THE STRANGE COUNTESS

 

This is another entry in the German Rialto series of Edgar Wallace Krimi thrillers. THE STRANGE COUNTESS (1961) concerns a young London secretary named Margaret Reedle (Brigitte Grothum). Margaret is getting ready to take on a new position, but she's getting threatening phone calls, and there's even been attempts on her life. Her current boss (Fritz Rasp) assigns a detective named Mike Dorn (Joachim Fuchsberger) to keep an eye on Margaret, and she starts her new job, working for a mysterious Countess Moron (Lil Dagover) and living in the elderly woman's large castle. Despite her protection and new employment status, things get even worse for the woman, as she gets tangled up in a 20-year old murder case, and becomes the unwitting patient of a bizarre sanitarium. 

THE STRANGE COUNTESS is quite different from the usual German Krimi film. The action revolves around Margaret Reedle's problems, and there are no international crime syndicates, nefarious supervillains, or hooded killers dressed in black. One would think that this would make the film unappealing, but Margaret Reedle isn't a glamour girl, or a helpless damsel in distress. As played by the likable Brigitte Grothum, she's a relatively normal, straightforward person, and this encourages a viewer in taking interest in her plight. THE STRANGE COUNTESS has more of an Agatha Christie vibe than Edgar Wallace, and it even has some Hitchcock-like aspects to it as well. 

The movie still has some of the expected Krimi elements, such as the striking black & white photography, jazzy music by Peter Thomas, and a stalwart hero played by Joachim Fuchsberger. There's also Eddi Arent as the Countess' quirky son, and Klaus Kinski as a mental patient (talk about obvious casting). Kinski gets a big showcase here--he's the first person in the movie that you see onscreen--and he gives it his all, with one of his most creepiest and jittery performances. Kinski's mental patient reminds one of Dwight Frye's Renfield in the '31 DRACULA--especially in how he seemingly escapes from the sanitarium at will--and at times Kinski even looks a bit like Frye. 

Lil Dagover was one of the major stars of early German cinema--she's best known for being the female lead in the legendary THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Her countess is a Norma Desmond/Grand Dame type of role, and Dagover brings plenty of screen presence to it. It's a treat for film geeks to see Dagover and Fritz Rasp, another major German screen figure, sharing scenes together. 

Lil Dagover in THE STRANGE COUNTESS

THE STRANGE COUNTESS was well directed by Josef von Baky. Despite the lack of usual Krimi outlandishness, the movie is still diverting enough, with a plot that is toned down a bit from most examples of this genre. It also contains one of Klaus Kinski's most notable performances.