The Crimson Circle (1960 film)


The Crimson Circle is a 1960 West German/Danish black and white crime film directed by Jürgen Roland and starring Renate Ewert, Klausjürgen Wussow and Karl-Georg Saebisch. It was an adaptation of the 1922 novel The Crimson Circle by the British writer Edgar Wallace.

Plot

detectives pursue a ruthless league of blackmailers known as The Crimson Circle.

Cast

A previous German/British adaptation of the novel The Crimson Circle by Edgar Wallace was made in 1929. Other versions were produced in the UK in 1922 and in 1936.
For this version, the second film in the Wallace series produced by Rialto, the novel was adopted for the screen by Egon Eis under his nom de plume "Trygve Larsen". Wolfgang Menge, a friend of the director, made some changes to the script. Director Jürgen Roland had not previously directed a feature film, but had made a name for himself by directing the TV-series Stahlnetz.
Cinematography took place in November and December 1959. The studio for interiors was Palladium Atelier at Kopenhagen. Exteriors were also shot at Kopenhagen. Stock footage from London shot during production of the previous film Der Frosch mit der Maske was used.

Release

The FSK gave the film a rating of 16 years and up, unsuitable for screening on public holidays. It premiered on 2 March 1960 at the Unversum at Stuttgart.
The film's success encouraged the producers to meet with Penelope Wallace and secure the film rights for all available Wallace novels.