The first Blu-ray from Severin's THE EUROCRYPT OF CHRISTOPHER LEE COLLECTION 2 box set I will examine is 1961's THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID (original German title DAS RATSEL DER ROTEN ORCHIDEE).
This film is part of the long-running series of krimi movies based on the works of British writer Edgar Wallace, that were made in Germany by the Rialto production company. Christopher Lee had already made his Rialto krimi debut not long before in THE DEVIL'S DAFFODIL, in which he played a Chinese detective--and spoke in German with a Chinese accent! In THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID Lee plays a FBI agent from Chicago named Captain Allerman, who is on the trail of multiple American gangsters who have set up extortion operations in London.
Most of the Rialto krimi entries are wild combinations of such elements as sci-fi, Gothic horror, spy thriller, crime drama, and film noir. THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID is somewhat tamer than the usual krimi--even the exotic and alluring Marisa Mell (DANGER: DIABOLIK) is given a bland role as the lady in distress.
I'm sure Lee enjoyed the chance to play a "good guy" like Allerman, who engages in gun battles and physical altercations with the transplanted gangsters. According to multiple sources, Lee didn't enjoy working with the film's Austrian director, Helmuth Ashley (Lee thought the man was an autocrat). Lee doesn't even get the lead good guy role in this film--that goes to Adrian Hoven, who plays an Inspector from Scotland Yard.
The other notable name involved in THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID is the inimitable Klaus Kinski, who plays one of the main gangsters (no surprise there). It's hard to believe that Kinski's character, "Pretty Boy Steve", could successfully keep up a cover as a London shopkeeper, but the actor, as always, brings a quirky charge every time he is on the screen.
Mention must also be made of the music score of this film, by Peter Thomas. It definitely draws your attention--it times too much attention. Thomas' future krimi scores would get even stranger.
THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID is a decent krimi film, with a convoluted plot that doesn't have a lot of mystery to it (the main bad guy is easy to figure out). It's nice to see Lee play a "normal" person on the side of law and order, and it must be said that he handles himself quite well here. (He also speaks his lines in German on the original dialogue track, and he's totally at ease in doing so.)
Severin presents THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID in a 1.66:1 widescreen aspect ratio, with German and English dialogue tracks, with available English subtitles. (Needless to say, the original German voice track fits the film far better than the English one.) The visual quality of this black & white film is very sharp on this disc. The presentation is a substantial improvement from Retromedia's DVD of the film, which was in full frame and only featured the English dialogue track.
Two excellent commentaries are on this disc. One features Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth, and they provide a lively discussion that gives out plenty of much-needed info on the Rialto krimi series in particular, along with side talks about Lee, Kinski, and most of the cast & crew. The other commentary has Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw, and they focus on Edgar Wallace's writing career and style, and how it affected the krimi series overall. Both talks are well worth listening to, especially for those that want more info on the weird world of krimi cinema. The German trailer for the film is also included.
I'm not sure about this, but Severin's Blu-ray of THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID may be the first time that any of the Rialto krimi films have been given a deluxe Region A HD release. Hopefully there's more krimis in Severin's future. Christopher Lee fans will appreciate seeing him playing an action hero, and the film itself is a nice introduction to the Rialto krimi series for those who have not ventured into that realm.
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