Kathleen Kent (Judith Dornys) is an Australian who has just arrived in London. With her is her financial advisor, Ferry Westlake (Eddi Arent). Kathleen is in London at the request of a mobster named Real (Rudolf Forster). Years ago, Real was responsible for cheating her father out of his wealth using a fixed roulette table. The loss of his estate caused Kathleen’s father to commit suicide. Real, now at the end of his life, is feeling responsible and wants to make amends to Kathleen. Real plans on making Kathleen the heir to his vast wealth.
Real’s former associates were partnered with him in his criminal enterprises and believe they should receive a share of his money. The co-horts, led by Connor (Ernst Fritz Furbringer), plan on killing Real and stealing the money. Their problem is that the loot that Real amassed is kept in a vault that has an intricate array of booby traps.
Kathleen is kidnapped by Connor in an elaborate plan to get Kathleen to join forces with him so he can get his hands on the combination to the vault. Coming to Kathleen’s aid is Jimmy Flynn (Harald Leipnitz). Jimmy was once partnered with Real and is trying to find Kathleen and get her away from Connor. Jimmy also works with Inspector Angel (Harry Meyen) of Scotland Yard to find Kathleen. Everyone associated with Real, even Jimmy, is after the treasure in the vault, but getting it proves to be deadly.
“The Curse of the Hidden Vault” AKA “Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschlss” was release in 1964 and was directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb. It is a West German crime thriller and a krimi. The film was based on the 1908 novel “Angel Esquire” by Edgar Wallace. The novel was also made into a British silent film in 1919 called “Angel Esquire”.
The plot of this film wasn’t as confusing as some of the krimis out there. There are some deaths that are a little cringe worthy and there were cuts made for some of the releases. Eventually it was rereleased intact.
The film itself is not bad. It’s not the best krimi offering but it was descent enough and had some interesting booby traps and death scenes. It also had a bit of a twist that added to the mystery of the film. All in all, an enjoyable watch.
Comedy relief is courtesy of Eddi Arent. Klaus Kinski also has a small part in the film, but I don’t think he has any lines. The film boasts several standard krimi players. In addition to Arent and Kinski is Siegfried Schurenberg as Sir John and Werner Peters as Barrister Spedding.