Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Der Frosch mit der Maske" is a pretty bad title for this German black-and-white film from the late 1950s. It is actually a human with a mask obviously and you could see it as a bit of Germany's take on the character of Scarecrow. He is one of the key players in the criminal underground here and prefers to kill his enemies with poison. I personally felt early on, also the introduction, there were a couple scenes that were interesting and they certainly could have turned this into an edge-of-seat crime thriller. Instead the inclusion of far too many characters and unintentionally comedic elements made this 87-minute film uninteresting for the most part. Quite a shame as there was certainly the possibility of a better film here. Eis and Bartsch adapted this Edgar Wallace work over 25 years after Wallace's death and the duo worked on several of these German Edgar Wallace films. The director is Harald Reinl this time and he is mostly known for his Winnetou films. Overall, "Faces of the Frog" (much better international title is not worth the watch. Towards the end, I really did not care who the Frog really was, even if I suspected it. Not recommended.

meikel14 Sadly I don't remember the book anymore, but I do recall that I was captivated by the stories of Edgar Wallace. This Film represents a typical German Production of low quality. It does not hold my attention - although the story itself is good, it is just badly adabted. At the center of the misery are the characters that are overly simplyfied and exaggerated - they have no nuances in their performances. Even the well known and liked German Actors Joachim Fuchsberger and Eddy Aren't cannot rescue this poor spectacle. However there's hope ... I've been told that the films following this one are getting better and better. So in conclusion I must say that this film doesn't deserve the cinematic screen but may be enough for a lazy afternoon.

mirmarek This movie is an abomination, and its making should have been considered a capital crime.One of the great mysteries of film-making is why nobody ever has made a faithful movie adaptation of this wonderful mystery. It is a tale of a really gripping mystery, nice old-fashioned romance, and dry English humor. Why did the makers have to change Richard Gordon from a Scotland Yard policeman to an amateur detective, introduce the idiotic role and caricature of his English servant, change the part of the main storyline about the murder charge and circumstances of Gordon's struggle to save the accused, etc., etc.? These producers and directors who always think they can make a better story than the one in the book should write the original script themselves and not to rape another person's product.

goblinhairedguy This was the first of the long-running German "krimi" series based on the mysteries of Edgar Wallace (actually, there were two simultaneous series from rival companies, the other based on the works of the author's son Bryan). As Tim Lucas and other astute critics have pointed out, the films were the precursors of the Italian giallos and ultimately the slasher pictures of the 70s and 80s. They also have obvious stylistic links to the superhero and superspy action genres of the 60s.Most of the key elements of the series already appear in this effort -- the foggy Soho underworld settings; the cabaret shows (which became progressively sleazier); the archvillain with his bizarre modus operandi and grotesque henchmen; the clever, persevering but underappreciated Scotland Yard inspector; the flippant comic antics of Eddie Arent (here appearing as the consummate English butler with Kato leanings) who is always smarter than he seems; the statuesque ingenues; the unfathomable plots featuring dozens of red herrings; and the quite violent-for-the-time stalk-and-murder sequences. Later the series would rely more on flashy camera tricks and tongue-in-cheek stylistics (especially under Alfred Vohrer's nifty direction), but here the proceedings are mainly played straight. Harald Reinl's work was always atmospheric but rather stiff in its mise-en-scene and ragged in continuity. However, this film features quite a sadistic, eye-opening ending that seems to have wandered in from a Jess Franco opus. Well worth a look, especially for amateur film historians.