The Phantom of Soho (1967)

Powerful

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

'Das Phantom Von Soho' is a supremely pacy, atmospheric, and surprisingly grisly Krimi from the lurid pen of Bryan Edgar Wallace. The burlesque jazz sounds of Martin Bottcher are utterly sublime and not only are the performances uniformly excellent, the brutal stabbings have a decidedly proto-gialli feel. 'Das Phantom Von Soho' is an absolute must for rampant Krimi-headz, and while the overt camp-ness is considerably muted, the grisly, sordid atmosphere, thankfully isn't. This grungy little Edgar Wallace thriller was a real corker, and one of the rare Krimi's that I would happily watch again! And I most heartily approve of the lead actresses's spicy moniker: Barbara Rutting! "Oh, I say!" (Most appropriate for one so lithe!)

"Residents and visitors of the Soho district in London are terrified due to a series of brutal murders near a prominent nightclub. A killer wearing a horrifying skull mask and golden gloves has been murdering patrons of the Sansibar. Scotland Yard is desperate to discover the secret behind the murders and find the killer before another victim falls at his hands," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Scotland Yard inspector Dieter Borsche (as Hugh Patton) is unexpectedly accompanied, in sleuthing, by murder mystery novelist Barbara Rutting (as Clarinda Smith). Ms. Rütting believes she can unmask the "Phantom of Soho" before the police. Mr. Borsche is assisted by humorless Peter Sellers look-alike Peter Vogel (as Hallam). Director Gottlieb fails to make it very interesting, with some "arty" camera placements.*** Das Phantom von Soho (1964) Franz Josef Gottlieb ~ Dieter Borsche, Barbara Rütting, Peter Vogel

First off I recommend the Retromedia release as it is struck from a very good print. I might add this is the uncut version of the film. It contains two topless strip scenes and knife kill closeups that are usually missing from other prints. The dubbing is impressive. What I enjoy most is the agile and imaginative camera direction of Gottleib. The camera is almost never static.We are often treated to scenes which begin overhead then move down and envelop the actors. The scene involving the knife throwing act where the camera revolves as the assistant revolves is inventive. The plot is mediocre and you can identify the killer early on but taking the journey is most of the fun. A wonderful recreation of London with plenty of smoke and fog makes an excellent backdrop for this krimi thriller. Add to it an early 60's jazzy lounge soundtrack and you can't spend a better 96 minutes in my book.

The Phantom of Soho takes us to a setting of dark alleys and the dirty, crime infested streets of Soho England. We meet a varied assortment of characters including strippers and prostitutes. This is where we are taken in this movie which has a combination of horror, mystery, sexual backgrounds and situations. All of these together make this 1966 movie a bit different from the typical `who done it' movie. I didn't have high expectations for this movie but found myself to be pleasantly surprised having been caught up in it's suspense and mystery. In my opinion, there are a lot of better horror/mysteries out there, but this one is still worth watching and makes an enjoyable viewing. Give it a chance.