Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Secret of the Red Orchid Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 7, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 2.

When is Dracula not Dracula? When Christopher Lee, obviously famous for playing that character, insists on "stretching" his range (and/or fangs) by frankly playing the character under a different name, as kind of comically happens at least a couple of times in this appealing second go round from Severin Films of some of Lee's European output. This sequel of sorts of (relative) rarities featuring Lee follows Severin's enjoyable The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection from last year, and my hunch is some Lee fans may actually enjoy the films aggregated in this set more than those that were part of this first release, perhaps due at least in part to the fact that Lee does get to strut his vampiric stuff on more than one occasion, no matter what name his character goes by. This is another nicely packaged release from Severin that also offers a really nicely done perfect bound booklet with some excellent writing by the always reliable Jonathan Rigby and a glut of great stills and promotional materials.

Secret of the Red Orchid benefits from not one, but two, interesting commentaries, and if Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth spend a good deal of time discussing so-called krimi, Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw pinpoint things a bit more specifically by focusing on Edgar Wallace. Wallace was a writer probably best remembered by American film fans for having co-written the original version of King Kong, but for German audiences in particular, he was something of a "brand", in that there was a whole series of films culled from his writings, one of which is the entry currently under discussion. Newman and Forshaw make the case that Secret of the Red Orchid might actually be better understood within the context of this kinda sorta series, including the literally winking performance from supposed supporting player Eddi Arent, who evidently was something of a regular in the franchise.

This is not the world's most amazing murder mystery, but it has a certain sly quality which is in fact exemplified in part by the literal wink that Arent gives in the film's closing moment, with Christopher Lee in stalwart but at least occasionally flashy mode as a detective named Allerman who is investigating a mysterious series of deaths in Germany. A sinister guy named Steve (Klaus Kinski) has a bit of history with Allerman, and is high on the investigator's suspect list, but, that said, while there is an accruing number of bodies which of necessity minimizes the cast of characters (and therefore suspects), there are a couple of red herrings in play as well, even if the ultimate villain is pretty easy to spot. There's a virtual mini-Interpol at work on the case, with a number of different jurisdictions, including Scotland Yard, working things, and Allerman is aided by Inspector Weston (Adrian Hoven) and Chief Inspector Tetley (Wolfgang Büttner).

Secret of the Red Orchid may in fact be just a bit too glossy and self aware to ever really qualify as what most folks would define as "pulpy", even if the underlying content which mixes in everything from supposed gang wars to good old fashioned blackmail letters culled from words clipped from newspapers or magazines (weirdly, also a somewhat similar plot element in Murder Story). The interplay between Lee and Kinski may be an initial calling card for some, but the entire film is filled to the brim with some wonderful character actors, and the story, if ultimately predictable, moves along briskly enough that lethargy never sets in. One kind of fun sidebar here is that Lee, obviously fluent in German, is in full, sonorous voice on the German language track, but has been dubbed by someone else for the English language version.

Secret of the Red Orchid Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Secret of the Red Orchid is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. The back cover of this release states that this is "the first official U.S. disc release with English and German language tracks", and also further specifies that it was "scanned in 2K from the dupe negative and presented with its English and German language tracks for the first time ever in America". The "look" here may not quite get into traditional film noir territory, but the black and white cinematography generally looks great throughout this presentation, with secure contrast, good (if arguably not great) blacks, and well modulated gray scale. The midcentury modern costumes in particular offer some nicely rendered fine detail on fabrics. Occasional minor age related wear and tear can be spotted. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Secret of the Red Orchid Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Secret of the Red Orchid features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono options in either German or English. As mentioned above, Lee speaks fluent German in the German language version, but is really badly dubbed in the English language version (Lee's character is supposed to be an American, and so an American voice actor was used, but it's still kind of grating). One of the film's highlights is a swingin' score by Peter Thomas, which kind of reminded me at times of Bert Kaempfert, I guess appropriately given this film's German origins. The German language track is noticeably brighter than the English, with a clearer high end and a bit more amplitude, but also with more apparent hiss, probably for those selfsame reasons. Optional English subtitles are available.

Secret of the Red Orchid Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse


• Audio Commentary with film scholars Kim Newman, author of Anno Dracula, and Barry Forshaw, author of Euro Noir


• Trailer (HD; 3:05) is for the German release, with English subtitles.

Secret of the Red Orchid Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It may be best to simply forget any putative "mystery" element with Secret of the Red Orchid, and simply go with the flow of some really fun performances. My advice is to stick with the original German language version, if only to delight in how at ease Lee is in the often notoriously difficult language. Both commentaries are excellent and technical merits are generally solid. Recommended.