German Popular Cinema and the Rialto Krimi Phenomenon

This book examines the significance of the thirty-two Krimi films produced by Rialto Film from 1959 to 1972, canonizing their role in the era of German popular cinema during Krimi’s rise to popularity and inevitable decline and evolution.

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German Popular Cinema and the Rialto Krimi Phenomenon: Dark Eyes of London examines the Kriminalfilme—or Krimis—based on the novels of English author Edgar Wallace, released by Rialto Film between 1959 and 1972 as part of the post-World War II era of German popular cinema that enjoyed extraordinary popularity with the German public. Nicholas G. Schlegel analyzes how this group of West German thrillers not only nurtured a convalescing film industry, but also provided unequaled national entertainment while canonizing Rialto’s Krimi productions in terms of their historical genesis, aesthetic characteristics, and social reception. Schlegel surveys the Krimi’s enduring legacy, calculable global influence, inevitable decline, and eventual migration to television in the 1970s, where it thrived but ultimately took on a more somber tone. Scholars of film, television, history, and German culture will find this book particularly useful.