The Terrible People (1960) User Reviews

Very good film of a master criminal getting revenge from beyond the grave

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 25 January 2009]

Another one of the German Edgar Wallace series. This time a master criminal is caught as he attempts to rob a bank. A shoot out occurs and a police officer is shot. Sentenced to die all of those responsible are summoned to the man's cell where he threatens to do them all in. After he is gone corpses begin to turn up and it soon becomes clear, even though it shouldn't be possible, that the dead man is alive and well and taking his revenge. Good film in the series isn't always the clear plot-wise, but for what it fudges in plotting, it makes up in mood with great black and white photography that makes everything thing much more mysterious. Say what you will I really liked this a great deal. Worth a look if you come across it

Gothic krimi

[JohnSeal · 5/10 · 8 January 2006]

This early entry in Rialto Film's krimi cycle may not have the most interesting story, but it does have much to recommend it. After master criminal Clay Shelton (gaunt Otto Collin) is executed by the hangman of London, his 'ghost' returns from the dead and starts murdering those responsible for his conviction. It's up to Chief Inspector Long of Scotland Yard (handsome Joachim Fuchsberger) to solve the mystery and end the serial killings, not to mention win the hand of fetching secretary Nora Duncan (Karin Dor). Though the narrative is rather plodding and fairly predictable, Die Bande des Schreckens benefits tremendously from fabulous black and white cinematography by Albert Benitz, who got his start shooting 'mountain films' with Leni Riefenstahl back in the 1920s. His work here is truly exquisite, taking full advantage of black and white stock's unique qualities, and Tobis' PAL DVD does it full justice. There's also a spare but quite memorable score from Heinz Funk, and Collin makes for a memorable, Mabuse-like villain.

Solid Krimi with an awesome villain

[Coventry · 7/10 · 19 December 2020]

The nation is relieved when the notorious robber/murderer Shelton is caught red-handed by the ambitious Scotland Yard detective Long. Shelton is executed, but he uses his final words to curse all the people who were involved in his arrest, and promises that they will die shortly after him. And, guess what, they do! Is Shelton murdering from beyond the grave, or does he have a band of accomplices extracting the vengeance for him? The above description is one of the oldest and most commonly used premises in horror, but based on the writings of Edgar Wallace and filmed as a stylish & atmospheric German Krimi, it's guaranteed suspenseful entertainment! All the wondrous Krimi-trademarks are there, like an uncanny ambiance, grim music, gruesome but inventive death sequences and a few convoluted plot-twists near the end. Eddi Arent provides the mandatory chuckles, as a crime scene photographer who constantly faints, while Otto Colin is genuinely menacing as the villain.

Did Germany win WW2 ?

[scottwelton-17431 · 7/10 · 22 June 2021]

German Scotland Yard Inspector Long drives a snazzy MG but prefers to carry a Walther police pistol in a shoulder holster!

His father and butler both look eerily like the wacky killer from beyond the grave that reappears every time anyone that had anything to do with his trial and sentencing to be hanged, is murdered... Karin Dor from You Only Lives Twice is always welcome... It's very offbeat, I like it!

Murderer From Beyond The Grave

[boblipton · 6/10 · 4 December 2020]

The bad guy is captured and sentenced to swing. The priest says he's unrepentant. He certainly acts that way to the people who show up. He announces that they too will die; he will reach out from the grave and kill them. When they begin to die, Scotland Yard tries to figure it out in the person of Joachim Fuchsberger. How is a dead man committing a string of murders, and what has a strange and beautiful ring got to do with it all?

It's another of the seemingly innumerable German adaptations of Edgar Wallace stories. I looked at one with English dubbing, and was rather impressed at the beginning, with its Werner Kraus-like villain in a Caligari-esque setting. As the movie proceeds, things get murkier, but not in a good way, as the air of supernatural doom goes on and on until the fifteen-minute wrap-up, when everything falls apart rapidly.

The Gallow's Hand.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 10/10 · 21 February 2021]

After watching the wonderful Face of the Frog (1959-also reviewed)I found out that I had picked up another Krimi, the purchasing of which I had forgotten about! This led to me deciding to see the terrible people pour out some Krimi.

View on the film:

Taking the Krimi genre deep into the Giallo direction that he and his then-wife would complete to a full transition with their final Krimi serving The Sinister Monk (1965-also reviewed) director Harald Reinl is joined by cinematographer Albert Benitz in superbly dipping the Krimi into Giallo and Gothic Horror.

Backed by a silky Jazz score from Heinz Funk and featuring a high body count, Reinl brings the ghostly looking killer from out of the shadows with splintered panning shots darting from the startled gaze of the cops seeing a "ghost" disappear in front of their eyes.

Running a list of who is being targeted in vengeful killings across the screen, Reinl crosses off each name off with ultra-stylised proto-Giallo first-person tracking shots and slivers of blood across the bourgeoisie household, (a future regular setting for Giallo) which Reinl gloriously twists into a Haunted House final,where Long and Sanders search to unmask the ghostly killer,whist in a crumbling house with things that go bump in the night.

Bringing a Gothic flavour out of Edgar Wallace's novel, the screenplay by Reinl's regular scriptwriter J. Joachim Bartsch (here joined by Wolfgang Schnitzler) sizzles a tense Krimi mystery of the police attempting to get one step ahead of the "ghost",with the seeping fog gradually wrapping round the detectives of the open possibility of a supernatural element being involved in the killings, leading them to sail into murky waters where criminals use the "supernatural" as a cover for their continuing crimes.

Joined by Joachim Fuchsberger keeping Inspector Long hot under the collar as he gets under pressure to stop the ghost piling up the bodies with avenging murders, Queen of the Krimi, Karin Dor gives a excellent performance as Sanders,with Dor's expressive face capturing Sanders gradually warming to the police,whilst nudging the viewer to the change of perception in the killer twist ending,as Sanders unmasks the motives of the terrible people.

Another missed opportunity

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 17 June 2016]

"Die Bande des Schreckens" or "The Terrible People" or "Hand of the Gallows" is another West German German-language movie that is a mix of crime and horror, a description that fits most Edgar Wallace films from this era. The director here is Harald Reinl, one of Germany's most successful filmmakers from that era. But he cannot win me over here either, just like with most of his Winnetou stuff. This film here runs for approximately 90 minutes, just like the other Edgar Wallace films and it's all just more of the same. But that's not the actors' fault: Fuchsberger, Dor and Aren't have proved their talent, but with the wrong script, they just cannot make it work either and I cannot say that I cared for any of the characters here particularly, be it the good or bad ones. To me, this film offered absolutely nothing new and the story and characters are interchangeable with most other German Edgar Wallace films from back then. I suggest you to watch something else instead. Not recommended.

Terrible people

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 18 February 2023]

The restless spirit of an executed criminal returns in the flesh seeking revenge upon those responsible for his death.

A creepy Krimi thriller with horror elements. It's a great idea, and has enough tension and suspense to keep you distracted. Fuchsberger is a solid leading man who handles the action as well as the romance equally well. Karin Dor plays Nora Sanders a secretary to Mrs Revelstoke(Elizabeth Flickenschildt),one of the targets for Shelton. Elisabeth Flickenschildt is excellent in her role, has a very soft lilt to her voice yet still across sinister. Slightly plodding around mid-way, but overall a well-paced film, packed with atmosphere and ends with a killer twist. The identity of the killer came as a surprise.