Adventure Calls! Karl May at CCC

What a mighty adventure this 4-Disc Blu-ray set offers, with a whopping seven movies plus bonus material! ADVENTURE CALLS! KARL MAY AT CCC celebrates the films based on the beloved novels penned by 19th century German author Karl May, whose many books, ranging from stories set in the old Wild West to the Ottoman Empire and even Latin America, have delighted fans the world over for many generations.

In Germany, the literary legend that is Karl May continues to excite young and old alike, with regular Karl May conventions and the annual ‘Karl May Festspiele’ (open air festivals) in Bad Segeberg, North Germany, which have been taking place since 1952 - ten years before the first screen adaptation hit European cinemas.

One of the most successful Karl May stories are those of Winnetou, the brave and noble Apache chief, and his white sidekick Old Shatterhand. It’s interesting to note that May never visited any of the countries he so vividly wrote about, most likely due to the fact that back then, travelling the world was considerably more difficult (not to mention expensive) than it is nowadays. May has often been accused of presenting the various indigenous tribes in a way that screams stereotype, cliché and above all, wrong tribal outfits and hairstyles. This much is certainly true in the case of Winnetou who, in the German Karl May films, was portrayed by French actor Pierre Brice, sporting outfits more reminiscent of customary Sioux or Cheyenne costumes as opposed to traditional (and more primitive) Apache costumes. Then again, the same can be said about many American Westerns from that period!
With regards to the casting, and with the exception of a few Americans (with Lex Barker at the forefront in all seven films), we’re talking about a motley crew of West-German, French, Yugoslavian, Spanish and Italian actors, reason being that apart from a few pick-up-shots whenever called for, filming took place either in Germany, in former Yugoslavia and in Spain. With regards to casting Pierre Brice in the role of Winnetou: if American actor Jeff Chandler was cast as Apache chief ‘Cochise’ in the 1950 Western ‘Broken Arrow’, then it should make little difference that a French actor played another Apache chief (albeit a fictional one) in the Karl May flicks! Political correctness? Forget it, in those days, it didn’t exist!

Each of the seven movies comes with an optional introduction by Sir Christopher Frayling and I urge anyone interested in purchasing this set to opt for ‘With an introduction by…’ as it’s filled with exciting and useful information.
On to the first two films on Disc 1: OLD SHATTERHAND (1964) was directed by Hugo Fregonese. This Euro-Western focuses on Winnetou’s white blood brother Old Shatterhand (Lex Barker) who, together with the Apache chief, sets out to prove that the Apaches are not responsible for the slaughter of innocent settlers, thus having broken the agreed peace treaty. Only a young boy named Tom is the sole survivor. The truth is somewhat more disturbing, with a certain Captain Bradley (Guy Madison) behind the outrage, as it’s him who harbours a hatred towards all ‘red skins’ since his own family had been killed by them. Now in cahoots with Comanches and with ruthless white land grabbers, Bradley leaves no stone unturned to jeopardise peace negotiations between natives and the US-Government. The film also features German actor Ralf Wolter in the role of Sam Hawkins, providing comic relief which isn’t really needed. Wolter creeps up in practically every other Karl May film in this set, playing similar characters albeit with different names, always providing comic relief. Israeli-born singer/actress Daliah Lavi plays mixed-race Paloma, and in a later scene we see her skinny-dipping from a waterfall (this scene caused some controversy) although a body double was used. Also on board is Italian Rik Battaglia - another actor who turned out to be a staple in the Karl May films.

The second film is WINNETOU AND SHATTERHAND IN THE VALLEY OF THE DEATH (1968), directed by Harald Reinl. Here, Winnetou and Old Shatterhand are thrown into a conflict and a violent dispute concerning Mabel Kingsley (Karin Dor), daughter of the late cavalry officer Major Kingsley, who protected a precious gold shipment from bandits but ended up getting framed for theft. Now Mabel has entered the scene and is hellbent on proving her late father’s innocence. She has two months to do so. Enter the vile Murdock (Rik Battaglia), responsible for Major Kingley’s demise. He’s equally hellbent, namely on chasing Mabel in order to get to a letter in her possession, which holds the secret to the gold’s location. Once again, Ralf Wolter provides comic relief, this time supported by German comedian Eddi Arent as bumbling Brit Lord Castlepool, a keen botanist. There’s a particularly tense scene in the aptly named ‘Valley of the Death’ through which our heroes (and villains) must ride - no easy task, seeing how said valley is riddled with poisonous snakes left, right and center!

Disc 2 ushers us away from the Wild West and now we’re in the Balkans / the Ottoman Empire, where two adventures await: first up is THE SHOOT (1964), directed by Robert Siodmak. Here, Lex Barker takes on the role of white adventurer Kara Ben Nemsi who, together with his loyal sidekick Hadschi Halef Omar (Ralf Wolter) pursue a ruthless villain called the Shoot and his gang, who terrorise the countryside. The pair hope to free a French engineer who was kidnapped by the Shoot. It’s not before long when our two heroes find themselves confronted with a certain Nirwan (Rik Battaglia), who turns out to be the devil in disguise. More mayhem ensues when Kara and Hadschi have to protect ‘damsel in distress’ Tschita (Marie Versini). Although Ralf Wolter delivers his usual funny-not-so-funny wise-crack one-liners, this time comic relief is provided by Dieter Borsche as upper-crust Englishman Sir David Lindsay (in search for Noah’s Arc) and his loyal butler Archibald (English actor Chris Howland).
Next up is THROUGH WILD KURDISTAN (1965), directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb. Here, most of the same characters return, in particular Lex Barker as Kara Ben Nemsi and Ralf Wolter as Hadschi Halef Omar. Marie Versini also returns (this time playing Ingdscha) as are Dieter Borsche and Chris Howland. There is, however, a new villain on the horizon, namely the Machredsch of Mosul (Djordje Nenadovic), a power-hungry Turkish governor who gives the Kurdish people a hell of a bad time and to make things worse, has kidnapped Ahmed el Corda (Gustavo Rojo), son of Sheik Emmin (Charles Fawcett). Cue for the usual mayhem and plenty of sabre-swinging action on horseback.

Disc 3 has a standalone-film on offer, although IN THE KINGDOM OF THE SILVER LION (1965) is a sequel to Wild Kurdistan and once again has been directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb. Here, we witness the resurrection of the Machredsch of Mosul, believed to have plummeted to his death during the Wild Kurdistan climax. No sooner is Machdresch back in action, trouble abounds when he conspires with local bad guy Abu Saif (Sieghardt Rupp). It’s all about the so-called ‘Chaldrean Treasure’ hidden somewhere in the desert rock castles. Kara Ben Nemsi gets a hard time from the governor and Ingdscha finds herself in peril from all sides, sans Kara and Hadschi of course. Dieter Borsche and Chris Howland provide comic relief with their usual shenanigans.

Disc 4 offers the best of the lot, which is somehow ironic, seeing how both THE TREASURE OF THE AZTECS (1965) and THE PYRAMID OF THE SUN GOD (1965) are rather lose adaptations of the original Karl May source and also, both films didn’t do particularly well at the German box office upon their initial release, despite having been directed by Robert Siodmak. Blame fell onto poor publicity as both films weren’t really promoted outside its native Germany. Big shame, because the two films (essentially, it’s one big, long adventure split into two) offer everything a cracking adventure film should be: political uprisings, colonisation issues, villains, femme fatales, lovers, intrigue and a legendary Aztec treasure. Yes, we are in Mexico - the year is 1860 and German physician Dr. Sternau (Lex Barker), fresh from a visit to Abraham Lincoln, is sent to Mexico to deliver a message from the US-President to General Juarez (Fausto Tozzi). En route, he meets a group of fellow travellers, among them bonkers salesman and inventor Andreas Hasenpfeffer (Ralf Wolter) and before he can say ‘Rapido’, he finds himself in the thick of it when various initial subplots merge into one. There’s corrupt Captain Verdoja (Rik Battaglia back in top form), there’s good-for-nothing Count Alfonso de Rodriganda (Gerard Barray) who, as always, is sky-high in debt thanks to his gambling addiction, and there’s naive Aztec princess Karja (Theresa Lorca). Last but certainly not least, there’s scheming and greedy-as-can-be Rosita Cortejo (Michele Girardon) who has just about everyone over… and all that’s before the fights between various factions. It’s an absolute cracker with a nail-biting climax and it goes without saying that in both adventures, Sternau saves the day!

The restoration of the films is more than impressive, as are the overall production values, from set designs to stunts and performances - it’s a delight to look at.
Every disc comes with insightful bonus material, including a Robert Siodmak profile and German film company CCC Productions, responsible for the Karl May films. Furthermore, there are the usual audio options, audio commentaries and trailers. It’s all presented in a Limited Edition (2,000 copies only) hardbound slipcase with a collector’s book.