The Squeaker (Der Zinker, 1963)

The Squeaker (the original German title is Der Zinker) is a 1963 entry in the West German Edgar Wallace krimi cycle made by Rialto studios. This one was directed by Alfred Vohrer and that’s usually a good sign. Vohrer really understood the genre. His krimis have that little extra something.

This one was based on Wallace’s 1927 novel The Squeaker (which had already been filmed three times back in the 1930s).

The story concerns a super-criminal and informer known as the Snake. His latest victim has been bitten by an actual deadly snake, a black mamba. At least that’s how it looks.

We’ve already seen a black mamba removed from its cage in the headquarters of Mulford’s, a firm that trades in exotic wild animals for zoos and circuses. Since the man who removed the black mamba was played by Klaus Kinski we suspect he might be the murderer, or might belong to the murderer’s gang, but in a krimi you don’t want to jump to conclusions.

Inspector Bill Elford of Scotland Yard (Heinz Drache) is on the case.

The press is on the case as well. Star girl reporter Jos always seem to get the scoops but Joshua Harras (Eddi Arent) who works for a rival newspaper is determined to change that.

There are those in the criminal underworld who seek to bring the Snake’s career to an end. They plan an elaborate trap involving a fake robbery.

The Snake always seems to be one step ahead of everybody.

Other murders follow. The murder methods are ingenious and invariably involve snakes. In the case of one of the murders three different murder methods appear to have been used.

The girl reporter mentioned earlier is actually Beryl Stedman (Barbara Rütting), the niece of old Mrs Mulford who owns the animal trading business. Beryl writes sensational thrillers in her spare time (thrillers packed with murders).

There’s a romantic triangle involving Beryl, Mrs Mulford’s business partner Frankie Sutton (Günter Pfitzmann) and Sutton’s secretary Millie.

There are the expected red herrings. The Snake could be almost anybody. The plot is convoluted, but in a good way, with lots of Edgar Wallace outrageousness.

The warehouse complex housing the animals is the setting for much of the action and a great setting it is. The animals do of course play a part. Snakes are not the only animals used as murder weapons. There are even secret passageways, an essential Wallace ingredient. And a few gadgets.

Heinz Drache makes a fun likeable cop hero. Klaus Kinski is as crazed as ever. Eddi Arent provides comic relief. To appreciate Eddi Arent you have to see these movies in German with English subtitles - in the English dubbed versions he’s irritating, in the German version he’s genuinely amusing and you realise why he was considered such an asset by Rialto. The supporting players are all extremely good. These movies had the cream of German acting talent at their disposal.

There’s an impressive visual set-piece which provides an exciting finale.

This was the first Rialto krimi shot in Ultrascope, a German version of Cinemascope. The combination of black-and-white cinematography and the ’Scope ratio always works well.

Style matters in a krimi and this film has the characteristic krimi style which goes so well with Wallace’s stories. Realism doesn’t matter very much - these movies exist in their own universe which isn’t Germany and it isn’t England and it doesn’t really coincide with anything in the real world but it’s a fun and intoxicating place to visit.

The Squeaker is a fine example of an early period krimi and it’s highly recommended.

The Tobis DVD presentation offers both English and German language options, with English subtitles for the German version. The transfer is up to their usual very high standards.