All posts by Cora Buhlert

[October 28, 1965] Knights, Adventurers and Anthropomorphic Animals: Comics in East and West Germany

October 28, 2020 Cora Buhlert 2 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

Clever Little Foxes: Fix and Foxi

Here at the Journey, we occasionally visit the wonderful world of comic books, mostly from the US but also from the UK. However, comics have long been a global phenomenon and so I'm presenting you the comics of East and West Germany.

Superheroes may rule in the US, but in West Germany, you will have a hard time finding American superhero comics, unless you have befriended an American GI who can hook you up with the latest US comics.

Erika Fuchs, the brilliant Germany translator of the Donald Duck comics

Instead, the most popular US comics in West Germany are none than the Disney comics featuring Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and friends. A large part of the reason why the Disney comics are so popular in West Germany is the brilliant work of translator Erika Fuchs, who introduced inventive wordplay and allusions to classic literature into the comics and thus gained a large adult fanbase. The various linguistic "donaldisms" created by Erika Fuchs have even entered the regular German language by now.

Inspired by the success of the Disney comics, in 1953 West German artist Rolf Kauka created his own comic magazine called Till Eulenspiegel, named after a popular trickster character from German legend. However, a pair of clever foxes named Fix and Foxi quickly became the most popular characters and in 1955, the magazine was retitled as Fix und Foxi. The two foxes quickly adopted a whole menagerie of animal friends such as the wolf Lupo and his cousin Lupinchen, the mole Pauli and the sister Paulinchen, the raven Knox, the hare Hops, the hedgehog Stops and the mouse Mausi. Other characters to appear in the magazine are "Tom and Klein Biberherz" (Little Beaverheart), a cowboy character and his indigenous friend, and "Mischa im Weltraum" (Mischa in Outer Space), a humorous science fiction comic. Those who have read the Archie comics will find that Mischa looks very familiar.

Fix and Foxi Mischa — "Mischa in Space" on the cover of Fix and Foxi. Mischa looks very reminiscent of US character Archie.

Mecki: The Amazing Adventures of a Little Hedgehog

Fix and Foxi are not the only anthropomorphic animals in West German comics. There is also Mecki the hedgehog, whose tangled history predates the two foxes. Mecki first appeared in 1938 – still nameless and not in comic format at all, but in an animated puppet film adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale "The Race between Hare and Hedgehog". The film spawned a series of picture postcards featuring the clever little hedgehog.

Mecki debuts on the cover of Hör Zu! No. 43 in October 1949

In 1949, one of those picture postcards landed on the desk of Eduard Rhein, Renaissance man (in now 65 years, Rhein has been a Zeppelin engineer, inventor, technical writer, violinist and novelist) and editor-in-chief of the radio listings magazine Hör Zu! (Listen!). Rhein was looking for a mascot for the magazine, a character who would offers snarky commentary on the program listings. He promptly adopted the hedgehog and named him Mecki. The character debuted on the cover of issue 43 of Hör Zu!, still as a puppet character in a pre-war picture postcard. When Rhein ran out of picture postcards to reprint, he recruited cartoonist Reinhold Escher to draw new adventures of the brave little hedgehog.

Mecki wedding — Mecki and Micki get married with all their friends in attendance

From 1951 on, one page Mecki strips appeared in Hör Zu!, initially as standalone stories and later as serialised adventures. Mecki also quickly acquired friends and family, including his wife Micki and the two children Mucki and Macki, the penguin Charly, the Schrat, a permanently sleepy gnome, the seven Syrian hamsters, the seaman Captain Petersen, the cat Murr and the duck Watsch. Together, these characters travelled the world, ventured into various fantasylands and even conquered the Moon and Mars as early as 1953.

Mecki auf dem Mond — Mecki and friends visit the moon in glorious colour

Beginning in 1952, Mecki's adventures also appeared in full colour picture books. The first book, Mecki im Schlaraffenland (Mecki in Cockaigne) was written by Eduard Rhein and illustrated by Reinhold Escher, but from book two on, Wilhelm Petersen illustrated the Mecki books and later also shared artist duties with Reinhold Escher on the comic strip. Reinhold Escher's style is more cartoony, while Petersen's is more naturalistic, but both of them are highly talented artists. As a result the Mecki strips and particularly the picture books look gorgeous.

Mecki and his extended family eventually returned to the medium that birthed him for a series of eighteen short puppet movies. The toy manufacturer Steiff also produces dolls of Mecki and his family. I got the complete set of Mecki, Micki, Macki and Mucki as a birthday gift some time ago and treasure them.

Mecki Family — The Mecki family toys as produced by Steiff

In spite of Mecki's popularity, his future is uncertain, for his creator Eduard Rhein left Hör Zu! last year – not voluntarily, it is rumoured. And Rhein's replacement shows little interest in Mecki. The comic strips continue to appear in Hör Zu!, but the annual picture book has been cancelled. Nonetheless, I hope that the friendly little hedgehog and his friends will continue to delight readers for a long time to come.

In the News: Nick Knatterton and Bild Lilli

Daily comic strips can be found in many West German newspapers. However, most of these are reprints of American comic strips such as The Phantom, Blondie or The Heart of Juliet Jones. Homegrown German comic strips are rare.

One exception is the square-jawed private detective Nick Knatterton, whose adventures appeared between 1950 and 1959 in the magazine Quick.

Nick Knatterton's real name is Nikolaus Kuno Baron von Knatter. His mother Baroness von Knatter was an eager reader of murder mysteries. Inspired by her, Nick Knatterton decided to become a private detective and changed his name, so as not to embarrass his aristocratic family. Knatterton was a confirmed bachelor for many years, until he met and eventually married the heiress Linda Knips.

Nick Knatterton was created by Manfred Schmidt, a cartoonist who hails from my hometown of Bremen. Shortly after World War II, Schmidt came across a Superman comic. Inspired by this new to him medium, he created Nick Knatterton. Other inspirations for the character were Sherlock Holmes as portrayed by Hans Albers in the 1937 movie Der Mann der Sherlock Holmes war (The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes) as well as the American dime novel hero Nat Pinkerton, whose adventures a young Manfred Schmidt had devoured in the 1920s.

Der Mann der Sherlock Holmes War — Hans Albers as not Holmes and Heinz Rühmann as not Watson in "The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes" (1937). Note the resemblance to Nick Knatterton.

What makes the Knatterton comics so amusing are not just Schmidt's crisp drawings, but also the political satire that Schmidt, who considers himself a Communist, inserts into the strip.

Whereas Nick Knatterton is very political, Bild Lilli, another homegrown West German comic strip character, is not overly political at all. Created by cartoonist Reinhard Beuthien for the tabloid Bild, the attractive Lilli is a ditzy young woman who works as a secretary, but dreams of catching a wealthy husband. The mildly risqué Lilli strip was popular enough to spawn a Lilli fashion doll and a line of matching outfits. But sexist humour fell out of favour and so the strip was cancelled in 1961.

This could have been the end of Lilli, but instead she continued her career under a different name. For in 1958, an American tourist named Ruth Handler purchased a Bild Lilli doll and was so impressed by the idea of a fashion doll that she created her own version. Named Barbie after Mrs. Handler's daughter, this doll became a huge worldwide hit.

Bild Lilli and Barbie — Separated at birth: Bild Lilli on the left and Barbie on the right

Heroes to Carry in Your Pocket: Sigurd, Falk, Tibor, Jörg and Nick

One of West Germany's foremost comic publishers is the Walter Lehning Verlag, which started publishing comics in 1953, beginning with reprints of Italian series such as the jungle hero Akim and the western hero El Bravo. Those had been originally published in the so-called piccolo format, small and wide booklets in horizontal format that look like individual newspaper strips stapled together, so the German editions used the same format.

The advantage of the piccolo format was that at twenty pfennig apiece, the comics were cheaper than those published in regular magazine format. As a result, the reprints of Italian action comics were so popular that Lehning commissioned Swiss German artist and writer Hansrudi Wäscher to create several new series in the same format.

Wäscher's first creation for Lehning was Sigurd, a medieval knight who had more than three hundred adventures between 1953 and 1960. Sigurd was a big success and was quickly followed by Falk, another knightly hero, Tibor, a jungle hero in the mould of Tarzan who was created as a replacement for the Italian Akim character, Jörg, a young nobleman who experiences adventures during the thirty-years-war, and Nick, der Weltraumfahrer (Nick the Spaceman), a science fiction comic.

The science fictional adventures of Nick the Spaceman

Jörg experiences the horrors of the Thirty-Years War

However, the prolific Hansrudi Wäscher also worked for other comic publishers. He created Nizar, yet another jungle hero, for the publisher Kölling Verlag as well as Titanus, a science fiction comic, for the Gerstmayer Verlag. The Titanus comics had a special gimmick, because they came with 3D goggles.

Terry Starr, the blond and square-jawed hero of Titanus.

Adventures Behind the Iron Curtain: Mosaik

Western comic books also found their way across the iron curtain, to the delight of East German youths and the despair of the Communist authorities. And so in 1955, the East German publisher Verlag Neues Leben created their own comics magazine called Mosaik. Initially, the magazine appeared quarterly and switched to a monthly schedule in 1957. Due to the vagaries of Socialist paper production, Mosaik issues are not easy to find on the newsstands of East Germany and always sell out quickly, unless you know someone who will reserve a copy for you.

Mosaik No. 28 — The Digedags travel into space

The stars of Mosaik are three cobolds named Dig, Dag and Digedag. The Digedags, as they are collectively known, have amazing adventures in time and space. So far, they have fought pirates, founded a circus, travelled to ancient Rome and into outer space and meet various important historical figures. Their latest adventure has taken them to the Middle Ages, where they picked up a new travelling companion in the clumsy knight Ritter Runkel.

Mosaik 1965 — The Digedags fight pirates.

So how Socialist are the Digedags? The answer is, "It's complicated." During their epic space adventure, the Digedags were dragged into a conflict between the Republican Union, a Socialist utopia, and their sworn enemies, the Großneonian Reich, an expansionist capitalist hell state ruled by people dressed in what looks like SS uniforms. But while the space saga wore its Socialist heart on its sleeve, the following inventor cycle was the opposite. For the inspirational inventors from history the Digedags encountered include not just East German hero Otto von Guericke, 17th century scientist and mayor of Magdeburg, but also capitalists such as James Watt and even Werner von Siemens, aristocrat and capitalist, whom the Digedags meet as a young lieutenant in the Prussian army.

Commander of the Großneonian space station — The uniform worn by the villainous commander of the Großneonian space station does look strangely familiar.

However, the main objective of Mosaik is apolitical fun, which is also why the magazine is so much more popular than other publications from the same company such as Die Trommel (The Drum), the official magazine of the Ernst Thälmann Young Pioneers, which includes such thrilling comic strips as "The Girl from the Soviet War Monument" or "The Red Climbers".

"Das Mädchen vom Ehrenmal" (The Girl from the Soviet War Monument), an inspirational comic strip from "Die Trommel" (The Drum), the official magazine of the Ernst Thälmann Young Pioneers.

The Digedags were the creation of cartoonist Hannes Hegen, but in true Socialist fashion the comic is created by a collective of writers and artists. The current head writer is Lothar Dräger. The main artist is Lona Rietschel, one of the few women to work in German comics.

And that's it for the comics of East and West Germany. Next month, I will introduce you to the comics of Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

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Fashion, music, politics, sports

[September 28, 1965] Of Art and Freedom: The Rolling Stones Riots and the Mephisto Case

September 28, 2020 Cora Buhlert Leave a comment

by Cora Buhlert

Science fiction, as a cutting edge genre, often skirts the line of decorum, occasionally earning calls for banning of particularly sensitive works. Thus, it is appropriate that this month, I have three stories from West Germany for you that are connected to the freedom of the arts, enshrined in our constitution, and how it is sometimes challenged.

But first, some political news:

No Experiments

1965 CDU election campaign poster — Even for his first re-election campaign as chancellor, Ludwig Ehrhard's face is not on the campaign poster, but that of his predecessor Konrad Adenauer endorsing Ehrhard.

The headline news this month was the West German federal election, the fifth since the founding of Federal Republic of Germany and the first where the candidate of the Christian conservative party CDU/CSU is someone other than Konrad Adenauer, namely his successor as chancellor Ludwig Ehrhard.

But except for the name of the chancellor, very little has changed. The CDU/CSU once again won the majority of the vote and will be able to continue the coalition government with the liberal party FDP. The opposition, the Socialdemocratic party SPD gained some votes, but not enough for SPD chancellor candidate Willy Brandt to replace Ludwig Ehrhard.

I have to admit that I never liked Konrad Adenauer. However, he and Ludwig Ehrhard have done a lot to rebuild West Germany after World War II and turn it into the industrial powerhouse it is today. Nonetheless, I feel that after sixteen years of a CDU/CSU/FDP government, it is time for a change.

Rolling Stones, Riots and Rebellion

Rolling Stones in Hamburg 1965 — The Rolling Stones arrive at Hamburg airport.

At least in the realm of pop music, change is in the air. The West German music charts are still dominated by the so-called Schlager genre of sappy pop songs sang in German. But while Schlager is still king with the over forty demographic, the young are increasingly turning to beat music.

The Rolling Stones recently finished their first tour of West Germany to the delight of their young fans and the disdain of conservative critics, who called the band "cavemen" and their music "primitive and unimaginative".

Rolling Stones fans in Hamburg — Young fans cheer on the Rolling Stones in Hamburg

The Rolling Stones concert in Hamburg erupted into violence, when more than two thousand young people, who hadn't been able get tickets for concert, decided to take out their frustrations on streetlamps, benches, planters, cars and election posters outside the concert hall. The police responded in kind and by the end of the day, forty-seven young people had been arrested and thirty-one people injured.

Police and rioter in Hamburg — The Hamburg police clashes with rioting Rolling Stones fans.

But that was nothing against what happened the following day in West Berlin, where the Rolling Stones performed at the Waldbühne. Once again, the concert was sold out and once again, young fans who had not been able to get tickets showed up outside the venue. But since the Waldbühne is an open air arena, the youngsters were able to break through the police cordon and get in.

Things were initially quiet, but once the Rolling Stones came on stage, the young fans stormed the stage. The police managed to clear the stage, but once the Stones performed their latest hit "Satisfaction", there was no holding back and the fans stormed the stage once again. The band, fearful for their safety, broke off the concert and that's when the trouble truly started.

Rolling Stones Waldbühne 1965 — The Rolling Stones on stage at the Waldbühne in West Berlin.

The young fans demanded that the Rolling Stones come back and finish the concert. When the band didn't come back, they started demolishing the seats in the arena. The West Berlin police responded with excessive violence (eye witnesses report that the situation only escalated, when police officers started attacking a group of forty to fifty teenaged girls huddling near the stage) and the result was a riot which lasted several hours, caused eighty-seven injuries and left the Waldbühne in ruins. But the riot did not stop there. Because on their way home, many of the young West German fans decided to take out their frustrations on the trains of the S-Bahn light rail network, which is operated by the hated East Berlin transport authority. In the end, seventeen S-Bahn trains had been damaged, four of them so badly that they had to be taken out of commission.

Waldbühne in ruins 1965 — Aftermath of a concert: The venerable thirty-year-old Waldbühne in Berlin is left in ruins.

East and West Berliners never agree on anything, but the newspapers in both parts of the divided city agreed that the Waldbühne riot was a disaster that must never happen again. The West German tabloid Bild compared the Rolling Stones concert cum riot to a witches' sabbath. Meanwhile, Neues Deutschland, the official newspaper of the Socialist Party of East Germany, not only reprinted the Bild article (which is unusual in itself, since Bild is explicitly anti-Communist), but also added some hyperbole of its own, comparing the rioting young fans to the Hitler Youth (even though the Nazis famously hated the very jazz and blues music which inspired the Rolling Stones) and claiming that the true aim of the Rollings Stones' music was to prepare the West German youth for World War III. Why a British beat band would even want to prepare young Germans for war is a question that not even the Neues Deutschland can answer.

Beats in Bremen

But even those West German beat music fans who did not make it to one of the Rolling Stones concerts got a chance to listen to their favourite music. For last Saturday, a brand-new music show named Beat-Club premiered on West German TV. I was watching with particular interest, not just because I like beat music, but also because the show was produced and filmed right here in my hometown Bremen.

Apparently, the idea of a TV show playing solely beat music is so shocking that announcer Wilhelm Wieben, at age thirty himself a member of the younger generation, explicitly apologised to older viewers who might not like beat music. Oddly enough, no TV announcer has ever felt the need to apologise for any other genre of music.

Compared to the dire warnings that preceded it, the actual program was a lot of fun, but fairly harmless. The format is loosely based on the US show American Bandstand and the British show Ready, Steady, Go! Various bands play live music, while the young studio audience dances. The presenters are Gerd Augustin, discjockey at the Bremen dance hall Twen Club, where he also recruited the live studio audience, and Uschi Nerke, an attractive twenty-one-year-old architecture student with musical ambitions.

Uschi Nerke Beat-Club — Uschi Nerke, 21-year-old architecture student turned TV presenter in Beat-Club

The Rolling Stones may have toured Germany barely a week before the premiere of Beat-Club, but producer Mike Leckebusch wasn't able to afford a band of that calibre yet. And so the opening number was "Halbstark" (a German slang term for young rowdies and rockers) by the Bremen beat band The Yankees, named for the Union Army Civil War era uniforms they wear on stage. Further acts included the British bands John O'Hara and His Playboys and The Liverbirds, an all-girl band from Liverpool who are already well known in North Germany for performing in Hamburg's Star Club, where the Beatles got their start not so long ago.

The girl band The Liverbirds also performed in Beat-Club

The first edition of Beat-Club may have been a little rough, but the program has a lot of potential. Were the apologies and dire warnings justified? In my opinion, no. But judge for yourself, cause thanks to the magic of Telstar I present you The Yankees performing "Halbstark" live at the Beat-Club.

Devil's Advocate

Finally, I want to report about a court case that concluded at the Hamburg district court last month. Why is this case important? Because what was on trial was nothing less than the freedom of the arts that is enshrined in the West German constitution.

Let's have some background: In 1936, Klaus Mann, son of Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann and older brother of occasional science fiction writer Elisabeth Mann Borgese, published a novel called Mephisto – Roman einer Karriere (Mephisto – Novel of a Career), while in exile in Amsterdam, because the Mann family were persecuted by the Nazis. Now the publisher Nymphenburger Verlagsbuchhandlung wanted to republish the novel in West Germany.

Mephisto by Klaus Mann — The 1936 first edition of "Mephisto – Novel of a Career" by Klaus Mann

Mephisto by Klaus Mann, Hungarian edition — The 1946 Hungarian edition of Mephisto by Klaus Mann.

None of this would be remotely controversial, if not for the fact that Mephisto is a roman-à-clef about the German cultural and theatre world of the 1920s and 1930s. In particular, the protagonist Hendrik Höfgen is a thinly veiled portrait of actor and theatre director Gustaf Gründgens whose most famous role was Mephisto in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust. The novel chronicles Höfgen's rise from small time actor to director of the Prussian state theatre and favourite of Hermann Göring himself. Höfgen himself never believes in the Nazi ideology. Instead, he is portrayed as an opportunist who makes his own deal with the devil he is so adept at playing and uses every chance to gain advantages for himself (at one point even seducing Göring's lover and future wife), even as his former friends and colleagues are forced into exile.

Gustaf Gründgens Mephisto — Gustaf Gründgens in his most famous role as Mephisto in "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We do not know how Gustaf Gründgens felt about Mephisto, though we know that he knew the novel, because Klaus Mann made sure that Gründgens was sent a copy. Nor can we ask Gründgens, because he died two years ago of an overdose of sleeping pills. Klaus Mann cannot speak out on the case either, since he committed suicide in 1949.

However, Gründgens' adoptive son and heir (and, it is rumoured, lover) actor Peter Gorski was not at all happy about the plans to republish Mephisto in West Germany. And so he sued the publisher to have the publication stopped, because Mephisto supposedly libels the late Gustaf Gründgens and violates his human dignity.

Gustaf Gründgens and Peter Gorski — Gustaf Gründgens and his adoptive son Peter Gorski as Faust and Mephisto in "Faust".

Now Mephisto is undoubtedly a roman-à-clef, even if Klaus Mann himself claimed otherwise in his afterword, and most of the characters are based on real people. However, it is also a fictionalised account and some events don't fit the historical record. The most notable of these is Höfgen's lover Juliette Martens. Because Juliette is a black woman, daughter of a German father and an African mother, this relationship is taboo in Nazi Germany. Juliette is one of the few characters in Mephisto who does not have an equivalent in the real world. Instead, the scandalous relationship between Höfgen and Juliette is a stand-in for the fact that Gustaf Gründgens was homosexual.

Is Mephisto a good novel? Well, I'm probably not the right audience for it, since I have to admit that the only member of the Mann family whose works I ever enjoyed is Elisabeth Mann Borgese. Furthermore, Mephisto requires a rather deeper knowledge of the German theatre and cultural world of the 1920s and 1930s than I have. And the portrayal of Höfgen's black lover Juliette is highly problematic, since Juliette is frequently described as savage and animal-like. It is obvious that Mann introduced Juliette to avoid the homophobic implications of portraying Höfgen as homosexual. But indulging in racism to avoid homophobia doesn't make it any less racist.

Was Mephisto intended as a jibe against Gustaf Gründgens? Certainly, especially since Mann and Gründgens not just knew each other, but were actually family, since Klaus Mann's sister Erika was briefly married to Gründgens in the 1920s. The Mann siblings and Gründgens also performed together in two plays written by Klaus Mann. It is also rumoured that the relationship between Klaus Mann and Gustaf Gründgens was a lot more intimate than just brothers-in-law, since both Gründgens and Klaus Mann were homosexual, whereas Erika Mann is lesbian. So the novel was likely the result of a family quarrel or lovers' spat.

Gustaf Gründgens, Klaus Mann, Erika Mann and Pamela Wedekind — Two couples: Gustaf Gründgens, Erika Mann, Pamela Wedekind and Klaus Mann on stage in the 1920s.

It is understandable that Peter Gorski is trying to protect the legacy of Gustaf Gründgens. However, Gründgens' legacy is not in question. He was able to continue his career unimpeded in postwar West Germany and is considered one of the greatest actors and directors of his generation. Furthermore, Gründgens did collaborate with the Nazi regime, so that part of Mann's novel is absolutely correct. And Mann explicitly did not mention Gründgens' homosexuality in the novel – not that it was a big secret, though homosexual relationships between men are sadly still considered a crime in West Germany.

The fact that the heir of a Nazi collaborator tries to block the publication of a novel by a victim of Nazi persecution should also leave a bad taste in everybody's mouth.

However, the question is not whether the novel defames Gustaf Gründgens, especially since Gründgens is too dead to care anyway. The question is whether the freedom of art, which is enshrined in the West German constitution, weighs higher than the right of a dead theatre director to keep his memory unsullied.

As a writer myself, I come down on the side of art in this case. Not to mention that one precedent could lead to further lawsuits. After all, people often claim to recognise themselves in novels. For example, the British-Hungarian architect Ernö Goldfinger believed that the villain in the eponymous James Bond novel was based on him (not without reason, for Ian Fleming was known to name villains after people he disliked) and also tried to block the publication, whereupon Ian Fleming offered to change the name of the character to Goldprick. As a result, Goldfinger abandoned his lawsuit and the novel was published (and filmed last year) as Goldfinger.

Such a solution is not possible in the Mephisto case, if only because both Mann and Gründgens are dead. But thankfully, the Hamburg district court agrees with me and rejected Peter Gorski's lawsuit. The case is not yet over, for Gorski has announced that he will file an appeal. However, freedom of art won for now and that is a very good thing.

Hamburg court house — Aerial view of the Hamburg district court, which rejected the lawsuit.

You may think that the Rolling Stones riots, the Beat-Club premiere and the Mephisto have little to do with each other. But they all demonstrate why freedom of the arts is so important. Because in all three cases, we had people complaining about and trying to ban art they don't like. And in all three cases, art won out in the end. It is a hopeful trend that our science fiction writers might do well to note in their predictions of the future.

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Movies, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[August 14, 1965]: A Killer Thriller Double-Feature: Again the Ringer and The Face of Fu Manchu

August 14, 2020 Cora Buhlert 5 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

Scenes from Germany

So far, it's been a cool and rainy summer here in West Germany. Perfect to read a book or go to the cinema, the latter of which I'll be talking about today.

But first, the news: Two days ago, tragedy struck in the West German town of Lampertheim, when the Trans-Europ-Express "Helvetia", en route from Zurich to Hamburg, crashed into a freight train. Four people died, forty-five were injured. The cause of the accident seems to have been an error of the train dispatcher.

Lampertheim train disaster — The aftermath of the Lampertheim train crash

In happier news, the current number one in the German music charts is "Il Silenzio" ("Abschiedsmelodie" in German), a haunting instrumental piece by Italian trumpeter Nini Rosso, that is perfect for a slow dance on a summer's night.

The 15th annual (West) Berlin International Film Festival concluded last month. The Berlinale, as it is commonly known, is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, on par with Cannes and Venice, and therefore not normally focussed on the kind of movies we discuss here at the Journey. However, the winner of this year's Golden Bear is a dystopian science fiction film, Alphaville by French director Jean-Luc Godard. Other winners include Le Bonheur by young French director Agnés Varda and the divisive thriller Repulsion by young Polish born director Roman Polanski. Satyajit Ray from India won the Silver Bear for the best director. The two acting awards went to Hollywood star Lee Marvin for his performance in the western Cat Ballou and Madhur Jaffrey, also from India, for her performance in Shakespeare-Walllah.

Alphaville poster — The dystopian science fiction film "Alphaville" by Jean Luc Godard, winner of the 1965 Berlin International Film Festival.

Agnes Varda Berlinale — Young French director Agnés Vrada, winner of the Silver Bear at the 1965 Berlin International Film Festival

Shakespeare-Wallah cast Berlinale 1965 — The cast of the British Indian movie "Shakespeare Wallah", Felicity Kendal, Shashi Kapoor, Madhur Jaffrey and Jennifer Kapoor, pose in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in West Berlin

It will be a while before we will get to the see the Berlinale winners in cinemas. So let's take a look at what audiences can watch in West Germany's movie theatres right now.

The Ringer is Back

The wave of movies based on the novels of British thriller author Edgar Wallace shows no sign of abating. To date, twenty-three official Edgar Wallace adaptations and a number of unofficial ones have been made. And the series shows no signs of exhaustion. Indeed, last year's Der Hexer (The Ringer), about the exploits of the eponymous vigilante and master of disguise, was a new highpoint for the Edgar Wallace series.

Program book "Again, the Ringer" — The program book for "Again, the Ringer".

The Ringer was also a big financial success, so it was perhaps inevitable that there would be a sequel. And so part of the original cast reunited for Neues vom Hexer (Again the Ringer).

As most Wallace movies, Again the Ringer begins with a murder, in this case that of the wheelchair bound aristocrat Lord Curtain. Unusual for the mystery genre, we see not only howdunnit but also whodunnit, namely Lord Curtain's nephew Archie Moore (Robert Hoffmann) collaborating with Butler Edwards (Klaus Kinski, who was sorely missed in The Ringer). In order to deflect suspicion from themselves, Archie and Edwards leave a card next to the body inscribed with the words "News of the Ringer".

Klaus Kinski in Again, the Ringer — Butler Edwards ("Klaus Kinski" serves up tea and murder."

This turns out to be bad idea, because it attracts the attention of the real Ringer Arthur Milton (played once again by René Deltgen) who has retired from his vigilante ways and is now living in Australia. However, the Ringer is not at all pleased that criminals are using his good name and so he travels to London together with his wife Cora Ann (Margot Trooger) and trusty secretary Archibald Finch (Eddi Arent).

Eddi Arent in Again, the Ringer — Archibald Finch (Eddi Arent) is on the case.

The involvement of the Ringer also attracts the attention of Scotland Yard, represented here by the delightfully dim-witted chief of police Sir John (Siegfried Schürenberg in a recurring role) and Inspector James Westby (Heinz Drache, reprising his role from the previous film), who is on loan from the Australian police. Westby knows that the Ringer cannot be responsible for the murder of Lord Curtain, but would still love to apprehend him for the events in the previous movie.

A Game of Masks

The Ringer first makes his presence known by appearing at his own murder trial in absentia, where he disguises himself as one of the judges and quickly dismantles Archie Moore's alibi by exposing what the viewer already knows, namely how Archie managed to kill his uncle without any suspicion falling upon him. Archie flees the scene, as does the Ringer.

Siegfried Schürenberg, Hubertus von Meyenrinck and Heinz Drache in Again, the Ringer — Sir John (Siegfried Schürenberg) and Inspector Westby (Heinz Drache) discover that this most honourable judge (Hubertus von Meyerinck) is not the Ringer.

Because this is an Edgar Wallace film, more murders happen. First, Lady Curtain is killed and then prime suspect Archie Moore turns up dead as well. By now it is clear that the unseen mastermind, who directs his henchpeople via miniature radios, is targeting the Curtain family, but why? And who will be next?

Heinz Drache in Again, the Ringer — Inspector Westby finds the miniature radios via which the villain is directing his henchmen.

The mysterious case forces Scotland Yard and the Ringer to team up to protect the remaining members of the Curtain family, particularly Lord Curtain's young heir Charles (Teddy Naumann) and his estranged niece, artist Margie Fielding (Barbara Rütting).

Margie Fielding (Barbara Rütting) confronts Inspector Westby (Heinz Drache) in her very hip attic studio.

What follows is an exciting cat and mouse game, as the various characters try to outwit each other. In the original movie, the Ringer was the only master of disguise, using make-up and latex masks to impersonate others. However in Again, the Ringer, other characters join in the fun and so the villain impersonates the Ringer at one point, while the Ringer impersonates his secretary Archibald Finch and Inspector Westby impersonates a taxi driver.

Barbara Rütting and Rene Deltgen in Again the Ringer — Margie Fielding (Barbara Rütting) tangles with the Ringer (René Deltgen)

In the end, the mastermind behind everything is revealed to be Philip Curtain, Lord Curtain's disgraced brother. Now their truce has ended, the Ringer, Cora Ann and Archibald Finch plan to take off for Australia again, but their plans are foiled by Inspector Westby, who manages to outwit even a master strategist like the Ringer and returns the trio to Scotland Yard, because – as Westby puts it – their help is needed once again. Why does Scotland Yard need the help of the Ringer? I guess we'll find out in the inevitable sequel.

Again the Ringer — The mask is off and the villain is dead, as the surviving cast looks on.

A Sequel That Doesn't Quite Measure Up

Even the weaker Edgar Wallace films always guarantee an evening of good entertainment. But last year's The Ringer was a true delight and one of the best films in the series to date. Alas, the sequel, while still a lot of fun, pales in comparison to the original.

For starters, much of the suspense of the original is gone, now we know who the Ringer is. And the hunt for the mysterious mastermind behind the attacks on the Curtain family is not nearly as exciting, especially since villain Philip Curtain remains unseen until the final scene and even there he is hidden behind the mask of the Ringer. When his face briefly is seen, it belongs to director Alfred Vohrer.

That said, there is a lot to like about the movie. As always with the Wallace movies, the cast is excellent. The returning cast of Eddi Arent, Margot Trooger, Siegfried Schürenberg and Heinz Drache are clearly having a lot of fun and René Deltgen as the Ringer gets a lot more to do this time around than in the original, where he only appears in the final scene. However, Margot Trooger's delightful Cora Ann Milton is woefully underused. Klaus Kinski is always a welcome addition to any Edgar Wallace movie, though Butler Edwards is one of his more restrained performances. Brigitte Horney, who was a big star in the 1930s and 1940s in spite of not getting along with Joseph Goebbels, is wonderful as the mysterious Lady Aston, sister-in-law of the late Lord Curtain. And Barbara Rütting's Margie Fielding is not only a deadringer for op art artist Bridget Riley (even though Margie's art is expressionist), but also one of the more liberated Wallace heroines, though she is reduced to damsel-in-distress in the end.

Barbara Rütting and Brigitte Horney in Again the Ringer — Margie Fielding (Barbara Rütting) and Lady Aston (Brigitte Horney)

There are also many great set pieces such as the initial murder, the courtroom scene, a tense moment where an unseen killer is menacing young Charles Curtain in an old windmill and a stunning scene where the villains literally throw young Charles into a tiger cage, only for Charles to befriend the animals. Young actor Teddy Naumann is the son of circus lion tamer Heinz Naumann and is therefore familiar with wild beasts from early childhood on.

But in spite of many good moments, the movie never quite gels. Whereas The Ringer was a great movie, Again, the Ringer is a just collection of great scenes.

An Explosive Beginning

The popularity of the Edgar Wallace series has set off a run on other British thriller authors of the early twentieth century to adapt. And so West Germany has seen adaptations of anything from the novels of Edgar Wallace's son Bryan Edgar to G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries in recent years.

The latest British thriller author unearthed by West German film companies is Sax Rohmer. And so, Constantin Film, producers of the Edgar Wallace and Karl May series, have teamed up with the British company Hallam Productions to bring Rohmer's most famous creation Fu Manchu back to the big screen after twenty-five years.

Poster: The Face of Fu Manchu — The very psychedelic UK poster for "The Face of Fu Manchu"

However, watching Ich, Dr. Fu Man Chu (The Face of Fu Manchu) in the theatre, you might be forgiven for thinking it is the sequel to some other film, for the movie starts with the execution of Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) for his myriad crimes. Fu Manchu lies face up on the executioner's block, the axe comes down and that should be the end of the story.

German poster The Face of Fu Manchu — The lurid West German poster for "The Face of Fu Manchu"

But since Fu Manchu "dies" five minutes into a ninety-six minute movie, it's obvious that he will be back. And indeed, Fu Manchu's archenemy Colonel Nayland Smith (Nigel Green) has his doubts about Fu Manchu's death from the start. These doubts are confirmed when Danish scientist Professor Merten (Walter Rilla, last seen as an unwitting vessel for that other villainous mastermind Dr. Mabuse in the eponymous series) is kidnapped in a London cemetery, while his chauffeur is strangled to death with a Tibetan prayer scarf, a murder method favoured by Fu Manchu's henchpeople.

Christopher Lee in The Face of Fu Manchu — Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) plots villainy.

Nayland Smith and his friend and associate Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford) deduce that Fu Manchu is still alive – the man executed in China was a hypnotised double – and continuing his reign of crime in London.

Flowers of Evil

Professor Merten's assistant Carl Jannsen (Edgar Wallace stalwart Joachim Fuchsberger, which explains why he did not appear in Again, the Ringer) informs Smith and Petrie that the professor was experimenting with an extract of a rare Tibetan flower, the blackhill poppy. Under the right conditions, this extract can be turned into a biological weapon capable of killing millions.

Joachim Fuchsberger in The Face of Fu Manchu — Carl Jannsen tangles with one of Fu Manchu's henchmen.

The professor's research has drawn the attention of Fu Manchu, who just happens to have a handy supply of blackhill poppies, but no way of using them. So Fu Manchu sent his henchmen to kidnap the professor and when the professor refuses to cooperate, Fu Manchu kidnaps Merten's daughter Maria (Edgar Wallace regular Karin Dor) as well to use her as leverage against her father.

Walter Rilla, Karin Dor, Tsai Chin and Christopher Lee in The Face of Fu Manchu — Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) and Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) confront Professor Merten (Walter Rilla) and his daughter Maria (Karin Dor).

In order to convince Professor Merten that he is serious, Fu Manchu executes a henchwoman, who failed him, in front of the professor and his daughter, much to the disappointment of his equally villainous daughter Lin Tang (named Fa Lo Suee in the books and played here by Tsai Chin) who'd rather whip the unfortunate woman first. The doomed henchwoman is locked into a tank that slowly fills with water and then dumped into the Thames, a murder method that's identical to the one used in the 1961 Edgar Wallace film Dead Eyes of London.

Karin Dor and Tsai Chin in The Face of Fu Manchu — Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) engages in her favourite hobby of whipping young woman, while a horrified Maria (Karin Dor) and Professor Merten (Walter Rilla) look on.

Now Professor Merten is willing to cooperate. However, he needs the notes of one Professor Gaskel who took part in an expedition to Tibet, notes which are kept in a vault in a museum. So Fu Manchu and his daughter steal the notes and hypnotise the inconvenient Professor Gaskel into committing suicide, while they're at it.

Professor Merten manages to syncretise the deadly poison from the blackhill poppy extract. Fu Manchu promptly stages a demonstration by wiping out the village of Fleetwick plus soldiers from a nearby army camp. Via a radio message, Fu Manchu announces that London will be next, unless the British government obeys him.

Walter Rilla and Karin Dor in The Face of Fu Manchu — Professor Merten (Walter Rilla) and Maria (Karin Dor) oversee the extraction of the fatal poison.

While Fu Manchu is plotting, Nayland Smith, Dr. Petrie and Carl Jannsen, who also happens to be the fiancé of the kidnapped Maria Merten, follow his trail, always one step behind. But now, they have finally located Fu Manchu's subterranean hideout under the river Thames and raid it. However, Fu Manchu manages to escape once again with Lin Tang, Professor Merten and Maria.

Things come to head in Fu Manchu's Tibetan fortress, where Fu Manchu is about to receive a shipment of blackhill poppy seeds large enough to bring the entire world to its knees. However, Nayland Smith has planted a bomb among the boxes of poppy seeds. Together with Dr. Petrie and Carl Jannsen, Smith infiltrates the fortress to free the professor and Maria. They escape, as the fortress explodes in the distance.

Nigel Green, Walter Rilla, Joachi Fuchsberger and Karin Dor in The Face of Fu Manchu — Nayland Smith (Nigel Green) and Carls Jannsen (Joachim Fuchsberger) rescue Professor Merten (Walter Rilla) and Maria (Karin Dor)

Alas, Fu Manchu's face appears superimposed over the explosion and he promises that the world shall hear from him again – in the inevitable sequel.

Yet Another Criminal Mastermind

The Face of Fu Manchu is an enjoyable addition to the supervillain mastermind genre, particularly now that the Dr. Mabuse series is taking a much deserved break. Christopher Lee is truly chilly as the titular villain, though it is a pity that the role is played not an by an Asian actor, but by a white man in make-up. Though at least Fu Manchu's sadistic daughter Lin Tang is played by Chinese British actress Tsai Chin.

If there is one problem with The Face of Fu Manchu it is that the villain is so charismatic that he overshadows the good guys. Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie are bland characters, a bargain basement Holmes and Watson (and indeed Dr. Petrie actor Howard Marion-Crawford has played Watson in the 1954 Sherlock Holmes TV series). One wonders what Siegfried Lowitz or Gert Fröbe could have done with the role. Joachim Fuchsberger is okay as Carl Jannsen, but he is playing the standard action hero he has played so many times before. Walter Rilla as Professor Merten once again gets to be the unwitting instrument of a criminal mastermind, but at least he has a lot of fun. Karin Dor as Maria is given little to do except scream.

Nigel Green, Howard Marion Crawford and Joachim Fuchsberger in The Face of Fu Manchu — Nayland Smith (Nigel Green), Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford) and Carl Jannsen (Joachim Fuchsberger) on the hunt for Fu Manchu.

Some critics have compared The Face of Fu Manchu to the popular James Bond movies, but I believe that the Edgar Wallace and Dr. Mabuse movies are a better comparison and not just because they share many of the same actors. For even though it is a British co-production, The Face of Fu Manchu very much belongs to the wave of West German thrillers that engulfed our cinemas in the wake of the success of the Edgar Wallace series.

However, there is one big difference and that is colour. For while the Edgar Wallace and Mabuse movies are shot in stylish black and white, The Face of Fu Manchu is in glorious, lurid colour, which director Don Sharp uses to create nigh psychedelic visuals.

Perils from the East

Fu Manchu has been criticised for being an outdated yellow peril stereotype and fostering prejudice against Asians. And indeed, complaints by Asian American groups and the Chinese embassy are the reason why Hollywood stopped making Fu Manchu movies in 1940. Nor is there any doubt that Fu Manchu and Lin Tang are stereotypes. In fact, Fu Manchu was the original yellow peril stereotype, spawning a host of imitators from pulp villains Wu Fang and Yen Sin to James Bond opponent Dr. No.

Is always portraying people of a certain race, ethnicity or nationality as villains problematic? Of course, it is. And considering that people of my nationality will inevitably turn out to be villains in any international movie I watch, I can certainly sympathise with the complaints by Asian viewers who no more want to be associated with Fu Manchu and his imitators than I want to be associated with the German villain du jour.

Nonetheless, I find The Face of Fu Manchu much less problematic than The Manchurian Candidate or even Dr. No. For Don Sharp and producer Harry Allan Towers have wisely kept Fu Manchu in the early twentieth century that birthed him and turned the movie into a period piece. As a result, The Face of Fu Manchu is very much fantasy and has no more to do with the modern People's Republic of China than a random western has to do with the contemporary United States.

East meets West?

At this point, it seems very likely that we will see Fu Manchu again on the big screen. Indeed, the villain promised as much in the final moments of the movie. And I for one certainly look forward to watching Fu Manchu and Lin Tang continue their villainous ways. Maybe we could even introduce Fu Manchu to Dr. Mabuse someday. I'm sure the two of them would get along swimmingly, though I'm not sure if the world would survive two criminal masterminds.

[Come join us at Portal 55, Galactic Journey's real-time lounge! Talk about your favorite SFF, chat with the Traveler and co., relax, sit a spell…]

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Fashion, music, politics, sports

[May 4, 1965] The Op and the Pop: New Movements in Modern Art

May 4, 2020 Cora Buhlert 4 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

News from West Germany

May 1 is not just a public holiday in all of Germany, but also the traditional holiday of the labour movement. The day was celebrated with marches and rallies in both East and West Germany. In East Germany, the marches were the usual propaganda affairs. In West Germany, Turkish, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian flags were spotted at the Mayday marches, as immigrant workers from Southern Europe joined their West German colleagues to demand higher wages and better working conditions. Concerns about the political situation and lack of freedom in the home countries of some of the immigrant workers were raised as well.

May Day parade in Magdeburg, East Germany

May Day rally Cologne — May Day rally in Cologne, West Germany

Turkish flag May Day — A Turkish flag at a May Day march in Cologne, West Germany.

In other news, 32-year-old war correspondent Horst Faas became the first West German ever to win a Pulitzer Prize for his haunting photos of the war in Vietnam. Happy as I am for Mr. Faas, I still hope that he will soon have to find more pleasant subjects to photograph.

Horst Faas photograph — One of Horst Faas' haunting photographs of the war in Vietnam that won him a Pulitzer Prize.

Maybe one day in the future, press photos like Horst Faas' will hang alongside fine art in museums and galleries around the world. Because there are certainly exciting movements afoot in the art world.

Art News

That's that for current events. Now for the meat of the article — a review of current art movements in this most modern year of 1965 (apropos given our show coming up in a few days):

The Reign of Abstract Expressionism

In the art world, Abstract Expressionism has been ruling supreme since the end of World War II, at least in the West. An outgrowth of prewar movements such as Futurism, Cubism, Constructivism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Dadaism and the Bauhaus, Abstract Expressionism is the art world's equivalent of the International Style in architecture and interior design. It is ubiquitous, wins awards, has the highest prestige and commands the highest prices. Abstract Expressionism also has widespread political support in the West, most likely because the Communists really, really don't like abstract art and prefer what they call Socialist Realism. There are even rumours that the CIA has been promoting abstract expressionism via the so-called Congress for Cultural Freedom, which certainly makes for strange bedfellows.

As a result, what was avantgarde and daring only twenty years ago had now become the very establishment that newer artists are rebelling against. And this rebellion is taking some very exciting forms.

Less is More: Minimalism

One reaction to the dominance of Abstract Expressionism was to take abstraction to its utmost extreme and simultaneously return to roots of modernism and the graphic simplicity of Russian Constructivism, the Dutch "De Stijl" movement or the German Bauhaus. This school, dubbed Minimalism, objects to the expressionist part of Abstract Expressionism and believes that art should not reflect its creator and his or her moods. Instead, art should be neutral, objective and refer only to itself. 29-year-old Frank Stella, one of the most notable figures of the Minimalist movement, sums up the aims of Minimalist art as "What you see is what you see."

Marriage of Reason and Squalor by Frank Stella — "Marriage of Reason and Squalor" by Frank Stella, one of his "Black Paintings"

So what do you see, when you look at a work of Minimalist art? You'll see simple patterns, geometric shapes, hard edges, primary colours and monochromatic palettes. The so-called "Black Paintings" by the above mentioned Frank Stella consist of concentric stripes painted on raw canvas in the black wall paint that Stella uses in his day job as a house painter. Canadian artist Agnes Martin paints grids and stripes in pastel watercolours. Meanwhile, Dan Flavin eschews paint altogether and instead creates artworks from tubes of neon lights arranged in various geometric patterns.

Summer by Agnes Martin — "Summer" by Agnes Martin

A Primary Picture by Dan Flavin — "A Primary Picture" by Dan Flavin

Minimalism is also a new trend for sculptures, as artists such as Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt or Tony Smith create sculptures that consist of geometric shapes such as cubes, prisms or triangles. So far, many of those sculptures only exist as sketches or cardboard models, but some such as "Cigarette", a 1961 Minimalist sculpture by Tony Smith made from twisted flat planes of steel, or "Free Ride", another Tony Smith sculpture inspired by the Aurora 7 mission, can be already seen in parks and on museum grounds.

The minimalist sculpture "Free Ride" by Tony Smith was inspired by the "Aurora 7" space mission

So where can you see Minimalist art in the flesh? So far, New York City is ground zero for Minimalism and that's where you can find the respective artworks in galleries and exhibitions like Sixteen Americans at the Museum of Modern Art. So far, there hasn't been a dedicated exhibition of Minimalist art, though there are rumours that there is one planned for next year.

More is More: Pop Art

While the Minimalists responded to what they considered the excesses of Abstract Expressionism by reducing art to pure geometric forms, the Pop Art movement took a different path.

Pop Art arose in the UK in the 1950s, when a group of young artists calling themselves the Independent Group realised that both the prevailing Abstract Expressionism as well as the academic fine art of previous eras had very little to say about them and their lives. So these young artists began to incorporate the imagery they saw in their everyday lives into their works, imagery drawn from advertising, movies, pop music and comic books.

British artist Richard Hamilton describes pop art as follows:

Pop Art is: Popular (designed for a mass audience), Transient (short-term solution), Expendable (easily forgotten), Low cost, Mass produced, Young (aimed at youth), Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky, Glamorous, Big business

The Independent Group incorporated pop culture imagery into their works by reviving the collage, a form associated with early Modernism and Surrealism. Scottish artist Eduardo Paolozzi inadvertently gave the new movement its name, when his collage "I was a rich man's plaything", named after the headline of a True Confessions magazine, that was part of the collage, also included the word "Pop", fired out of a gun.

I Was a Rich Man's Plaything by Eduardo Paolozzi — The collage "I was a Rich Man's Plaything" by Eduardo Paolozzi inadvertedly gave Pop Art its name

Meanwhile, British artist Richard Hamilton responded to the theme of an exhibition called This Is Tomorrow by cutting up some American magazines a friend had brought back from the US. The result was a collage called "Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?" which uses aspirational pop culture imagery to create a futuristic interior to brighten up the dreary postwar Britain. Across the pond in the US, Tom Wesselmann created a series of "Still Life" collages assembled from advertising images. Another American artist, Robert Indiana uses the typography and imagery of road signs and company logos to create his brightly coloured paintings.

"What is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?" by Richard Hamilton — The collage "What is it that makes today's home so different, so appealing?" by Richard Hamilton. Could it be the bodybuilder with the strategically placed sign?

Still Life No. 30 by Tom Wesselmann — "Still Life No. 30" by Tom Wesselmann

Four Star Love by Robert Indiana — "Four Star Love" by Robert Indiana

On the wall of the apartment Hamilton pictured in "Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?", the framed cover of an American romance comic hangs next to works of fine art. And indeed comic book imagery plays a big role in the nascent pop art movement.

Finding Beauty in Everyday Imagery

Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein — "Whaam!" by Roy Lichtenstein after Irv Novick

When his young son showed him a Mickey Mouse comic and said, "I bet you can't paint as good as that, eh, Dad?", American artist Roy Lichtenstein rose to the challenge and began copying and enlarging panels from comic books and even included the characteristic Ben Day dots of the printing process. Lichtenstein is clearly a fan of National/DC Comics and frequently copies panels from DC books such as Secret Hearts, Girls' Romance or All-American Men of War. And so Secret Hearts inspired the Lichtenstein paintings "Drowning Girl" and "Crying Girl", while All-American Men of War inspired "Whaam!", "As I Opened Fire" and "Okay, Hot-Shot". The comic book fan in me rejoices in seeing comic books elevated to fine art, though I wish that Lichtenstein would give credit to the artists whose work he copied, artists like Jack Kirby, Russ Heath, Tony Abruzzo, Irv Novick and Jerry Grandinetti.

Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein — "Drowning Girl" by Roy Lichtenstein after Tony Abruzzo

Crying Girl by Roy Lichtenstein — "Crying Girl" by Roy Lichtenstein

Okay, Hot-Shot by Roy Lichtenstein — "Okay, Hot-Shot" by Roy Lichtenstein after Russ Heath

While Roy Lichtenstein finds inspiration in comic books, his fellow American pop artist Andy Warhol looks to his local supermarket, magazine photos and advertising imagery for inspiration, which is not surprising, since he began his career as a commercial artist, specialising in shoe ads. Shoes do not feature prominently in Warhol's art. Instead, he creates large silkscreen prints featuring product packaging such as cans of Campbell's soup, bottles of Coca Cola or packages of Brillo scouring pads.

"32 Campbell's Soup Cans" by Andy Warhol — "32 Campbell Soup Cans" by Andy Warhol

Green Coca Cola Bottles by Andy Warhol — "Green Coca Cola Bottles" by Andy Warhol

Reproductions and Originals

Magazine photographs are another source of inspiration for Warhol and so he transformed a publicity shot of Marilyn Monroe for Niagara into his so-called "Marilyn Diptych" and a publicity still of Elvis Presley for the western Flaming Star into prints with titles like "Eight Elvises" or "Double Elvis".

"Marilyn Diptych" by Andy Warhol, created shortly after Marilyn Monroe's untimely death.

But Warhol also tackles more serious subjects in his art. His print series "Death and Disaster" uses magazine photographs of car crashes, race riots and suicides as well as the Sing Sing electric chair and a mushroom cloud and reproduces them over and over again, because – as Warhol said in a recent interview – "when you see a gruesome picture over and over again, it doesn’t really have an effect."

Electric Chair by Andy Warhol — "Electric Chair" by Andy Warhol, part of his "Death and Disaster" series. The bright colours don't make the subject any more cheerful.

West German artist Gerhard Richter eschews the Pop Art moniker, but he also makes paintings based on photographs, slightly blurred to create an estrangement effect. Unlike Warhol and other American artists, Richter's paintings are based on snapshots and family photos such as "Tante Marianne", the haunting portrait of the artist as a baby posing with his then fourteen-year-old aunt Marianne Schönfelder. The portrait becomes even more haunting, if you know that Marianne Schönfelder was mentally ill and was murdered by the Nazis as part of their euthanasia program.

"Tante Marianne" by Gerhard Richter is based on a family photo showing the artist as a baby with his then 14-year-old aunt Marianne Schönfelder

The Democratisation of Art

In the beginning, many art critics were outraged by Pop Art's seemingly uncritical use of "low" subject matter such as comics, movies and advertising imagery. Furthermore, critics accused the Pop Artists of being mere copyists, incapable of creating something original. It seems those art critics have forgotten their art history, because using found objects in art is not exactly a new idea. Marcel Duchamp already did the same thing fifty years ago with his so-called "Readymades" such as his famous 1917 work "Fountain", a commercially produced urinal that Duchamp simply signed. Marcel Duchamp is still alive, though retired, and I like to think that he gets a smile out of the young Pop Artists taking up his methods.

Thirty years ago, philosopher Walter Benjamin wrote a notable essay entitled "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", wherein he postulates that a work of art loses its aura of uniqueness, when it can be infinitely reproduced via new filmic, photographic and printing technologies, and how this influences our perception of art. Benjamin also discusses the political dimensions of the then new mass media both as propaganda for Fascist (and Communist) regimes as well as its potential to democratise art.

Elizabeth Taylor by Andy Warhol — "Liz" by Andy Warhol is a portrait of actress Elizabeth Taylor

The Pop Artists follow the latter path, because their art is both a reproduction of an existing work (comic books, magazine photographs, film stills, product packaging) as well as infinitely reproduceable in itself. Andy Warhol does not create individual paintings, but silk screen prints that he produces in his own workshop in New York City, the so-called "Factory". This makes his works much more affordable than traditional fine art to the point that a Warhol print is not out of reach of the middle classes who want to brighten their homes with some modern art. Though personally, I would go with Marilyn, Elvis, Liz or even the Campbell's soup can rather than the electric chair or a car crash. And if you cannot afford a Warhol print, Pop Artist Robert Indiana is creating a line of greeting cards for the Museum of Modern Art, so you can own a piece of Pop Art for less than a dollar.

Black and White: Op Art

The latest movement to shake up the art world is Op Art, short for Optical Art. The movement got its name last year when the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York City exhibited the works of Polish-born artist Julian Stanczak in the show Julian Stanczak: Optical Paintings.

Julian Stanczak has a tragic history – he was incarcerated in a Soviet labour camp as a teenager and lost the use of his right arm. Now forced to paint with his non-dominant left hand, Stanczak turned to abstract art as a way to escape his painful past. At the show in New York City, he exhibited striking black and white paintings whose patterns seem to flash, blur and vibrate in front of the observer's eyes due to his use of optical illusions. Look too long at a Stanczak painting and you might well get dizzy.

Meanwhile in the UK, a young artist named Bridget Riley chanced to see the painting "The Bridge at Courbevoie" by pointillist French painter Georges Seurat. The painting and its use of dots to create optical effects impressed Bridget Riley greatly, so much that she copied it and placed the copy in her studio.

"Movement in Squares" by Birdget Riley — "Movement in Squares" by Bridget Riley

Inspired by Seurat, Bridget Riley began to create pointillist paintings of her own. She started out with landscapes, but her paintings quickly turned abstract and also made use of black and white contrasts and optical effects.

Another Op Art pioneer, Hungarian-French artist Victor Vasarely was inspired both by the Bauhaus and Russian Constructivism and began to create abstract geometric artworks, which also exploit optical illusions much like the works of Julian Stanczak and Bridget Riley.

Supernovae by Victor Vasarely — "Supernovae" by Victor Vasarely

It is not known whether Stanczak, Riley and Vasarely were aware of each other's work, but curator William C. Seitz brought their work and those of other optical artists together in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City entitled The Responsive Eye. The exhibition concluded two weeks ago and should help to bring Op Art into the mainstream.

Beyond Modernism: The Future of Art

Whether you prefer Pop Art, Op Art or Minimalism, contemporary art has not been so exciting since the heady avantgarde days of the interwar period.

But unlike the avantgarde of the first few decades of the 20th century, today's contemporary art is a lot more accessible and democratic. You don't need to be wealthy to purchase a print by Andy Warhol, a greeting card by Robert Indiana or the work one of the other exciting new artists. And who knows, if those artists take off, you may find yourself in possession of a very valuable piece someday.

Furthermore, you might even be inspired to create some art of your own. At any rate, the pop art collages by Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi and Tom Wesselmann inspired me to grab a stack of magazines as well as some scissors and glue and make some collages of my own. Maybe I'll share them here someday!

Hyeana Stomp by Frank Stella — Hyena Stomp by Frank Stella

Our last three Journey shows were a gas! You can watch the kinescope reruns here). You don't want to miss the next episode, May 9 at 1PM PDT, a special Arts and Entertainment edition featuring Arel Lucas, Cora Buhlert, Erica Frank…and Dr. Who producer, Verity Lambert! Register today and we'll make sure you don't forget.

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Fashion, music, politics, sports

[April 10, 1965] Furnishing the Home of the Future: Interior Design for the Space Age

April 10, 2020 Cora Buhlert 6 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

Today's article is on architecture in the modern age, but first, I have a couple of news tidbits for you — one public and one personal:

For a Few Westerns More

While the "western" appears to be a declining genre in the United States, at least on the silver screen, West German audiences are currently flocking to the cinemas to watch an Italian western. Yes, you heard that correctly. After entertaining us with a seemingly endless stream of sand and sandal epics, Italian filmmakers have decided to try their hand at a new genre, the western.

German poster for For a Fistful of Dollars — The German film poster for "Per un pugno di dollari" a.k.a. "For a Fistful of Dollars"

The movie in question is called Per un pugno di dollari, which translates as "For a Fistful of Dollars". It features Clint Eastwood, star of the American western TV series Rawhide, as a nameless gunslinger. West German actress Marianne Koch, mostly known for sappy romantic fare, plays a Mexican damsel in distress. Per un pugno di dollari is an exciting movie, full of action and a lot more graphic violence than is commonly found in Hollywood westerns. However, if the plot of a nameless stranger getting involved in a feud between two rival gangs seems a tad familiar, that's probably because it is. Only four years ago, Akira Kurosawa told the same story, albeit set in 19th century Japan, in Yojimbo. And Kurosawa didn't come up with the plot either, but borrowed it from Dashiell Hammett's 1927 crime novel Red Harvest.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to more of this Italian spin on an American genre!

A Happy Couple

Spring is also the time for weddings. And even though April has been cold and wet so far, I nonetheless attended a family wedding yesterday. Here are some photos of the happy couple.

Even twenty years after the end of WWII, there are still housing shortages in West Germany and therefore, the young couple above is thrilled to have found an apartment to start their new life together. I don't know what that apartment will look like, but thinking about it led me to contemplate contemporary interior design in general. So strap in for a tour of what's in, literally.

The Workplace of the Future

Last year, I brought you an article about the exciting modern buildings that are going up all over Europe and elsewhere. Futuristic buildings need futuristic interiors. Thankfully, today's designers are on the ball and are creating some amazing furniture that looks like nothing ever seen before.

In many areas, the so-called International Style, which emerged after World War II from the Bauhaus style of the 1920s and early 1930s, is still dominant. And indeed the clean lines and functional design of the International Style are perfectly suited to hotel lobbies, airport lounges and office buildings.

Companies like Vitra of Switzerland and Knoll International and Herman Miller Inc., both from the US, supply the headquarters of international companies with a mixture of classic thirty to forty year old Bauhaus designs revived for the postwar era as well as new chairs, desks and tables created by designers like Charles and Ray Eames. Of particular note is "Action Office", designed by Robert Propst and George Nelson for Herman Miller Inc. The mobile and modular "Action Office" system breaks up the rigid rows of desks which characterise many modern offices and allows for moving around chairs and desks. Shelving units and filing cabinets serve as dividers, allowing office workers more privacy. "Action Office" makes work seem like fun.

"Action Office" furniture system, designed by George Nelson and Robert Propst, with chairs by Charles and Ray Eames.

Of course, a modern office also needs modern equipment. The Italian company Olivetti produces some of the best and most functional office equipment currently on the market such as the "Praxis 48" typewriter with its bright green keys or the strikingly futuristic "Programma 101" programmable calculating machine. Owning an Olivetti typewriter or an IBM "Selectric" is the dream of many a writer.

An Olivetti store in Italy. What an innovative idea, a shop devoted only to the products of a single manufacturer of office equipment.

Olivetti Praxis 48 typewriter — The Olivetti "Praxis 48" typewriter, designed by Ettore Sottsass

Northern Exposure

But while the International Style may excel at furnishing office buildings, its minimalist purism does feel a little too cold and bland for the home. Thankfully, our Northern neighbours are on the case with furnishings that manage to be both modernist and cosy.

In the past three decades, Scandinavia has emerged as a source of beautiful and functional design to the point that Scandinavian Modern has become a recognisable style found in many homes in Europe (including my own) and beyond.

Traditionally, Scandinavian Modern has been associated with clean lines, neutral palettes and natural materials like wood, leather and wicker. A prime example is the beautiful "Hammock" chair by Danish designer Poul Kjærholm. However in recent times, Scandinavian designers have branched out and embraced materials like plastics as well as brighter colours.

Paul Kjaerholm hammock chair — Don't you just want to lie down in this "Hammock" chair by Danish designer Paul Kjaerholm?

A few years ago, Danish designer Arne Jacobsen created the incredibly comfortable organic forms of the so-called "Egg" and "Swan" chairs for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, Meanwhile, his countryman Poul Volther designed the striking "Corona" chair, inspired by witnessing a solar eclipse.

Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen — The "Egg" chair by Danish designer Arne Jacobsen. Doesn't it look super comfortable?

Swan chair by Arne Jacobsen — The "Swan" chair by Arne Jacobsen

Arne Jacobsen interior for the SAS Royal Hotel — Arne Jacobsen's interior for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, featuring the "Egg" chair.

Corona chair by Poul Vohler — The "Corona" chair by Danish designer Poul Vohler was allegedly inspired by witnessing a solar eclipse.

Another Dane, Verner Panton, came up with such innovative designs as the "Moon" ceiling lamp, the "Cone" chair and a cantilever chair from a single piece of injection moulded plastic which is sadly only a prototype for now, though the Swiss company Vitra is looking at possibilities for mass production.

Moon lamp by Verner Panton — The "Moon" lamp by Danish designer Verner Panton brightens up this lobby.

Cone chair by Verner Panton — The "Cone" chair by Verner Panton

Panton chair — This chair prototype by Verner Panton is made from a single piece of plastic.

Eero Saarinen from Finland is mainly known as the architect responsible for such stunning buildings as the Trans World Flight Center, the Washington Dulles International Airport and the St. Louis Gateway arch. However, Eero Saarinen is also a talented furniture designer and the plastic "Tulip" chair he designed for Knoll International can be found in homes and boardrooms around the world. Meanwhile, Eero Aarnio, also from Finland, created the fabulous "Ball" chair, which is perfect for curling up with a good book.

Tulip chairs by Eero Saarinen — These "Tulip" chairs were designed by Finnish designer eero Saarinen for Knoll International

Ball chair by Eero Aarnio — Who wouldn't want to curl up with a good book in this futuristic "Ball" chair by Finnish desinger Eero Aarnio?

But Scandinavian designers also excel in fields beyond furniture design. In 1960, Jacqueline Kennedy made the colourful fabrics of the Finnish company Marimekko world famous, when she bought six Marimekko gowns for her husband's presidential campaign. Those carefree days may be over, but Marimekko is still producing striking and brightly coloured fabrics such as the "Unikko" (poppy) pattern, designed last year by Maija Isola.

Jacqueline Kennedy in Marimekko — Jacqueline Kennedy wearing a Marimekko dress on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Marimekko Unikko — The brightly coloured "Unikko" (Poppy) pattern was designed by Majia Isola for Marimekko last year.

Meanwhile, Danish designer Bjørn Wiinblad has shaken up the stuffy Rosenthal porcelain company with his elegant and modern designs such the "Romanze" dinnerware line, which can be found on many West German tables, including mine.

Rosenthal Romanze by Björn Wiinblad — The "Romanze" dinnerware with its organic forms and embossed oval pattern was designed by Björn Wiinblad for Rosenthal porcelain.

Juggler candlestick by Björn Wiinblad — Danish designer Björn Wiinblad also created this striking "Juggler" candlestick for Rosenthal.

From Italy with Love

If Scandinavia is the centre of North European design, the style heart of Southern Europe beats in Italy.

Designer Joe Columbo from Milan may be only 34, but he has already created such revolutionary designs as the stackable "Universale" No. 4860 chair, the desk lamp "Acrilica", the "Combi-Centre" flexible storage cabinet and the "Elda" chair which would not look out of place on the bridge of a starship.

Acrilica Lamp by Joe Columbo — The "Acrilica" desk lamp by Joe Columbo is the most beautiful way to light up your desk.

Joe Columbo Combi-Centre — Get organised with this "Combi-Centre" storage cabinet by Italian designer Joe Columbo

Universale No. 4860 chair by Joe Columbo — Coloruful and practical: The stackable "Universale No. 4860" chair by Joe Columbo

Elda chair by Joe Columbo — A chair fit for a starship captain: The "Elda" armchair by Joe Columbo

The "Arco" lamp, designed by brothers Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni, is not just beautiful, but also combines the simplicity of a floor lamp with the illumination provided by a ceiling lamp. An "Arco" lamp currently brightens up my living room and was well worth both the price and the hassle of transporting the large and heavy lamp home in a small car. A few years earlier, the brothers Castiglioni also designed the deceptively simple "Mezzadro" stool.

Mezzadro stool by the brothers Castiglioni — The "Mezzadro" stool, designed by the brothers Castiglioni

But Italian design is not just beautiful – no, the Italians also pioneered the use of space age plastic materials for home furnishings. Above, I already mentioned the "Universale" chair from brightly coloured ABS plastic and the stunning "Acrilica" desk lamp, which turns a sheet of acrylic glass into an stylised ocean wave and lights up your desk, too. Another example of innovative plastic use is the line of "Throw Away" sofas and armchairs designed by Willie Landels for the Milanese company Zanotta. Outwardly, the boxy "Throw Away" armchairs and sofas may not look particularly exciting, but if you were to cut one open – not that you should – you'd find only polyurethane foam inside, no wooden frames or steel springs needed.

Throw Away armchairs — The "Throw Away" line of armchairs and sofas was designed by Willie Lendel for Zanotta

Throw Away armchair by Zanotta — Someone took the name of the "Throw Away" armchair by Zanotta a little too seriously. On the plus side, you can see that the armchairs are so light that they float on water due to their innovative polyurethane core.

Making Household Appliances Beautiful

In West Germany, interior and product design are still very much influenced by the purist Bauhaus style of the 1920s and early 1930s. The rise of the Third Reich scattered the Bauhaus alumni all over the world, though some like Wilhelm Wagenfeld remained in West Germany. A son of my hometown of Bremen, Wilhelm Wagenfeld has created both lamps and tableware such as this teapot from heat-resistant borosilicate glass or the salt and pepper shaker combination "Max and Moritz". Wagenfeld's designs can be found in many West German homes, including mine.

Wilhelm Wagenfeld teapot — This teapot from heat resistant borosilicate glass was designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld.

Wilhelm Wagenfeld Max and Moritz — The salt and pepper shaker combination "Max and Moritz", designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld

The original Bauhaus in Dessau has sadly vanished behind the Iron Curtain, but its spiritual heirs may be found at the Ulm School of Design, whose alumni found employment at corporations like Lufthansa airlines and the Braun AG.

The Braun AG has long been known as a manufacturer of high-quality radios, clocks, electric shavers, kitchen and household appliances. However, in the past few years, Braun has also become known for its functional and beautiful product design, courtesy of designers Dieter Rams, Hans Gugelot and Reinhold Weiss.

Braun's most famous product is probably the "Phonosuper SK4", which combines a radio and a record player in a single white box with a lid of clear acrylic. Due to its appearance, the "Phonosuper SK4" quickly gained the nickname "Snow White's coffin". But never mind the somewhat morbid nickname, your Beatles records have never sounded better.

Braun Phonosuper SK4, designed by Dieter Rams and Hans Gugelot — Play your Beatles and Motown records on this stylish "Phonosuper SK4" radio and record player combination. Designed by Dieter Rams and Hans Gugelot for Braun AG, the "Phonosuper SK4" is also nicknamed "Snow White's Coffin".

I'm fortunate that my uncle works for the Braun AG and can hook me up with their latest products. And so I'm not only the proud owner of a "Phonosuper SK61", the improved follow-up of "Snow White's Coffin", but also of a Braun KM32 food processor and the HL1 desk fan, which keeps my office cool in the summer.

This Braun HL1 desk fan will keep you cool in summer. Designed by Reinhold Weiss.

This Braun KM 32 food processor is the envy of every homecook.

Braun kitchen scale — This striking circular kitchen scale was designed by Dieter Rams for the Braun AG.

Good Design for the Masses

The many striking examples of modern interior design I have presented above all have one thing in common. They may be beautiful, but they're also very pricey. So what is a couple with a limited budget like our newlyweds above to do? Stick with grandma's Victorian hand-me-downs, until they have saved up enough to be able to afford the stunning pieces seen above?

Not necessarily, because all over Western Europe companies are springing up to bring modern design to the masses at affordable prices. The foremost among those companies is IKEA of Sweden. Founded by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA was originally a mail order business offering furniture for self-assembly. In 1958, IKEA opened its first furniture store in Älmhult, Sweden, followed soon by many others. Whether ordered by mail or purchased at a store, IKEA furniture always comes in a flat box, the contents of which the customer can assemble themselves. IKEA furniture is modern, practical and – most importantly – much cheaper than the expensive designer pieces seen above. Sadly, IKEA only operates in Scandinavia so far, but I hope that the rest of us will get to enjoy their products soon.

The 1965 IKEA catalogue offers Scandinavian Modern for the masses.

Ingvar Kamprad and Hans Ax — IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad and store manager Hans Ax outside the IKEA store in Älmhult, Sweden.

Over in Britain, a young designer named Terence Conran had a similar idea. In 1956, Conran created his "Summa" range of furniture, to be sold in flat boxes for self-assembly at home. However, Conran found that few stores would sell his products, so last year he opened his own shop, called Habitat, on Fulham Road in London. Like IKEA, Habitat offers good design at affordable prices. However, Habitat doesn't just sell furniture, they also offer kitchenware and other accessories from around the world to make your home beautiful. And so Habitat's most popular product is not furniture at all, but storage jars for dry pasta.

A look into the Habitat store on Fulham road in London

Terence Conran with Habitat staff — British designer Terence Conran poses with the staff of his Habitat store in London.

The Return of Victorian Whimsy

But even though practical and beautiful modern furniture is available at increasingly affordable prices these days, the Victorian furniture and accessories of our grandparents, long considered old-fashioned and passé, is currently undergoing something of a Renaissance as well.

Particularly the Art Noveau style of the turn of the century with its flowing, organic designs is back en vogue both due to high profile retrospectives in museums in Paris and London and because the swirling designs of Art Noveau also happen to echo the psychedelic experience, something which would probably have baffled the great Art Noveau designers and artists such as Henry van de Velde, Alphonse Mucha or Aubrey Beardsley.

So far, the Victorian and Art Noveau revival seems to be confined to London, where the walls of trendy apartments are covered in vintage enamel advertising signs and the Biba boutique offers the latest fashions amidst an eclectic mix of Victorian furniture, Art Noveau wallpapers and ostrich feathers. So if you still have some of grandma's old furniture in the attic, by all that's holy don't throw it away, because it's about to come back into fashion.

The interior of London's trendy Biba boutique mixes Victorian furniture with up to date fashions.

Biba Boutique London — Miniskirts go well with Art Noveau wallpaper inside the Biba boutique in London.

But what do you do if you don't happen to have inherited any authentic Victorian or Art Noveau objects from your grandparents and if you can't find any at your local antiques store either? Luckily, companies like Dodo Designs of Tunbridge Wells, England, offer a range of tins, mugs, wall plaques and milliner's heads that look as if they fell out of a time warp.

Dodo designs — A store display of Dodo design products in the Victorian style on Carnaby Street in London.

Hold onto your seat

With so many different styles and movements currently vying for customers, what will the home of the future look like? Of course, it's always difficult to predict trends with any certainty, but I do think that we will be seeing brighter colours and more furniture made from plastic. We will also be seeing stores like IKEA or Habitat expand and similar enterprises springing up in other countries. Finally, we will also be seeing older styles – whether it's the recently rediscovered Art Noveau of sixty to seventy years ago or the Bauhaus style of the 1920s and 1930s which never truly went away – coexist with the latest designs.

But one thing is certain. The home of the future will be bright, fun and exciting.

We had so much success with our first episode of The Journey Show (you can watch the kinescope rerun; check local listings for details) that we're going to have another one on April 11 at 1PM PDT with The Young Traveler as the special musical guest. As the kids say, be there or be square!

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Book, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[December 11, 1964] December Galactoscope

December 11, 2019 Cora Buhlert 4 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

The season of giving is upon us. For women, perfumes like the classic scent Tosca are the most popular gifts, while men tend to find ties, socks and underwear under the tree.

Personally, I think that books are the best gifts. And so I gave myself Margaret St. Clair's latest, when I spotted it in the spinner rack at my local import bookstore, since I enjoyed last year's Sign of the Labrys a lot. Even better, this book is an Ace Double, which means I get two new tales for the price of one. Or rather, I get six, because one half is a collection of five short stories.

Message from the Eocene by Margaret St. Clair (Ace Double M-105)

An alien in trouble

The first half is a brand-new science fiction novel called Message from the Eocene. The protagonist, a being named Tharg, is tasked with transporting a cosmic guidebook across hostile territory. The reader learns in the first paragraph that Tharg is not human, because he has a triple heartbeat. Tharg lives on Earth, but the Earth of billions of years ago (long before the Eocene, so the title is a misnomer), a world of volcanos and methane snow, devoid of oxygen. Tharg "breathes" via microorganisms inside his body that break down metallic oxides to oxygenate his blood and has extrasensory perception.

Tharg is in trouble, for a mysterious enemy is trying to thwart his mission. This enemy turns out to be the Vaeaa, a legendary alien race, who are believed to have deposited Tharg's people on Earth in the first place.

Tharg is taken is taken prisoner, but not before he manages to hide the book inside a volcano (it has a protective casing). Under interrogation, Tharg has an out-of-body experience. As a result, his consciousness remains, when his body dies during an escape attempt, to witness the extinction of both his people and the Vaeaa, though the Vaeaa manage to set up a projector on Pluto to keep out further cosmic guidebooks first.

Over billions of years, Tharg's spirit observes life arise and evolve on Earth. Tharg realises that the book might help with his condition, but he has no way to retrieve it. So Tharg decides to ask the Earth's new inhabitants for help. But how to make himself known, considering that Tharg is a bodyless spirit being and never was human in the first place?

Misadventures and miscommunications

The rest of the novel chronicles Tharg's attempts to communicate. Tharg's first attempt targets the Proctors, a Quaker family in 19th century England. This goes disastrously wrong, because not only do the Proctors come to believe that their house is haunted – no, Tharg also gets trapped in the house. Taken on its own, the Proctor segment feels like a Victorian ghost story, except that the ghost is a desperate disembodied alien. The insights into the lives of 19th century Quakers are fascinating, but then Margaret St. Clair is a member of the Society of Friends.

Tharg's next attempt targets Denise, who lives with her husband Pierre in a French colony in the South Pacific. Denise has extrasensory perception, making her the ideal subject. But once again Tharg only succeeds in giving Denise nightmares and causing hauntings in the mine Pierre oversees. Worse, the superstitious miners blame Denise for the hauntings. They kidnap the couple and give Denise hallucinogenic herbs to increase her abilities. Now Denise is able to communicate with Tharg long enough to realise that he wants them to recover the book.

So Pierre uses his mining job to blast a hole into a mountain at the very spot where Denise insists the book is hidden. After some trouble with Vietnamese workers – an incident St. Clair uses to explain that oppression during colonial times has left the Vietnamese angry and frustrated, which leads to violence, a lesson that is highly relevant to the situation in Vietnam today – Denise and Pierre manage to retrieve the book. Alas, once they open the protective casing, the book bursts into flame and is destroyed.

Tharg now sets his sights on the projector the Vaeaa installed on Pluto to keep future cosmic guidebooks away from Earth. For if another book were to arrive, Tharg might finally be able to escape his condition.

Sacrifices and success

There is another time jump to 1974, when strange things happen. An experiment detects a purely theoretical particle, a sea captain sees a mermaid, Canadians dance under the Northern lights and a Tibetan monk has a vision. Tharg views these events as signs that another guidebook is on the way. But due to the projector on Pluto, it will never reach Earth.

In order to shut down the projector long enough to let the book through, Tharg has to dissolve himself in the collective consciousness of humanity, which will also mean his annihilation. So Tharg sacrifices himself and the book is picked up by an expedition to Venus. The novel ends with Tharg waking on the astral plane in a replica of his original body, just as the US-Soviet crew of the spaceship to Venus is about to open the book.

This is a strange and disjointed, but fascinating novel. Though Tharg is one of the rare truly alien aliens of science fiction, he is nonetheless a likeable protagonist and the reader sympathises with his plight. Tharg is also an unlikely messiah, sacrificing himself to assure the future of humanity.

Humanity being uplifted and our minds and bodies evolving is a common theme in our genre. However, Message from the Eocene offers a very different variation on this theme compared to what you'd find in the pages of Analog, even if psychic abilities are involved. The enlightenment offered by the book is reminiscent of both Buddhism and various occult traditions, while its arrival alludes to the so-called Age of Aquarius that astrologers believe will arrive soon.

In a genre that is still all too often peopled solely by white American men, the humans Tharg encounters are of all genders, races, nationalities and religions and all are portrayed sympathetically. For if the alien Tharg does not discriminate based on superficial criteria, then maybe neither should we. It is also notable that even before they receive the book, St. Clair's near future Earth is a more peaceful place than our world, where China has withdrawn from Tibet and the US and USSR cooperate in space.

Message from the Eocene is a story of failed communication, but also a story of evolution and enlightenment and overcoming one's limitations. Given the state of the world today, this may be just the message humanity needs.

Four and a half stars.

Three World of Futurity by Margaret St. Clair

Three Worlds and five stories

Three Worlds of Futurity, the other half of this Ace Double, is a collection of five short stories originally published between 1949 and 1962. The three worlds in question are Mars, Venus and Earth.

In "The Everlasting Food", Earthman Richard Dekker finds that his Venusian wife Issa has changed after lifesaving surgery. One night, Issa announces that she is immortal now, that she no longer needs to eat and that energy sustains her. Soon thereafter, she leaves, taking their young son with her. Richard takes off after her to get his son back, Issa's human foster sister Megan in tow. After many trials and tribulations, they finally find Issa – only for Richard to lose his wife and son for good. But while Richard is heartbroken, he has also fallen in love with Megan.

"The Everlasting Food" is a curious mix of domestic science fiction in the vein of Zenna Henderson and Mildred Clingerman and planetary adventure in the vein of Leigh Brackett, and never quite gels. I did like Megan, who is described as dark-skinned, by the way, but Issa is hard to connect to and Richard, though well meaning, falls for Megan a little too quickly. Furthermore, the villain feels like an afterthought who comes out of nowhere.

"Idris' Pig" opens on a spaceship to Mars. George Baker is the ship's resident psychologist. His cousin Bill is a courier and passenger aboard the same ship. When Bill falls ill, it's up to George to deliver the object Bill was supposed to deliver, a blue-skinned sacred pig. However, Bill can only give George very vague instructions about where to deliver the pig and so the pig is promptly stolen. And so George has to retrieve it with the help of Blixa, a young Martian woman. As a result, George gets mixed up with drug dealers and Martian cults, involved in an interplanetary incident and lands in jail. He also completely forgets about the woman he has been trying very hard not to think about and falls in love with Blixa.

This is an utterly charming story, a science fiction screwball comedy reminiscent of Howard Hawks' Bringing Up Baby. A hidden gem and true delight.

"The Rages" is set in an overmedicated Earth of the future. Harvey has a perfect life and a perfect, though sexless marriage. However, he has a problem because his monthly ration of euphoria pills has run out. And without euphoria pills, Harvey fears the oncoming of the rages, attacks of uncontrollable anger, which eventually lead to a final rage from which one never emerges. The story follows Harvey through his day as he meets several people and tries to get more pills. Gradually, it dawns upon both Harvey and the reader that the pills may be causing the very rages they are supposed to suppress. The story ends with Harvey throwing all of his and his wife's pills away.

This is a dystopian tale in the vein of Brave New World and Fahrenheit 541. The future world St. Clair has built is fascinating, if horrifying, and I would have liked to see more of it. However, Harvey is a thoroughly unlikeable character, who almost rapes two women in the course of a single novelette. Maybe Harvey could have rediscovered his messy humanity without resorting to sexual violence.

"Roberta" is the shortest and most recent story, first published in Galaxy in October 1962, reviewed by our editor Gideon Marcus here. Roberta is a confused young woman with the unfortunate tendency to kill men. Robert is the phantom who won't leave her alone. Eventually, it is revealed that Roberta had a sex change operation and that "Robert" represents her former self, as do the men she kills.

Transsexualism is a subject that science fiction almost never addresses, even though our genre is ideal for it. After all, there are transsexuals living in our world right now and science offers possibilities to make it much easier for them to live the lives they want to. So I applaud Margaret St. Clair for tackling what is sadly still a taboo topic (and for having her heroine utter another taboo word, "abortion"), though I am troubled that science fiction's only transsexual heroine (so far) is also a multiple murderer.

In "The Island of the Hands", Dirk dreams about his wife Joan who died in a plane crash at sea. He hires a plane to check out the coordinates from his dream and crashes on an invisible island. Dirk finds Joan's plane and a dead body and also meets Miranda, a young woman who suspiciously resembles Joan. He is on the Island of the Hands, Miranda informs them, where everybody can shape their heart's desire from mythical mist. Dirk tries to shape Joan, but fails. He spends the night with Miranda, who confesses that Joan is still alive, but trapped in the mist. Dirk goes after her and rescues Joan, only to learn that there is a very good reason why Miranda looks so much like an idealised version of Joan.

It's no surprise that this story was first published in Weird Tales, since it has the otherworldly quality typical for that magazine. "The Island of the Hands" reminded me of the 1948 Leigh Brackett story "The Moon That Vanished", where another heartbroken widower finds himself faced with a magical mist that shapes one's heart's desire.

All in all, this is an excellent collection. Not every story is perfect (though "Idris' Pig" pretty much is), but they are all fascinating and make me want to read more of Margaret St. Clair's work.

Four stars for the collection.

[But wait! There's more!]

by Gideon Marcus

False Finishes

After such a remarkable pair of books, I hate to sully this edition with less than stellar reviews. But the year is almost up, and there are a lot of books to get through. So, here is a trio of novels that start promisingly and then fizzle out.

The Greks Bring Gifts, by Murray Leinster

If you can get past the punny title, Gifts grabs your interest from the first. In the near future, the humanoid Greks land in a miles-long spaceship. They were just sailing by, training a class of Aladarian engineers, and thought they'd pop in to give humanity a myriad of technological gifts. The aliens are welcomed with riotous joy — after all, soon no one will have to work more than one day a week, and all the comforts of the world will be evenly distributed.

But one fellow, Jim Hackett, is suspicious. Despite being a brilliant young physicist, he was rejected as a candidate to learn Grek science after failing to comprehend it. Was he just not bright enough? Or were the Greks feeding us gobbledegook to keep us ignorant? And then, why did the Greks abruptly leave after six months, just as desire for the fruits of their wondrous technology was peaking, but the ability to sate said desire was lacking? Finally, after the Grek ship had left, why did an archaeologist party find the bones of Aldorians in the ship's waste ejecta? And worse yet, those of humans?

So Hackett and his fiancee, the capable Dr. Lucy Thale, work together to reverse engineer the Grek technology so that, when they return to a world whose populace is fairly begging for them to come back, Earth can stand against them and provide for its own.

What begins as a fascinating mystery quickly proves overlong. Leinster is much better with short stories, before his Hemmingway-esque style can wear thin. The endless repetition of certain phrases and epithets brings to mind the devices Homer used to make The Illiad easier to recite from memory, but they don't do a reader any favors. As for characterization, Leinster might as well have named the characters A, B, and C for all the color they possess. A shorter story would have made that issue stand out less.

Anyway, it's an interesting storyline; it would make a good movie, but as is, it's a mediocre novel. Three stars.

Arsenal of Miracles (ACE Double F-299), by Gardner F. Fox

From the notable pen of comics writer and, now, SF author Gardner Fox, we have a brand new ACE novel. And this one isn't a short 120-pager. No, this time we've got 157 pages devoted to the adventures of Bran Magannon, formerly an Admiral of a Terran space fleet, vanquisher of the invading Lyanir, and now a discredited exile, wandering across the known and unknown galaxy. Arsenal starts off beautifully, like a space age Fritz Leiber fantasy. A nearly penniless Bran arrives on the desolate world of Makkador to make traveling funds through gambling. There, he throws dice against, and loses to, the lovely Peganna, queen of the Lyanir. And then we learn Bran's tragic past: how he divined how to defeat the seemingly invincible Lyanir ships; how he negotiated for the Lyanir to be given a sanctuary world within the Terran Cluster of stars. How Bran was betrayed by an ambitious subordinate, who sabotaged the talks, discredited Bran, and condemned the Lyanir to inhabit a radioactive wasteland of a planet.

But now Bran has an ace up his sleeve — he has discovered the ancient portal network of the Crenn Lir, a precursor race that once inhabited countless worlds. If Bran and Peganna can find the Crenn Lir arsenal before they are caught by Terran and Lyranir agents, they might be able to negotiate with the Terrans as equals and secure a sanctuary for the weary aliens.

I tore through the first third of this book, but things slowed halfway through. I grew irritated that there was exactly one female character in the book, though I did appreciate the natural and loving relationship Peganna and Bran shared. What promises to be a galaxy-trotting adventure with big scope and ideas ends up a rather conventional story on a very few settings. Things pick up a bit in the final third, but I found myself comparing the endeavor unfavorably to Terry Carr's Warlord of Kor, a somewhat similarly themed Ace novel from last year.

Three and a half stars.

Endless Shadow (ACE Double F-299), by John Brunner

With the Fox taking up so much space in the Ace Double, the second title must needs be short. Luckily, John Brunner's Bridge to Azazel, which came out in February's issue of Amazing, fit nicely. Both lengthwise and thematically: Endless Shadow also features teleportation across the stars, in this case involving a Terra reestablishing contact with farflung space colonies.

The general consensus among the Journey's various readers is that this was a premise with a lot of potential, but that Brunner failed to deliver satisfactorily. Ratings ranged from two to three and a half stars. Call it an even three.

Books to Come

These days, there are almost more books coming out than a fellow (or even a band of fellows) can read! So, to make sure we cover all of the important books of 1964, there will be a second Galactoscope in a couple of days. May they be more akin to the stellar St. Clairs than the disappointing Leinster/Fox/Brunner.

[Holiday season is upon us, and Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958-1963), containing some of the best science fiction of the Silver Age, makes a great gift! Think of it as a gift to friends…and the Journey!

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Book, Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[November 5, 1964] The State of the Solar Empire: Perry Rhodan in 1964

November 5, 2019 Cora Buhlert 3 Comments

[Don't miss your chance to get your copy of Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958-1963), some of the best science fiction of the Silver Age. If you like the Journey, you'll love this book (and you'll be helping us out, too!)

by Cora Buhlert

Here in Germany, the Iron Curtain just got a tiny hole, because since November 2, East German pensioners are allowed to visit friends and family in the West. In the first few days, hundreds of elderly people availed themselves of the opportunity to see loved ones they had’t seen in years.

East German pensioners at the Oberbaumbrücker border crossing in Berlin, visiting family, friends and loved ones for the first time in many years.

This elderly lady from East Berlin got to embrace her son for the first time since the Wall was built three years ago.

Nobody is under any illusion that this is anything but a propaganda coup for East German leader Walter Ulbricht. Pensioners are considered more of a burden than an asset to the so-called German Democratic Republic, so the East German state does not mind if they decide to stay in the West. But the many families who are finally reunited do not much care about Ulbricht’s political machinations – they are just happy to see their loved ones again.

Meanwhile on the music front, the West German charts have been dominated by a curious song called "Das kommt vom Rudern, das kommt vom Segeln" (That's from rowing, that's from sailing) by Peter Lauch & die Regenpfeifer, a band which has made its name with mildly risqué novelty songs. Hint, the lyrics are not really about rowing and sailing, but about other physical activities in which adults engage. Personally, I find the song rather silly, but it has clearly hit a nerve, because it was playing all over this year's Freimarkt, the annual autumn fair which has been held in my of my hometown of Bremen since 1035 AD. Yes, you read that correctly. This year was already the 929th Freimarkt.

The Freimarkt has changed a lot in the past 929 years. In fact, it has even changed a lot in the past ten years. The technology of fairground rides is improving steadily and new rides are debuting every year. This year, we even had two space themed rides, the rocketship ride Titan and Sputnik, a spectacular ride where a tilting ring of cars orbits a globe that represents the Earth. Both rides are a lot of fun and probably as close as an ordinary human like me will get to outer space in the foreseeable future.

The "Titan" rockship ride as well as the old standby "Wellenflug", a chain swinger ride and "Round-up" at the Bremer Freimarkt.

The spectacular Sputnik ride, built by Anton Schwarzkopf, at the Bremer Freimarkt.

Checking in on Perry Rhodan

Talking of outer space, it has been more than a year since I last discussed Perry Rhodan, Germany’s most popular science fiction series. So it’s high time to check in on Perry again to see what he’s been doing this past year.

Quite a lot, it turns out. Since the Heftroman issues of Perry Rhodan are published weekly now, the plot moves at a brisk clip. Furthermore, a monthly companion series of so-called Planetenromane (planet novels), 158 page paperback novels, premiered in September. The third issue just came out. Many Heftromane have paperback companion series, but most of them just republish old material, occasionally by literally stapling unsold issues together and adding a new cover. The Planetenromane, on the other hand, offer all-new stories, often side stories, which don't quite fit into the main series.

The cover of the first "planet novel", "Planet of the Mock" by Clark Dalton a.k.a. Walter Ernsting

The lives of Perry Rhodan and his friends remained busy in the regular series as well. Perry Rhodan in particular had to deal with a series of personal losses. First, his Arkonian wife Thora, a mainstay of the series since issue 1, died last year. Next, another character who has been in the series since the very first issue, Perry's friend and brother-in-law, the Arkonian Crest, heroically gave his life in issue 99.

The Arkonian Crest dies in issue 99 of Perry Rhodan

A Universe With Too Few Women

Particularly, the loss of Perry's wife Thora in issue 78 is still keenly felt after more than a year, because Thora was one of the few female characters in the male-heavy Perry Rhodan universe. There are women in the Mutant Corps that Perry Rhodan founded, a female intelligence agent named Fraudy Nicholson who fell in love with her target played an important role in a recent mini plot-arc and there are other women guest characters as well, but Thora was the only consistent female presence in the series.

Of course, Perry Rhodan is immortal and so it is to be expected that he would eventually move on. And indeed, he gradually fell for Akonian scientist Auris von Las-Toór, whom he met in issue 100. Auris also developed feelings for Perry, even though they found themselves on different sides during a conflict with the Akon. And when Auris finally deserted her family and homeworld to be with Perry, she was killed in the ensuing battle in issue 125.

Perry Rhodan and Auris von Las-Toór on the cover of issue 107.

Perry Rhodan's tendency to kill off its few female characters is troubling, especially since half of the cast is immortal. Though it has to be said that quite a few male characters were also built up, sometimes over several issues, only to be unceremoniously killed off. Perry Rhodan fans have taken to calling this practice "voltzen" after writer William Voltz in whose stories this frequently happens.

What Perry Rhodan really needs is some women on its writing staff, which currently is all male. Perry Rhodan co-creator Walter Ernsting a.k.a. Clark Dalton frequently translates stories by female American science fiction authors, so he isn't averse to science fiction written by women at all. So why doesn't he invite some German woman writers to join the Perry Rhodan staff? Plenty of women read Perry Rhodan, so it would only be fair of some of them got to write for the series.

A Family Tragedy

Being related to Perry Rhodan is clearly a risk to your health, as the example of Perry and Thora's estranged son Thomas Cardif shows, for Thomas became increasingly hostile and tried to depose his father. I was not a huge fan of the Thomas Cardif story arc, if only because Cardif's initial motivation is only too understandable. After all, Thomas Cardif was raised in secret, not knowing who his parents were, supposedly for his own safety. And once he learns the truth, Thomas blames Perry Rhodan for his difficult childhood, not entirely without reason. After his first attempted coup, Perry Rhodan orders Thomas Cardif's memories hypnotically wiped (because keeping him in ignorance of his true origin worked so well the first time). As a result, Thomas becomes even angrier when he recovers his memories and goes on a worse rampage than before. He even captures and impersonates his father for a while. Thomas eventually dies of old age, when his cellular activator, the device which grants Perry Rhodan and his close associates immortality, fails.

Thomas Cardif is killed, when his cellular activator explodes in issue 116.

The story of Thomas Cardif is a tragedy, but a preventable one. Furthermore, our hero Perry Rhodan does not come off at all well in this story arc, because his bad parenting decisions were what caused Thomas to go rogue in the first place. Conflicts between a parent generation still steeped in the propaganda of the Third Reich and a younger generation that demands the truth about all the ugly history that was swept under the rug are currently playing out all over Germany, so it is only natural that a series as popular as Perry Rhodan would reflect that conflict. However, the overwhelmingly young readers did not expect that Perry Rhodan of all people would side with the reactionary parent generation.

Thomas Cardif was not the only one who challenged Perry Rhodan's rulership over the Solar Empire. A group calling itself the Upright Democrats was also disenchanted with Perry's policies and tried to assassinate him. Naturally, Perry survived – he is immortal, after all – and had the malcontents exiled to a distant planet, where they tangled with friendly and hostile aliens for several issues.

In fact, Perry Rhodan introduced several new alien species over the course of the last year, such as the invisible Laurins (named after the invisible dwarf king of medieval legend) and the duplicitous Akonians, who are distant ancestors of the generally benevolent Arkonian race, hence the very similar (and confusing) names. Another welcome new addition to the series are the positronic-biological robots, Posbis for short, a cyborg race that lives on planet with one hundred (artificial) suns. The Posbis were initially hostile towards the humanity, but eventually became close allies after Perry Rhodan reprograms their brains.

The Posbis fight the humans on the cover of issue 144.

The planet of the Posbis, orbited by one hundred artificial suns.

No article about Perry Rhodan would be complete without recognizing artist Johnny Bruck, who has created every Perry Rhodan cover as well as all interior illustrations and spaceship schematics to date. His sleek spaceships, futuristic cityscapes, quirky alien creatures such as the fan favourite character Gucky, the mouse beaver, and – when the plot allows – beautiful women have contributed a lot to Perry Rhodan's success. Bruck is a true phenomenon, not just West Germany's best science fiction artist, but one of the best in the world. Unfortunately, his work is little known outside the German speaking world, but I hope that he will eventually receive the international recognition he deserves.

Quo Vadis Perry Rhodan?

Johnny Bruck's covers are one of the few constants in a series that is in a period of transition, as unceremoniously killing off long-term characters such as Thora and Crest shows. The writing team headed by co-creators Clark Dalton and K-H. Scheer has well and truly outrun their initial outline for a series of fifty Heftromane by now. This is also why Perry Rhodan has felt somewhat disjointed of late, focussing on mini-arcs which last for a couple of issues each and sometimes don't include Perry or any of the other main characters at all. It is obvious that the writers are experimenting, introducing new characters and concepts, while looking for a new direction for the series as a whole. In fact, issue No. 166, which came out this week, doesn't feature any of the main characters and introduces yet another new alien race.

The latest alien race introduced in issue 166, rendered in Johnny Bruck's inimmitable style.

The most successful of the newly introduced characters is Atlan, an ancient Arkonian who crash-landed on Earth in prehistoric times and spent millennia asleep in a dome under the ocean, waking every couple of centuries to protect and guide humanity. During his latest awakening, Atlan not only learned that humans had become a spacefaring civilisation in the meantime and even made contact with his own people, he also encountered Perry Rhodan. After some initial misunderstandings, Perry Rhodan and Atlan became close friends – after all, they both share the same goal, to protect humanity.

Perry Rhodan and Atlan fight on the cover of issue 54. But don't worry, it's all a misunderstanding.

Since his introduction in issue 50, the character of Atlan quickly became a fan favourite, to the point that the covers frequently announce "A new Atlan Adventure", even though the series itself is still named Perry Rhodan. The popularity of Atlan is also part of the reason why longterm series mainstays such as Crest and Thora were written out. And indeed, Atlan has pretty much taken over the role as Perry Rhodan's alien best friend that was once filled by Crest. I am not as enamoured with Atlan as many other readers seem to be and also wonder why Perry cannot have more than one Arkonian friend. But the character of Atlan is clearly here to stay and has become an intrinsic part of the series, as Perry Rhodan searches for a new direction that will take it to issue 200 and beyond.

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Movies, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[September 26, 1964] A Mystery Mastermind Double-Feature: The Ringer and The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse

September 26, 2019 Cora Buhlert 2 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

After a wet and cool summer, the rain continued right into September. We can only imagine what carpenter Armando Rodrigues de Sá thought when he arrived in rainy Cologne from sunny Portugal and became the one millionth so-called "guest worker", immigrant workers from Southern Europe contracted to work in West German factories to alleviate the labour shortage. In Cologne, Mr. Rodrigues de Sá was welcomed by journalists, cameras and a representative of the employers' association and presented with a flower bouquet and a motorbike.

One millionth guest worker — Portuguese immigrant worker Armando Rodrigues de Sá is welcomed to West Germany with a flower bouquet and a brand-new motorbike

Another visitor who received a warm welcome in Germany was American Civil Rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., when he visited Berlin earlier this month. The official reason for the visit was a memorial service for John F. Kennedy, but Dr. King also used the opportunity to visit the Berlin Wall, where only hours before a young man had been shot during an attempt to flee East Berlin and only survived due to the heroic actions of an US Army sergeant who pulled him to safety, a sad reminder that about fifty people have already been killed trying to surmount the Berlin Wall.

Martin Luther King at the Berlin Wall — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Berlin Wall

The East German government is hostile to religion, but supportive of the Civil Rights movement in the US. And so Dr. King was allowed to visit East Berlin, where he held a sermon in the packed Marienkirche and spontaneously intoned "Let My People Go". I'm not sure if the East German authorities got the message, but the people of East Berlin certainly did.

Martin Luther King in Berlin — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Berlin with West Berlin's mayor Willy Brandt and Otto Dibelius, Lutheran bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg.

Rainy days are perfect for going to the movies and luckily, West German cinemas have plenty of thrills to offer. A few months ago, I introduced you to the two series of science fictional thrillers, which are currently dominating West German cinemas, namely the Edgar Wallace and the Dr. Mabuse series. Fans of both have reason to rejoice, because this fall has brought us both a new Edgar Wallace and a new Dr. Mabuse film.

A New High for Edgar Wallace

Der Hexer (The Ringer) is the twentieth Edgar Wallace adaptation produced by Rialto Film and one of the best, if not the best movie in the series so far. The Ringer is a pure delight and a distillation of everything that has made the Edgar Wallace series so successful. The balance of humour and thrills is just right and The Ringer will have you both rolling on the floor with laughter and on the edge of your seat with suspense. There are nefarious crimes, a mysterious figure – for once not the villain – whose true identity is not revealed until the final reel and a twisting and turning plot that still has a twist or two in store, even after the Ringer has been unmasked.

The Ringer is based on Edgar Wallace's 1925 novel The Gaunt Stranger and its 1926 stage version The Ringer, though the literal translation of the German title would be "The Witcher". It's certainly apt, for the titular character is not just a master of disguise, but also has nigh sorcerous abilities to evade Scotland Yard's finest.

Apprehending an antagonist is cunning as the Ringer certainly requires the best Scotland Yard has to offer and so The Ringer is the first film to unite the three actors who usually play inspectors in the Edgar Wallace movies, namely the young and dashing Joachim Fuchsberger and Heinz Drache and the older and decidedly not dashing Siegfried Lowitz. They are aided – or hindered, depending on your point of view – by Wallace veteran Siegfried Schürenberg in his customary role as Sir John Walker, head of Scotland Yard.

Like most Edgar Wallace movies, The Ringer begins with a murder before the title sequence. A young secretary is spying on her boss, dodgy lawyer Maurice Messer (Jochen Brockmann), when she is strangled by an unseen assailant. The movie then cuts to her dead eyes staring at us from the glass dome of a mini-submarine that slowly dives into an underground pool. Cue the titles and Peter Thomas' delightfully squeaky theme music.

That Ain't Witchcraft

Unbeknownst to the killers, the murdered woman was Gwenda Milton, the younger sister of Arthur Milton, the vigilante known only as the Ringer for his uncanny ability to disguise himself as anybody he pleases. Years ago, Arthur Milton had given up his career of vigilantism and retired to Australia, far beyond the reach of the British law. But now he is back to take revenge on the murderers of his sister. Of course, both the villains and Scotland Yard are only too eager to capture the Ringer. There is only one problem. No one knows what he looks like.

What follows is a merry chase, as the Ringer pits the villains, four pillars of society who operate a human trafficking ring out of a church-run home for wayward girls, against each other, while three police inspectors and Sir John fall over each other's feet to arrest him. Also along for the ride are Archibald Finch (Edgar Wallace stalwart Eddi Arent), a reformed pickpocket (or is he?) turned butler, and Cora Ann Milton (Margot Trooger), the Ringer's glamorous and loyal wife. The result is so much fun that you barely notice that the plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense (but then, Edgar Wallace movies often don't) and that occasionally the Ringer has to move things forward by handing either Scotland Yard or the villains a clue – literally on a silver platter in one case.

Siegfried Lowitz and Margot Trooger in The Ringer — Inspector Warren (Siegfried Lowitz) confronts Cora Ann Milton (Margot Trooger) in "The Ringer"

Women in Edgar Wallace movies usually come in one of two flavours, the wide-eyed ingenue who will go on to marry the dashing inspector after he has saved her from certain death and the villainous femme fatale who will usually end up dead, after vamping her way through the movie. The Ringer breaks this pattern, for while Margot Trooger as Cora Ann takes the part of the femme fatale, she is neither a villainess nor does she die. Cora Ann is not a henchwoman, but a true partner to her husband and also very much in love with him. She is my favourite female character in the Edgar Wallace series so far. The ending leaves open the possibility of a sequel and I for one would love to see the continuing crime fighting adventures of Arthur and Cora Ann Milton.

Sophie Hardy, Joachim Fuchsberger and Siefried Lowitz in The Ringer — Inspector Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger) and Inspector Warren (Siegfried Lowitz) have just survived a murder attempt via venomous snake, while Elise (Sophie Hardy) screams.

The heroine is played by French actress Sophie Hardy as Elise Fenton, the girlfriend of Inspector Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger). Elise is no wide-eyed ingenue either – indeed it is quite openly hinted that she and Higgins are living together, even though they are not (yet) married. Elise probably seemed modern and liberated on paper. Alas, she comes across as annoying in the movie itself, a nagging, jealous and catty woman whose only goal in life seems to be to entrap Higgins (or "Higgy", as she calls him) into marriage. Maybe Karin Dor could have given the character more depth – alas, she was too busy playing Winnetou's true love Ribanna in Horst Wendlandt's other hugely successful film series. As it is, I found myself hoping that Higgins would ditch the annoying Elise for Sir John's attractive secretary Jean (Finnish actress Ann Savo).

Ann Savo and Joachim Fuchsberger in The Ringer — Inspector Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger) flirts with Jean (Ann Savo) in "The Ringer"

The Ringer Unmasked

While the romance subplot isn't quite successful, the movie excels in keeping the audience guessing the identity of the Ringer. The script steers suspicion towards two characters, the mysterious Australian James Westby (Heinz Drache) and pickpocket turned butler Archibald Finch (Eddi Arent), who always seems to know much more than he should. To anybody who's been watching the Edgar Wallace movies for a while, both suspects seem equally unlikely, for Heinz Drache usually plays heroic inspectors, while Eddi Arent inevitably plays bumbling comic relief characters. However, the Wallace movies are not afraid to cast against type on occasion: the heroic investigator is revealed to be the villain in The Red Circle (1959) and in Feburary's Room 13, the wide-eyed ingenue turned out to be a cold-blooded murderess.

Inspector Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger) and Sir John (Siegfried Schürenberg) confront the mysterious Archibald Finch (Eddi Arent) in "The Ringer"

In the end, the Ringer is revealed to be a character no one ever suspected, even though the rest of the cast and the audience have no reason to believe or trust him. It’s a testament to the cleverness of the story that we don’t even notice this until the final unmasking. And indeed, producer Horst Wendlandt and director Alfred Vohrer went to great lengths to keep the true identity of the Ringer secret even from the cast and crew. The final few pages of the script were locked away in Wendlandt's safe to prevent leaks. When the Ringer is finally unmasked, the face behind the latex mask is that of Luxembourgian actor René Deltgen. Portly, balding and fifty-four years old, Deltgen is no one's idea of a criminal mastermind and dashing vigilante, but then the entire movie defies expectations and shows that the Edgar Wallace series still hasn't gone stale after twenty instalments.

Cast of The Ringer — The cast of "The Ringer" implores audiences not to spoil the ending.

Dr. Mabuse Returns – Again

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the latest movie in the other great West German thriller series. For while the Dr. Mabuse series has been very good at reinventing itself in the five movies made post WWII (plus two made during the Weimar Republic) so far, the latest instalment Die Todesstrahlen des Dr. Mabuse (The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse) shows definite signs of the series going stale.

When we last saw Mabuse in 1963's Scotland Yard vs. Dr. Mabuse, he had not only failed to establish a reign of crime and chaos in the UK, but his malevolent spirit had also vacated the body of psychiatrist Professor Pohland (Walter Rilla), leaving the poor man uttering "It wasn't me, it was Mabuse. He used my brain" over and over again. Pohland was locked up in an insane asylum, because that worked so wonderfully when Mabuse was apprehended in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse – twice. The opening of The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse finds Pohland still in the asylum and still muttering the same lines over and over again. When the British send intelligence officer Major Bob Anders (Peter van Eyck) to interrogate Pohland, Pohland utters the word "death ray" and promptly vanishes. This is the third time German-American actor Peter van Eyck takes the lead in a Mabuse movie after The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse and Scotland Yard vs. Dr. Mabuse. All three characters have different names, though Major Bill Tern from Scotland Yard and Major Bob Anders from Death Ray are so similar they might as well be the same character.

A Game of Spies

Not long after Pohland's disappearance, Anders is given a new assignment – to investigate spy activities in Malta, where a scientist named Professor Larsen is working on an invention that will change the world. And that invention just happens to be a death ray. Anders no more thinks that this is a coincidence than the audience does. So he hastens to Malta, taking along Judy (former Miss Greece Rika Dialina), one of his many girlfriends, to pose as a newlywed couple on their honeymoon.

Since everybody in Malta knows who Anders is anyway, the ruse is completely unnecessary. And indeed, I wish that the movie had omitted Judy, who adds nothing to the plot except prancing about in bikinis and scanty nightwear and moaning that Anders isn't paying enough attention to her. Because if Elise from The Ringer was annoying, Judy is certainly giving her a run for her money. As with Elise, Judy's sole aim in life seems to be to entrap Anders into marriage. I really hope that the appearance of two similarly grating female characters in two high profile West German movies in the space of less than a month is just a coincidence and not a new trend. After all, it's 1964 and young women these days are focussed on more than just snagging a husband.

Peter van Eyck and Rika Dialina in The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse — Major Bob Anders (Peter Van Eyck) spies on Mabuse, while Judy (Rika Dialina) has other ideas.

In Malta, we are quickly introduced to the rest of the players, Professor Larsen (O.E. Hasse), his assistant Dr. Krishna (Valéry Inkijinoff), Larsen's niece Gilda (Yvonne Furneaux), Gilda's fiancé Mario Monta (Gustava Rojo), whose brother Jason (Massimo Pietrobon) owns the local fishing fleet and may be working for Mabuse as well as Fausto Botani (Claudio Gora), an elderly man who always tends to the grave of his late wife in a cemetery that is a hotbed of suspicious activities. We also get a techno-babble laden introduction to Professor Larsen's death ray projector, which can burn every city on Earth to a crisp.

Valery Injikoff and O.E. Hasse in The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse — Professor Larsen (O.E. Hasse) and Dr. Krishna (Valery Injikoff) in the death ray lab.

The bulk of the movie is a succession of action sequences, as Mabuse and his henchmen try to infiltrate Professor Larsen's laboratory, while Anders tries to stop them. And indeed the action sequences, whether it's a fist fight in a church tower, a car chase or an underwater fight involving several scuba divers, are exciting and well choreographed. Director Hugo Fregonese is best known for helming B-westerns in Hollywood and his experience certainly shows.

Scuba Divers in The Daeth Ray of Dr. Mabuse — Mabuse's scuba diving henchmen report for duty

Regarding the identity of Mabuse, the script directs suspicion at Larsen's assistant Dr. Krishna, playing on unpleasant yellow peril stereotypes. In the end, however, the seemingly harmless Fausto Botani is unmasked as Mabuse's latest host body, just in time for Mabuse's spirit to leave and seek his fortune elsewhere. In one of the most chilling sequences of the film, Botani is left to mutter "It wasn't me, it was Mabuse. He used my brain" over and over again, while his faithful dog Pluto – implied to be the same German shepherd that already accompanied Wolfgang Preiss as Mabuse in The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse – runs off, presumably to seek out his master's next host body.

Mabuse goes Bond

The greatest strength of the Dr. Mabuse series is its versatility. Mabuse's nature as a body-hopping malevolent spirit allows producer Artur Brauner to plug the character into any kind of scenario. And so Mabuse's postwar adventures have ranged from exploring Cold War paranoia and economic fears via offbeat gangster films and science fiction horror movies to a Mabuse film pretending to be an Edgar Wallace movie. With this latest movie, Dr. Mabuse tries out yet another genre, namely that of the James Bond influenced spy thriller.

Yoko Tani and Peter Van Eyck in The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse — The villainous Mercedes (Yoko Tani) tries to get in a shot at Major Bob Anders (Peter Van Eyck)

The James Bond movies – the most recent one of which, Goldfinger, premiered in the UK on the same day as The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse, though West German audiences won't get to see it until January – are enormously popular in Europe. Exotic locations, pulpy adventure and outlandish villains are a large part of the appeal of the Bond movies and since these ingredients can also be found in the Mabuse series, Mabuse and Bond should be a match made in heaven. And while Peter Van Eyck is no Sean Connery and a little old for an action hero (fifty-one compared to Connery's thirty-four), he certainly has the required charm and square-jawed handsomeness to play a Bond stand-in.

Yvonne Furneaux and Peter Van Eyck in The Death ray of Dr. Mabuse — Major Bob Anders (Peter Van Eyck) tangles with Gilda Larsen (Yvonne Furneaux) in "The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse"

There is only one problem. The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse just doesn't work, neither as a Mabuse movie nor as a Bond look-alike. The main issue here is that the James Bond movies present their exotic locations and beautiful women in full Technicolor glory, while the Mabuse films have always worked best when imitating the atmospheric black and white look of the expressionist cinema of the Weimar Republic which gave birth to the character. Mabuse thrives in the shadows, but Death Ray drags him into the bright Mediterranean sunshine. As a result, the exterior scenes feel overlit and washed out, while the extensive underwater scenes seem blurry and murky. I have no doubt that the coast of Malta – or rather the coast of Italy standing in for the coast of Malta – is beautiful, but in this movie it is just grey.

Would Death Ray have worked better, if it had been shot in colour? I suspect we'll never know. However, I'm not the only one who is dissatisfied with the movie, since the box office performance of Death Ray has been underwhelming so far. Opening against Winnetou II, one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, didn't help either.

So what's next for Dr. Mabuse? Producer Artur Brauner has indicated that he still has plans for two more Mabuse movies. And the nature of the character and the series allows Brauner to forget that Death Ray ever existed and just start over with a new lead actor in a new location. The only question now is, what form will the next incarnation of Dr. Mabuse take.

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Book, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[August 11, 1964] Leigh Brackett Times Two: The Secret of Sinharat and People of the Talisman (Ace Double M-101)

August 11, 2019 Cora Buhlert 8 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

So far, this summer has been cold and rainy. Even the cheery tunes of "Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht" (Heartache does not pay) by Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist, which has been number 1 in Germany for almost as long as it has been raining, can't dispel the summer gloom.

However, rain outside means it's the perfect time to read. And so I was lucky to spot Leigh Brackett's latest in the spinner rack at the local import bookstore. Now a new novel by the queen of space opera, is always a reason to rejoice. And the latest Ace Double offers not one but two new novels by Leigh Brackett.

Though upon closer examination The Secret of Sinharat and People of the Talisman are not so new after all, but expansions of two novellas first published as "Queen of the Martian Catacombs" and "Black Amazon of Mars" in Planet Stories in 1949 and 1951 respectively.

The two novels are more closely connected than Ace Doubles usually are, because not only are both by the same author, but they also feature the same character, Eric John Stark, intergalactic mercenary and outlaw and hero of several stories by Leigh Brackett.

The Wild Man from Mercury

Eric John Stark is a fascinating character. An Earthman born in a mining colony on Mercury, Stark was orphaned as a young child and adopted by natives who named him N'Chaka, the Man Without a Tribe. A few years later, Stark was orphaned a second time, when the tribe that adopted him was exterminated by miners from Earth who wanted the natives' resources for themselves. The miners put Stark in a cage and would have killed him, too, if Stark hadn't been rescued by Simon Ashton, a police officer from Earth. Ashton took the young Stark in and raised him to adulthood.

Though outwardly a civilised man, inside Stark is still N'Chaka, the wild boy from Mercury. There are parallels between Eric John Stark and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan, who was one of the inspirations for the character according to the foreword by Edmond Hamilton, Leigh Brackett's husband. Eric John Stark is also a black man, something which is sadly still much too rare in our genre. Though you wouldn't know it from the covers, as both Planet Stories cover artist Allan Anderson as well as Ed Emshwiller, covers artist for the Ace Double edition, portray Stark as white.

Stark has little time for human civilisation, but a lot of sympathy for the plight of downtrodden natives throughout the solar system. He involves himself in an endless chain of uprisings and guerrilla campaigns, which are reminiscent both of the Indian wars, which were still within living memory when Brackett was born, as well as the various anticolonial movements currently sweeping through Africa and Asia. Stark's activities as a mercenary and weapons smuggler naturally bring him into conflict with the Terran authorities.

This conflict comes to a head in the opening pages of The Secret of Sinharat, which finds Stark on the run with Terran police officers led by Stark's mentor and surrogate father Simon Ashton in hot pursuit. Stark is facing twenty years in prison due to his role in a failed native uprising on Venus, but Ashton offers him a deal. Kynon, a Martian warlord, is planning to lead the desert tribes into a holy war with the help of off-world mercenaries. If Stark joins Kynon's army as an agent for Ashton, the Terran authorities will forget about Stark's crimes.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Stark and Ashton. Both men clearly have a lot of respect for each other and Ashton is probably the only person in the solar system Stark truly cares about. Ashton also clearly cares about Stark, but is not above using their relationship and Stark's sympathies for barbarian tribes, who – as Ashton reminds him – will suffer most from Kynon's holy war, to get Stark to agree to the deal. I would have loved to see more of Simon Ashton and his past with Stark. Alas, he only appears in the opening chapter, then Stark is on his own.

Martian noir

Stark meets with Kynon and steps into a nest of snakes. For starters, Kynon is a fraud who claims to have rediscovered the titular secret, a device which can transfer a person's consciousness into a new body and therefore guarantees eternal life. Kynon is also surrounded by a cast of shady characters who wouldn't seem out of place in the one of the noir movies for which Leigh Brackett wrote the screenplay. There is Delgaun, a Martian gangster, Luhar, a Venusian mercenary and old enemy of Stark's, the Martian femme fatale Berild, who is both Kynon's and Delgaun's lover and seduces Stark as well, and Fianna, Berild's sweet and innocent maid who also takes a shine to Stark. None of these characters are what they seem and all but one will be dead by the end of the novel, either at each other's hands or at Stark's.

The Secret of Sinharat is chockfull of exciting action scenes and atmospheric descriptions of the dying Mars. Stark takes us on a tour of a Martian opium den, survives a deadly sandstorm and a gruelling trek through the blistering desert and explores the ancient city of Sinharat and the mysteries that lurk in its catacombs.

A Strangely Familiar Story

The Secret of Sinharat is a highly entertaining novel, which also seemed oddly familiar, though I knew that I couldn't have read the earlier magazine version. However, I realised that The Secret of Sinharat bore several parallels to a novel I reviewed two months ago for Galactic Journey: The Valley of Creation by Leigh Brackett's husband Edmond Hamilton, the expanded version of a story first published in 1948. The protagonist of both novels is a mercenary recruited to fight someone else's holy war, who realises that he is fighting on the wrong side. Both novels feature ancient technology which can transfer human consciousness into other bodies and both protagonists find themselves subjected to said technology. Both protagonists even share the same first name, Eric.

Of course, there are also differences. The Valley of Creation is set on Earth, in a hidden valley in the Himalaya, while The Secret of Sinharat is set on Mars. And Eric John Stark is a much more developed and interesting character than the rather bland Eric Nelson. Nonetheless, the parallels are striking. Edmond Hamilton and Leigh Brackett are not known to collaborate like C.L. Moore and her late husband Henry Kuttner did. But given the similarities of both stories and the fact that they were written around the same time, I wonder whether Brackett and Hamilton did not both write their own version of the same basic idea.

Into the Gates of Death

People of the Talisman, the other novel in this Ace Double, opens with Eric John Stark once again in a fistful of trouble. A dying friend entrusts Stark with the story's plot device, the talisman of Ban Cruach, an ancient king who founded the city of Kushat to guard a mountain pass known as the Gates of Death in the polar regions of Mars. Stark's friend stole the talisman, but now wants to return it, because without the talisman, Kushat and all of Mars are in grave danger.

Stark wants to honour his friend's dying wish. But before he can fulfil his mission, he is captured by raiders who take him to their leader, Lord Ciaran, yet another Martian warlord who wants to unite the tribes and lead them to victory over the decadent cities. Though Lord Ciaran is a much more interesting and memorable character than Kynon from The Secret of Sinharat. Ciaran is the illegitimate child of a Martian king who never acknowledged him. Hungry for revenge and power, Ciaran dresses in black armour, wields a battle axe and always wears a steel mask.

Ciaran wants Stark to join his army, but Stark is wary, probably due to his previous bad experiences with Martian warlords. Of course, Ciaran also wants the talisman and since Stark refuses to hand it over or say where it is, Ciaran has him brutally whipped.

Stark escapes. Half dead, he makes it to Kushat to warn the city of Ciaran's attack, but has a hard time convincing the city guard of the danger. Nor can Stark reveal that he has the talisman, for the rulers of Kushat have kept its disappearance a secret and would kill Stark to preserve it.

Ciaran Unmasked

Ciaran's forces attack after all and in the pitched battle that follows, Stark faces off against Ciaran himself. Before striking the killing blow, Stark rips off the warlord's mask and gets a surprise that has already been spoiled both by Ed Emshwiller as well as by Allan Anderson on the original Planet Stories cover. For underneath the black mask, the warlord is a striking woman. The unmasking scene is reminiscent of a similar scene in "Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore, the story that introduced the swordswoman Jirel of Joiry to the world.

Ciaran is a fabulous character, a strong warrior woman, which is still all too rare in our genre even thirty years after Jirel of Joiry first took off her helmet. Though fascinated by Stark, Ciaran immediately decks him after he has unmasked her. Later, Ciaran tells Stark, "I did not ask for my sex. I will not be bound by it." I suspect Leigh Brackett agrees with her.

Every woman Stark meets in the two novels falls for him and Stark is only too happy to dispense "kisses brutal as blows" (apparently, Simon Ashton's education did not include how to properly treat the other sex). And so Stark falls in lust with Ciaran, even though she had him whipped half to death only days before.

Stark escapes with the talisman and a caravan of refugees through the Gates of Death to seek Ban Cruach's secret with Ciaran and her forces in hot pursuit. A battle ensues in which Ciaran is taken prisoner.

Now the novel takes a sharp turn into Lovecraftian territory. For beyond the Gates of Death lies an ancient city inhabited by alien beings (unlike the humanoid Martians Stark normally deals with). Initially, the aliens claim that they just want to be left in peace. But they quickly show their true colours and attack the humans.

Stark and Ciaran wind up fighting back to back. They escape and Ciaran agrees to leave Kushat alone and conquer the city of her deadbeat father instead. Stark goes with her in what may well be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Fiction versus Reality

I thoroughly enjoyed both novels, though they are clearly relics of an earlier age. Leigh Brackett's Mars with its deserts, ancient cities and even older ruins most likely does not exist, just as Mariner 2 revealed that the fog-shrouded Venus with its swamps and oceans that is a staple of pulp science fiction does not exist either. In fact, I suspect that the reason why Ace has not reprinted the third Eric John Stark adventure "Enchantress of Venus" (which I read in German translation a few years ago) is that the red gas ocean of Venus which Brackett described so evocatively is no longer plausible in our brave new age of space exploration.

Of course, it is the fate of most science fiction that it will eventually become outdated as science and knowledge march on. But even though we know that the solar system Leigh Brackett described is not plausible, the Eric John Stark stories still remain glorious adventure tales with a protagonist who is a lot more complex than the standard square-jawed heroes of pulp science fiction.

Something everyone can enjoy, rain or shine!

Bremen City Parliament building topping out — It stopped raining long enough to celebrate the topping out of Bremen's new city parliament building, sitting right next to the 13th century St. Petri cathedral

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Movies, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[July 8, 1964] The Immortal Supervillain: The Remarkable Forty-Two Year Career of Dr. Mabuse

July 8, 2019 Cora Buhlert 7 Comments

by Cora Buhlert

The Sincerest form of Flattery

Last month, I talked about the successful West German film series based on the novels of British thriller writer Edgar Wallace as well as the many imitators they inspired. The most interesting of those imitators and the only one that is unambiguously science fiction is the Dr. Mabuse series.

Dr. Mabuse is not a new character. His roots lie in the Weimar Republic and he first appeared on screen in 1922 in Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse – The Gambler, based on the eponymous novel by Luxembourgian writer Norbert Jacques.

By day, Dr. Mabuse is a respected psychoanalyst and by night he runs a criminal organisation. Mabuse uses his position to infiltrate the corrupt high society of the Weimar Republic and then uses his powers of hypnosis as well as his talent as a master of disguise to commit crimes. Mabuse also employs science fictional technology such as an automobile that turns into a motorboat at the pull of a lever. Dr. Mabuse – The Gambler clearly reflects the fears of the early Weimar Republic with its hyperinflation which plunged many Germans into poverty, while the profiteers of the First World War were partying.

In the movie, Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is a much more unambiguous villain than in the novel. And while Norbert Jacques' Mabuse wants to establish a utopian colony in Brazil, Lang's Mabuse wants to install a reign of terror right there in Berlin. In retrospect, it's obvious why the Nazis did not like the Mabuse films.

At the end of the novel, Mabuse apparently falls to his death from an airplane. In the film, Mabuse is captured alive, but insane, leaving open the possibility of a sequel. That sequel, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, was made in 1933.

Mabuse, still played by Rudolf Klein-Rogge, is now an inmate in a mental asylum run by Dr. Baum and spends his days scribbling plans for elaborate crimes onto scraps of paper, which he calls his testament. When Berlin is hit by a wave of crimes based on Mabuse's scribblings, this attracts the attention of Kommissar Karl Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) of the Berlin police. Based on the real life Berlin police officer Ernst Gennat, Lohmann first appeared in an unrelated movie, Fritz Lang's 1931 crime drama M. where he hunted down a child killer played by Peter Lorre.

Mabuse is the logical suspect. But he cannot have committed the crimes, since he is incarcerated in Baum's asylum. The solution to the mystery lies once more in Mabuse's hypnotic powers, which he uses on Dr. Baum. In a chilling sequence, Mabuse's spirit takes over Dr. Baum, while his body dies. The movie ends with Mabuse, now occupying the body of Dr. Baum, once more locked up in the mental asylum, madly scribbling away. With this film, the Mabuse series not only crosses over into the supernatural, but also opened up the possibility of a revival.

The film was supposed to premiere in March 1933, two months after Hitler had come to power. Joseph Goebbels, head of the newly established Ministry of Propaganda, found the movie very exciting, but banned it anyway for incitement to crime. But then, Mabuse's modus operandi bore some uncomfortable parallels to the way the Nazis spread fear and terror, while passages of Mabuse's testament were copied almost verbatim from Mein Kampf. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse became the first movie banned by the Nazis and remained unseen in Germany until 1951. Fritz Lang left Germany the day after the film was banned and went to Hollywood. Meanwhile, the evil Doctor was forgotten, as Germany descended into terror on a scale that would have exceeded even Mabuse's imagination.

But this was not the end. For Mabuse's creator Norbert Jacques sold the rights to film producer Artur Brauner, who also persuaded Fritz Lang to return to West Germany, not to adapt Mabuse, but to remake his 1921 movie The Indian Tomb.

Inspired by the success of the Edgar Wallace movies, Artur Brauner wanted to remake The Testament of Dr. Mabuse as well and asked Fritz Lang to direct. Lang, however, wanted to make a sequel. Norbert Jacques had died in 1954, so Lang adapted the dystopian novel Mr. Tot Buys a Thousand Eyes by Polish-German writer Jan Fethke a.k.a. Jean Forge. Mabuse was inserted into the storyline and the movie was released as The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse in 1960.

The Night has a Thousand Eyes

Most of the film is set at the Hotel Luxor, a luxury hotel built by the Nazis and equipped with hidden surveillance cameras in every room (the thousand eyes of the title). The hotel is now owned by a criminal organisation headed by none other than Dr. Mabuse, who after laying low during the Third Reich (or did he?) is up to his old tricks again. He records wealthy hotel guests in compromising situations and then blackmails them. If compromising situations don't happen on their own, Mabuse and his gang engineer them.

But luckily, Kommissar Kras (Gert Fröbe) is on the case. Kras is basically Kommissar Lohmann in everything but the name and also remembers Mabuse's reign of terror during the Weimar Republic, linking the old and the new Mabuse movies and making it very clear that The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse is a sequel rather than a remake. There is only one problem. Dr. Mabuse very definitely died in 1933, so who is behind this new wave of crimes?

In the end, the blind fortune teller Peter Cornelius (Wolfgang Preiss) is revealed to be Mabuse. Though Cornelius isn't his real name nor is he really a fortune teller nor really blind. Instead, he is one Professor Jordan, a psychiatrist who feels compelled to continue Mabuse's work. It is implied that Professor Jordan is the same psychiatrist in whose mental hospital Mabuse was incarcerated back in The Testament of Doctor Mabuse, even though the character names are different. But then, it is also implied that Kras and Lohmann are the same person.

Kommissar Lohmann and Mabuse — Kommissar Lohmann (Gert Fröbe) confronts Dr. Mabuse (Wolfgang Preiss)

The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse moves away from the stylish expressionism of the earlier movies towards a quasi-documentary style. The scenes inside the Hotel Luxor are implied to be footage recorded by Mabuse's cameras, turning the viewer into a voyeur. The science fiction elements are fairly light. It would certainly be possible to recreate the Hotel Luxor and its surveillance cameras with 1960s technology and indeed the new East German Interhotels are real life versions of the Hotel Luxor.

Thousand Eyes ends with Mabuse presumed dead once again. However, the film was a big commercial success and so Mabuse was promptly resurrected barely a year later. Fritz Lang had retired, so Harald Reinl, who previously worked on the Edgar Wallace series, took over the directing duties for Im Stahlnetz des Dr. Mabuse. The international title is the unimaginative The Return of Dr. Mabuse, a literal translation would be In the Steel Web of Dr. Mabuse. Shot in atmospheric black and white, Steel Web is stylistically closer to the expressionist Mabuse films of the Weimar Republic than Fritz Lang's Thousand Eyes.

Mabuse's organisation now works with the Chicago mob in his quest to conquer the world. As a favour to his new allies, his gang murders a woman who is burned alive by a flamethrower that emerges from a flap in the side of a truck. Her burning body is seen lying on the sidewalk for several seconds in a scene that is shockingly brutal by the sedate standards of West German cinema.

The Berlin police once again puts an inspector played by Gert Fröbe on the case. This time, the character is actually called Kommissar Lohmann and it is strongly implied that this is the same Kommissar Lohmann as before. We also briefly meet Lohmann's wife and children at the beginning of the movie, a pleasant contrast to the many lone wolf investigators who dominate the crime genre.

Because of the mob connection, the FBI sends an agent named Joe Como (former Tarzan and current Old Shatterhand Lex Barker). Together, they uncover Mabuse's latest scheme: using a mind control drug on prison inmates to force them to commit crimes. In the end, prison warden Wolf is unmasked (literally, via ripping off a rubber mask) as Mabuse (still played by Wolfgang Preiss). During the final battle with the police, Mabuse escapes into a railway tunnel and is apparently killed by an oncoming train. Or is he?

The second postwar outing of Dr. Mabuse is a curious mix of gangster film and science fiction thriller. The gangster film elements are clearly influenced by the popularity of the German pulp hero G-Man Jerry Cotton – also note the similarities of the names Jerry Cotton and Joe Como. There are plenty of creepy moments, such as the vacant eyed convicts converging upon a power station, while a sound truck blasts out the words "I have only one lord and master, Dr. Mabuse" over and over again.

Flirting with SF

The science fiction elements were ramped up for the third movie, Die unsichtbaren Krallen des Dr. Mabuse (The Invisible Dr. Mabuse), which premiered in March 1962, directed once more by Harald Reinl.

Lex Barker is back as Joe Como, this time working with Kommissar Brahm (Siegfried Lowitz, a regular of the Edgar Wallace series), since Kommissar Lohmann has apparently taken the long deserved holiday he had to postpone in the previous film. Together they tackle the case of an invisible man who haunts a theatre and stalks the dancer Liane Martin (Harald Reinl's wife and Edgar Wallace regular Karin Dor).

In spite of the title, the invisible man stalking Liane Martin is not Dr. Mabuse but Professor Erasmus, who has invented an invisibility device. An accident left the Professor disfigured and so he uses his device to visit his beloved Liane Martin, failing to realise that being stalked by an invisible man is a lot more terrifying than a scarred face.

Joe Como and Professor Erasmus — Joe Como (Lex Barker) and Professor Erasmus (Rudolf Fernau), not invisible for once.

Mabuse appropriates the device and the movie ends with Mabuse's army of invisible killers converging on a plane to kill a passenger. However, the police have placed strings with bells around the airfield and then make the invisible killers visible by spraying them with water. This time around, Mabuse is even captured, though he has gone insane.

The Invisible Dr. Mabuse seems to be two separate movies, for the haunted theatre plot and the invisible man plot don't come together until the end. Gert Fröbe is sorely missed as well. Nonetheless, the film has several memorable moments such as Liane Martin getting (almost) guillotined no less than three times, Joe Como confronting the invisible Professor in a steam bath and the army of invisible killers becoming slowly visible again in a spray of water. The special effects are surprisingly good by West German standards.

A New Testament

The next movie, released in September 1962, was a remake of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Mabuse is now incarcerated in a mental hospital run by Professor Pohland (Walter Rilla) and still manages to give orders to his gang via hypnotising the hapless Professor. Gert Fröbe makes a welcome return as Kommissar Lohmann, though Lex Barker's Joe Como is sadly absent, since Barker has found a more lucrative gig as Old Shatterhand in the film adaptations of Karl May's Winnetou novels. As before, Mabuse's body seemingly dies, while his spirit takes over Pohland's body.

Testament is a solid entry in the series, though it suffers in comparison with the 1933 original. It also doesn't help that anybody who has seen the original already knows the big twist. And while Mabuse's plan of causing economic collapse via flooding the market with forged banknotes clearly plays on the fears of the 1920s and 1930s with its hyperinflation, the Black Friday and the Great Depression, it feels anachronistic in postwar West Germany in the middle of a so-called economic miracle. Harald Reinl's atmospheric direction has been replaced by the more pedestrian Werner Klingler as well. I'm not the only one who feels that Testament was rather lacklustre, since the movie bombed at the box office.

Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse (Scotland Yard vs. Dr. Mabuse) premiered in September 1963. Mabuse, still in the body of Professor Pohland, has had enough of the Berlin police continuing to thwart his attempts to establish a world reign of crime and so decamps to Britain to continue his villainous ways. This time around, Mabuse steals a mind control device and plans to use it to destabilise the British government. He also stages impressive demonstrations, such as inducing a hangman to hang himself in a memorable scene.

But Major Bill Tern of Scotland Yard (Peter van Eyck,) and Kommissar Vulpius of the Hamburg police (Werner Peters) are on Mabuse's trail. Luckily, it turns out that people wearing a certain hearing aid are immune to Mabuse's mind control device and so the police manages to arrest Mabuse and his gang. Alas, Mabuse's spirit has already moved on, leaving a hapless Professor Pohland repeating "It wasn't me, it was Mabuse. He used my brain" over and over again.

It is notable that the mind control motif – whether via hypnosis, drugs or electronic devices – appears again and again in the Mabuse series. And Professor Pohland insisting over and over again that he is completely innocent of the crimes Mabuse committed does bring to mind many former Nazis who make the same claim, though with far less justification.

Scotland Yard vs. Dr. Mabuse is a thoroughly entertaining film and curiously prescient, since one of the crimes committed by Mabuse's gang eerily mirrors the recent Great Train Robbery in Britain. Though the tendency to reuse the same actors in completely different parts (e.g. Werner Peters appeared in four of five postwar Mabuse movies, playing a different character in each one) is getting confusing by now. Of course, the Edgar Wallace films also tend to reuse the same actors over and over again (and to make matters even more confusing, several actors appear in both series). But unlike the Wallace movies, the seven Mabuse movies to date have an internal continuity.

Though like Mabuse himself, the movies tend to change their appearance from film to film. In the past forty years, the series has moved from reflecting the economic anxieties of the Weimar Republic (Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse) via Cold War paranoia (The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse) and offbeat gangster thriller (The Steel Web of Dr. Mabuse) to science fiction thriller cum theatre horror (The Invisible Dr. Mabuse) back to economic fears (The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, take two). With Scotland Yard vs. Dr. Mabuse, the Mabuse series has morphed into an Edgar Wallace movie. And indeed, the screenplay is a loose adaptation of the 1962 novel The Device by Bryan Edgar Wallace, son of Edgar.

Whither Mabuse?

The flexibility of the Mabuse series and the character himself ensures its longevity. Dr. Mabuse has terrorised Germany for forty years now and may well continue for years or even decades to come, for Mabuse's nature as a malevolent spirit allows him to jump from body to body, plotting new crimes and leaving behind muttering hosts who insist that they didn't do anything, Mabuse did.

What form will the Mabuse series take next? Rumours suggest that the next Mabuse movie Die Todesstrahlen des Dr. Mabuse (The Death Rays of Dr. Mabuse), due out in September, is inspired by the popular James Bond movies.

I certainly will be in the cinema, watching as Germany's greatest supervillain plots yet again to conquer the world and establish a reign of crime and chaos.

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Message from the Eocene by Margaret St. Clair (Ace Double M-105)

Three World of Futurity by Margaret St. Clair

55 years ago: Science Fact and Fiction