THE DEVIL'S DAFFODIL is a packed-to-the-brim Edgar Wallace krimi, made in Germany but filmed in the UK. It's the kind of film that you have to watch closely because the plot is very dense and just working out who's who and the relationships between the characters is tricky indeed.
These German Krimi movies, based on the stories of Edgar Wallace, are by definition infamous for their convoluted and hectic screenplays, but with its numerous twists and turns "The Devil's Daffodil" truly is the cinematic equivalent of a pretzel! You won't hear me say this is the greatest movie ever made, but there is plenty of exiting stuff going on and you won't get bored for a second.
I have still barely scraped the surface of the popular "Krimi" thrillers made in Germany between the late 1950s and the early 1970s; this one – atypically, a British co-production filmed simultaneously (on location in London) in both languages – is, however, easily among the better entries that I have come across. The reasons for this are mainly due to an above-average cast that includes regulars Joachim Fuchsberger and Klaus Kinski, along with the likes of Christopher Lee, Marius Goring, Albert Lieven and Walter Gotell, and the striking monochrome cinematography by the renowned Desmond Dickinson (though the credit titles are appealingly displayed in red).
"Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen" or "The Devil's Daffodil" is a British/German co-production and there are alternate language versions for both countries out there with British and German actors. This one was made back in 1961, which means it has its 55th anniversary this year.
