The German krimi genre began in the late 1950s and, at first, most were shot in black-and-white. Pioneering Rialto Films relied almost exclusively on adaptations of macabre mystery yarns by 1920s British writer, Edgar Wallace. Rialto’s efforts were so successful, rival company CCC Films started their own string of popular titles, these adapted from sagas by Edgar’s son, Bryan Edgar Wallace. This CCC entry is one of the most deranged, with elements ranging from noir to Universal horror and the burgeoning Italian giallo. Anonymous rogue judges, acting as hooded vigilantes, snatch criminals and arbitrarily dispatch them in grotesque fashion. Seemingly unrelated, a mad doctor is on the loose, decapitating women and trying to reanimate their heads. Is there a connection? Maria Perschy is a heroine in jeopardy and well-known German character actor, Wolfgang Preiss, is the Scotland Yard inspector trying to solve the bizarre crime wave. Many krimi movies were dubbed into English and distributed directly to American TV, but a few received theatrical releases in the USA. This was one of them, distributed by Paramount in 1965.
Ariel Schudson discusses The Mad Executioners on the New Beverly blog.
