Der Hexer (aka The Ringer, The Wizard or The Mysterious Magician) is a 1964 West German black and white mystery film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Joachim Fuchsberger. It was part of a very successful series of German films based on the writings of Edgar Wallace and adapted from the 1925 novel titled The Ringer (originally: The Gaunt Stranger). In 1965, a sequel Neues vom Hexer (Again the Ringer) was released.
Cast
Joachim Fuchsberger as Inspector Higgins
Heinz Drache as James Wesby
Margot Trooger as Cora Ann Milton
René Deltgen as Arthur Milton
Eddi Arent as Finch
Siegfried Lowitz as Warren
Siegfried Schürenberg as Sir John Archibald
Sophie Hardy as Elise
as Maurice Messer
Kurt Waitzmann as Reddingwood
Karl Lange as Reverend Hopkins
Karl John as Shelby
Ann Savo as Jean
Hilde Sessak as wardress
as Gwenda Milton
Tilo von Berlepsch as receptionist
Inge Keck as flower girl
Wilhelm Vorwerg as parson
Josef Wolff as waiter
Production
The film was adapted from the 1925 novel by Edgar Wallace titled The Ringer (originally: The Gaunt Stranger). An earlier German version had been made in the Weimar Republic in 1932, also called Der Hexer.
Shooting took place from 3 June to 10 July 1964 on location in Hamburg and at the Spandau Studios in Berlin.
Release
The FSK gave the film a rating of 16 and up and found it not appropriate for screenings on public holidays.
It premiered on 21 August 1964 at the Alhambra in Düsseldorf.
Parody
The title of the 2004 German comedy film Der Wixxer is a parody of and wordplay on Der Hexer. It parodies German media in general (akin to the Scary Movie series), but puts particular emphasis on parodying the German Edgar Wallace productions of the 1960s and 1970s. Whereas "Der Hexer" translates to witcher or warlock in English, "Der Wixxer" is an intentional misspelling of "der Wichser", a vulgar insult meaning "the wanker".
Other Film Versions
The Ringer (1928) The Ringer (1931) The Ringer (Der Hexer, 1932) The Gaunt Stranger (1938) The Ringer (1952)