BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Das Gasthaus an der Themse" or "The Inn on the River" is another German black-and-white film based on an Edgar Wallace novel. This one is from 1962, so almost 45 years old. The runtime is also the usual as this one here stays slightly under 90 minutes. The director is Alfred Vohrer, who despite being more known for his Winnetou works, also worked on quite a few of these Wallace films. The trio of writers who adapted the novel for the film also had lots of experience with Wallace films before and after. I am generally not a big fan of these films, but that is rarely a fault of lead actor Fuchsberger or the supporting cast. It is just that the story is rarely interesting and honestly very similar in all these films. A police investigator is working on a case in search of a high-profile gangster who is usually somehow disguised. The detective and we only find out at the very end who the criminal really is. A touch of Scooby-Doo, but not half as entertaining.As for this film here, the killer appears in diving gear and kills with his harpoon. Honestly, compared to previous villains, this was a pretty stupid outfit and made it even harder for me in taking this film seriously. Of course, as usual with these films there is also a damsel in distress in there who needs protection from the detective when the killer targets her. Of course, he manages to kill everybody as always, but not the most helpless character. This is what really hurts these films in terms of credibility. So yeah, the story is weak in this one too and even the presence of Klaus Kinski before stardom cannot save this film from being honestly mediocre. I have not read Wallace, so I am not sure if the adaptations are always the problem or the base material. In any case, despite one or two memorable scenes, this is not a good watch. Thumbs down and this film is proof of how bad the 1960s were in terms of German cinema. Don't watch. Also, on a side-note, this film is officially a sequel of another Wallace movie about a "criminal frog". This does not make sense though as the Frog does not appear in here and none of the other characters from that earlier film do either. I guess they just wanted to cash in by including that reference in the title. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

dbborroughs Using a spear gun as a weapon of choice the Shark kills those who cross his path leaving a trail of dead in the Thames. Investigating the matters the police discover that all of the deaths seem connected to a smuggling operation.Dark and moody Edgar Wallace adaption is an enjoyable mystery. I've been making my way through the films in the series over the past couple of weeks and this is one of the more solid entries. It helps that the setting is not the typical English manor house but instead the environs in and around the river. Helping things along is a great cast, many of whom have appeared all through the series including Klaus Kinski.If one wants to see Kinski's range as an actor one need only watch the films he appears in this series since he's often very different in each one. I really recommend this film as an enjoyable film to curl up with on a dark and stormy night.(I've seen it a couple of times now and enjoyed each viewing)

Geroellheimer This was the most successful film of the legendary Edgar Wallace series in Germany which ran from 1959 to 1972."Gasthaus" has an creepy and mysterious atmosphere,filmed in Hamburg along the river Alster, and not on Location in London. Along with a very good story and some nice plot twists, it is a movie i will always like to watch. It has also one of the best casts in the Wallace history. Along with regulars Joachim Fuchsberger,Eddi Aren't Siegfried Schürenberg and the always great Klaus Kinski German movie greats like Elisabeth Flickenschildt,Heinz Engelmann,Brigitte Grothum and Richard Münch ad to the fun.Since the movies are regularly rerun on German TV and the entire series has recently appeared on DVD, be sure to watch this one. Of course to watch the others isn't a bad idea either.

goblinhairedguy This is one of the better entries in the Edgar Wallace krimi series. There's a heavy emphasis on the fog-bound (supposedly) Soho environment, several sleight-of-hand camera angles (including a great one with Kinski and a mirror), and a creepy denizen-of-the-depths villain known as The Shark, who uses harpoons as his weapons of choice. Eddie Arent contributes his always welcome comic relief as an eccentric nautical wag this time (instead of his usual assistant inspector), and gives a wonderful demonstration of "The Twist" with a local hipster. Of course the inspector falls for a lovely (barely of-age) fraulein. The wacky score contributes greatly.