortment of characters including strippers and prostitutes. This is where we are taken in this movie which has a combination of horror, mystery, sexual backgrounds and situations. All of these together make this 1966 movie a bit different from the typical `who done it' movie. I didn't have high expectations for this movie but found myself to be pleasantly surprised having been caught up in it's suspense and mystery. In my opinion, there are a lot of better horror/mysteries out there, but this one is still worth watching and makes an enjoyable viewing. Give it a chance.

First off I recommend the Retromedia release as it is struck from a very good print. I might add this is the uncut version of the film. It contains two topless strip scenes and knife kill closeups that are usually missing from other prints. The dubbing is impressive. What I enjoy most is the agile and imaginative camera direction of Gottleib. The camera is almost never static.We are often treated to scenes which begin overhead then move down and envelop the actors. The scene involving the knife throwing act where the camera revolves as the assistant revolves is inventive. The plot is mediocre and you can identify the killer early on but taking the journey is most of the fun. A wonderful recreation of London with plenty of smoke and fog makes an excellent backdrop for this krimi thriller. Add to it an early 60's jazzy lounge soundtrack and you can't spend a better 96 minutes in my book.

Someone is murdering well-known people outside a fashionable Soho bar. Chief Inspector Dieter Borsche and Sergeant Peter Vogel run the investigation. As each new victim turns up, the links point to a ship lost at sea.

I looked at this under the impression it was one of those German productions based on an Edgar Wallace story. It turned out that the source novel was Brian Edgar Wallace, the famous writer's son. There's an interesting technique here: we are introduced to several of the characters as they wander about doing nasty things, like Lord Hans Nielsen raping girls, and sea captain Hans Hamacher blackmailing people without discussing why. As a result, the audience has an opportunity to solve the mystery of who the Phantom is before the police.