The Squeaker

The Squeaker (1963)

Der Zinker

Scotland Yard investigates a series of murders where the victims have died by snake venom poisoning.

Date of release
1963-04-26
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (44)
Runtime
1h 29m
Genres
Crime, Mystery
Director
Alfred Vohrer

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: The Squeaker
  • Filmed in: Berlin

The Squeaker is a 1963 West German-French crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Heinz Drache. It was part of a very successful series of German films based on the writings of Edgar Wallace and adapted from the 1927 novel of the same name.

Production

The Squeaker was the 12th of a very successful series of German films made in the late 1950s and 1960s by producer Horst Wendlandt for Rialto Film. This particular installment was co-produced by French company 'Les Films Jaques Willemetz'. The script was adapted by Harald G. Petersson from the 1927 novel The Squeaker or The Sign Of the Leopard (The Squealer in the US).

Wendlandt had to compete with films that were increasingly in colour. To boost the black and white film's attraction, it was shot in 'Ultra-Scope' a widescreen method. Alfred Vohrer directed the film. To boost production values, some scenes were shot on location in a wintry London. Additional exteriors were shot in West Berlin.

This was the first film of the series to feature the signature beginning with a series of gun shots ringing out followed by a (coloured) bloodstain spreading across the screen as an invisible voice intones "Hello, this is Edgar Wallace!".

The FSK gave the film a rating of 16 and up and found it not appropriate for screenings on public holidays. It was released on 26 April 1963.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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