The Squeaker (1963 film)

The Squeaker German Der Zinker is a 1963 West GermanFrench crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Heinz Drache. It was part of a very successful series of German films based on the writings of Edgar Wallace and adapted from the 1927 novel of the same name.

The Squeaker was the 12th of a very successful series of German films made in the late 1950s and 1960s by producer Horst Wendlandt for Rialto Film. This particular installment was coproduced by French company Les Films Jaques Willemetz. The script was adapted by Harald G. Petersson from the 1927 novel The Squeaker or The Sign Of the Leopard The Squealer in the US. Earlier film versions had been made in 1930 United Kingdom and directed by Edgar Wallace himself, 1931 Germany and 1937 again United Kingdom. In 1961, an initial treatment had been written by Egon Eis who had earlier also worked on the script for the 1931 film made in Germany. However, he did not want to copy his own work and refused to do the final script for the new film. Petersson, who so far had only reworked scripts for Rialto, was now tasked with writing an entire script for the first time. His script was much more terse than the novel and it found the approval of producer Wendlandt.Wendlandt had to compete with films that were increasingly in colour. To boost the black and white films attraction, it was shot in UltraScope a widescreen method. Alfred Vohrer directed the film. To boost production values, some scenes were shot on location in a wintry London. Additional exteriors were shot in West Berlin. CCC studios were used for interior cinematographymaking this the first of a total offilms from the series that used Artur Brauners studios. Filming took place betweenJanuary andFebruary 1963. This was the first film of the series to feature the signature beginning with a series of shots ringing out followed by a coloured bloodstain spreading across the screen as an invisible voice intones Hello, this is Edgar Wallace. ........

Source: Wikipedia