Nelson Ryan (Heinz Drache) returns from a business trip to find a dead woman in his home office. The Asian woman was shot with Nelson’s gun. Nelson is a private detective. Shortly after the discovery he is visited by wealthy industrialist, William Jefferson (Willy Birgel), and his secretary, Janet West (Sabine Sesselmann). William tells Nelson that he received notice that his daughter-in-law, Jo-Ann (Greta Chi) was killed in Nelson’s apartment. Nelson plays it cool trying to find out what is really going on.
William tells Nelson that his son George was killed in a car accident in Hong Kong and that his coffin was sent to England to be placed in the family vault. According to William, George’s body was burnt beyond recognition but items on the body pointed to the deceased as being that of George. William now wants to hire Nelson to find out what happened in Hong Kong. Nelson, realizing that he would be seriously looked at as being the killer, takes the job, and rushes off to Hong Kong with his assistant, Bob Tooly (Ralf Wolter).
In Hong Kong, Nelson and Bob stay at the Celestial Empire, a dive hotel and the place that supposedly George Jefferson lived before he died. The proprietor tells them that their rooms will be ready in an hour and recommends a bar down the street called The Green Snake to pass the time. The Green Snake turns out to also be a house of prostitution. Nelson finds himself in the middle of a drug smuggling enterprise and anyone he talks to ends up dead.
“Coffin From Hong Kong” AKA “Ein Sarg aus Hong Kong” was released in 1964 and was directed by Manfred R. Kohler. It is a West German thriller and a krimi. The film is based on the novel “Coffin From Hong Kong” by James Hadley Chase.
The movie is different from the usual krimi-esque style. This one has more of a James Bond or Tony Rome vibe to it. Bond films were influencing various film makers all over the world during this time so it’s only natural that krimis jump on the band wagon as well.
I didn’t find it all that great, but it did have some decent cinematography of actual Hong Kong locations that adds some spice to the film. This is mostly for fans of low budget James Bond style films and includes a couple performative murder devises that any Bond nemesis would enjoy. There is also a fair amount of action sequences throughout the film, although they could have used better choreography. It’s not a bad movie but not one of my favorites.
Heinz Drache, who plays lead character Nelson Ryan, is a good choice to play the slightly campy but dashing detective. The English version of the film has his voice dubbed as if he were a polished British statesman. It adds even more camp to the movie.