These films were based on the Jerry Cotton crime novels published in Germany as pulp magazines. This pulp series began in the mid-50s and it’s still going, with over 3,400 issues to date and total sales approaching a billion.
This was the golden age of German pop cinema which was kicked into top gear by the hugely successful Edgar Wallace krimis. There were three other notable franchises - the Dr Mabuse sci-fi flavoured diabolical criminal mastermind movies, the Kommissar X eurospy series and the Jerry Cotton series (which ran to eight films). What’s fascinating is that these franchises all had their own totally unique flavours but at the same time they all emphasised style above all, and they all feel distinctively German.
One of the things I really love about the Jerry Cotton movies is very similar to what I love about the German Edgar Wallace krimis - the delightful wrongness of the settings. The Edgar Wallace movies are supposed to take place in England but this is an alternative reality England that only existed in the minds of the German filmmakers. In the same way the Jerry Cotton movies are supposedly set in the United States but this is an America of the German imagination. In both cases the films end up with a wonderful subtly unreal feel which is hugely enjoyable.
The FBI are brought in to assist in the investigation of a series of murders. The modus operandi is the same in each case. They’re obviously linked. In each case there was a very obvious suspect with a very very strong motive, and in each case the suspect had a convenient absolutely cast-iron alibi. The Bureau thinks they’re the work of an organisation similar to Murder Inc but the victims are not gangsters, instead they’re wives or husbands or business partners who have become inconvenient.
He thinks another of those suspects could provide a lead and he has a witness who may turn out to be vital.
Jerry has stirred up a hornet’s nest and he could find himself marked down for elimination by this shadowy murderous organisation. But being in danger is all in a day’s work for Jerry Cotton.
When you see Harald Reinl’s name credited as director you can feel pretty confident. This guy made some great Edgar Wallace krimis and a Karl May western and a Kommissar X movie. He knew how to do this kind of movie, and he knew how to mount a clever and effective action scene without needing a Hollywood budget. And he certainly understood pacing. He’s at the top of his game here.
And he makes fine use of locations, with the scenes in the abandoned warehouse being a highlight. And action scenes in railway freight yards always work.
George Nader played Jerry Cotton in all eight movies. Nader had seemed destined for stardom in Hollywood in the 50s but never quite made it. Like so many American actors in a similar position he found that there were much more inviting prospects for him in Europe. He was perfect casting. He looks like a G-Man. He plays Cotton as tough but sensitive, hardbitten but likeable and he has enough charisma to carry a film series. And his acting is quite competent enough for movies that are intended purely as popular entertainment.
Death In A Red Jaguar is fast-moving and action-packed, it’s shot with flair, it has enough of a sense of menace to make the suspense effective. Overall we’re not meant to take this movie over-seriously. This is pulp cinema. It just happens to be superbly executed pulp cinema. Very highly recommended.
The German Jerry Cotton DVD boxed set includes the English dubbed versions of all eight films. The 16:9 enhanced transfer is extremely good. The early entries in the series were in black-and-white but this one is in colour and widescreen.
I’ve reviewed other Jerry Cotton movies - Murderers Club of Brooklyn (1967), The Trap Snaps Shut at Midnight (1966), Tip Not Included (1966) and The Violin Case Murders (1965). They’re all good.
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