"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.
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.