The Violin Case Murders

The Violin Case Murders (Schusse Aus Dem Geigenkasten) (1965)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Fritz Umgelter

Starring: George Nader, Heinz Weiss, Sylvia Pascal, Helga Schlack, Helmut Fornbacher

From: A few different German and French companies

More criminal operations should operate out of bowling alleys.

Last night I was unsure of what to check out; there’s never a lack of options for me, which does sound great… except that at times it is difficult to actually make the selection. Finally, it was decided to continue on seeing a wide variety; all sorts of different people follow me, so I follow them and there is no shortage of obscurities that are reviewed. This includes ratings of German films based on the German/Finnish pulp novel character Jerry Cotton. As this is on YouTube, why not check it out?

The story presented here is undoubtedly pulp: Cotton is an FBI agent who goes undercover in a gang that operates out of a bowling alley. He sweet-talks the moll of the group as he attempts to stop the nogoodniks from a NYC robbery; this is after they scored big on heists in the Los Angeles and Chicago areas. As you hear an awesome Peter Rogers jazzy score throughout, we get to see brawls, a car wreck, chases, intrigue, action on a boat, and even a machine gun disguised in a violin case, which is why one of its alternate titles is The Violin Case Murders. Note that the scheme for the robbery concerns planting a bomb in a school as if it’s Die Hard with a Vengeance.

It's not the wildest genre effort you’ll ever see—after all, there’s no exotic locations, exotic women or even more exotic gadgets. Be that as it may, it was still breezy entertainment which provided enough action & thrills for me to say this was fine. At least once in awhile I’ll take in a Eurospy effort. By the way, the only recognizable name in the cast is George Nader; he was fine here so no one’s opinion should be colored that his one famous American starring role was in… ROBOT MONSTER.