The Mysterious Magician (1964)

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

"Der Hexer" or "The Wizard" is a German black-and-white film from over 40 years ago and it is another Edgar Wallace adaptation. Director Vohrer and writer Reinecker worked on several of these and there are more typical feature for this film. Lead actor is Joachim "Blacky" Fuchsberger who is in the hunt of a dangerous killer again. Damsel in distress is Sphie Hardy this time and as usual the identity of the killer is not revealed until the very end. The film runs really short for films from the Wallace series, barely makes it to the 80-minute-mark. I have seen a few of these films recently and I have to say they don't do a whole lot for me. The stories are usually unrealistic and it is never edge-of-seat material. In this one, there are a couple baffling moments too, for example when a whole lot of policemen let the suspect just run out of the door in the end. Distracted by a woman shooting blanks? Really? I don't buy it. Another aspect: Early on it is told us that all the Hexer wants is his revenge and yet he tries to kill the investigators on several occasions, for example with a poisonous snake? Doesn't make sense. Like a couple other things in this film. The only reason why this film is so popular and way higher rated than it should be (also here on IMDb) is maybe because its unusual ending (the bad triumphs somewhat). But this ending really only happens because the detectives turned out to be complete idiots, including Fuchsberger's who is depicted as the smartest all the time before and in other Wallace films too. I cannot believe it. This was not even a remotely good film. Not recommended.

It's obvious that this movie was supposed to be the German answer to the popular James Bond franchise. In the '60's, actually quite an handful of these sort of spy/detective movies got made but most of them are forgotten now days, including the British and American ones, while in fact they actually were some quite amusing movies to watch. And this movie is also definitely an enjoyable one but not really the best to be based off Edgar Wallace's work.It remains a bit weird to see all of these German movies, based on Edgar Wallace his novels, which are set in London and features some all-British characters, with all-British names. But no, this all seems to matter very little when watching this movie, since it's quite hard to take it all very seriously. It's a movie made purely for entertainment and it's being a quite silly one with its story and somewhat quirky characters (just like a James Bond movie).But the series of movies based on the Edgar Wallace novels definitely have some better movies to offer than this one. This isn't really the most exciting watch and at times I wished more would be happening in the story. It all remains quite simplistic, which does certainly go at the expense of its entertainment value at times.Other than that, it still remains a well made movie. It obviously didn't cost an awful lot of money to make but they did a more than decent job with its resources. It's actually also being a quite creative movie to watch at times, with it directing and cinematography. Perhaps you could say that the movie also benefits from the fact that it's shot in black & white, since somehow I think the movie would had been a far more silly one to watch had it been done in full color.Not the greatest but still a enjoyable enough, short watch.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

The first series of replays of the German Edgar Wallace i did see as a child and i have loved it ever since (at least the top items, where this one and "Der Zinker" are top notch. Very much German style British made, this is always still suspense, thrill, charming ladies and light entertainment perfectly combined. And we all know things will end well as they must in 60s movies in Germany of this Wirtschaftswunder era. It is reliably replayed in Germany in series by the multiple stations, where the reels seem to be rotate around, don't miss it if you can get it (forgo the latter, especially the colored ones. What was won in color was more then lost in suspense and coolness).

During the sixties and early seventies dozens of Edgar Wallace films were made in Germany, all of them highly popular. Most of them black and white, most of them with Eddi Aren't and Siegfried Schürenberg two of the unknown geniuses of German cinema. This one is the best of the lot. The sister of a famous retired criminal, Arthur Milton, aka der Hexer, (literally the Magician but I think called the Ringer in the Wallace book) is murdered. Scottland Yard thinks that Milton will return to revenge her. Inspector Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger in typical role) with the help of Warren (Siefried Löwitz) is trying to get him. There is also a mysterious Australian writer called Wesby (Heinz Drache). Is he the Hexer? One by one of the murderers is killed by the Hexer. Very questionable ethics, of course. But our sympathies are with him. You never see him until the very end, but you see his wife, played by the most elegant of German actresses, Margot Trooger. And a man with a wife like that cannot be really bad. There is wonderful innocent sixties charm all the way through, suspense and humour which make this film a true highlite. Siegfried Schürenberg as Sir John has one of the best running gags in movie history there. "Das hätten Sie doch berücksichtigen müssen." (You should have thought of that). Nice twist ending. The only post war German movie that ranks among the best films ever made.