Horst_In_Translation Review of Mark of the Tortoise

Mark of the Tortoise (1964)

Better than Wallace films, but still flawed

[4/10 · 9 July 2016]

"Wartezimmer zum Jenseits" or "Waiting Room to the Beyond" is a West German 90-minute movie from the year 1964, so this one is already also over 50 years old. The director is Alfred Vohrer who was very successful and prolific back then and worked for example on the Edgar Wallace film series. So it is no coincidence that this black-and-white film we have here looked like a Wallace movie on several occasions. One big aspect would the inclusion of the turtle that returns as a symbol for a group of criminals. The main character is played by the recently deceased Götz George in his 20s and he plays a man willing to take revenge against said criminal organization. Other main characters include a femme (not so) fatale played by Hildegard Knef, the main antagonist played by Richard Münch and a handful others, such as a good friend to George's character. Speaking about Münch's character, the ending is also a parallel to the Wallace films (or also Mabuse films from that time) as we never see the villain actually die and here this is true as well. Was the wheelchair just fake and he swam to safety? Who knows. It's not likely, but it cannot be ruled out definitely either. Other than that, the film had actually more decent moments than the average Edgar Wallace movie from back then, but maybe I am just biased because I like George quite a lot as an actor. May he rest in peace. But sometimes the also fell back to old mannerisms that are actually more embarrassing than interesting. It's a close call, but I guess all in all the bad slightly outweighs the good and I give this film a thumbs-down. But if you like the Wallace stuff, you will certainly also like this adaptation of James Hadley Chases work. otherwise, I would only recommend it to the biggest George/Knew fans.