The Curse of the Yellow Snake Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Curse of the Yellow Snake Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 21, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Eureka! Entertainment's Terror in the Fog: Wallace Krimi at CCC collection.

Eureka recently released Mabuse Lives!, a really fun box set featuring six early to mid-sixties efforts that reintroduced the enigmatic title character to global audiences, including the first film in the series which offered a "return visit" from "founding Mabuse director" Fritz Lang. A number of the supplements on that set allude to some of the films in this set, since both the Dr. Mabuse productions and these so-called Wallace Krimi films were the brainchild of one Artur (also spelled as Arthur) Brauner, a German impresario who founded Central Cinema Company (CCC) in 1946 as his nation was in the throes of recovering from the disasters of World War II. Brauner was an absolutely fascinating man as is evidenced not just by his studio's output, but also his own personal history, a lot of which is discussed in passing by his energetic daughter Alice, who is featured in interviews included both in the Mabuse Lives! set and this one as well. One of Brauner's early producing "revelations" was that while, yes, he could produce "message" films that were important to him, he needed to fund those efforts with other less portentous offerings that would appeal to a broader demographic. Therefore, as Alice mentions, while his earlier career had a number of rather interesting and distinctive films that may not have had mass market appeal, Brauner actually had to wait until after series like the Mabuse and Wallace Krimi franchises raked in enough dough for him to really concentrate on films about a central focus of his, the effects of the Holocaust on European Jews. And in fact part of Brauner's entrepreneurial spirit was keeping track of other studios' successes, perhaps none more so than more or less direct competitor Rialto Film. When Rialto had huge hits with their line of Edgar Wallace krimi films, Brauner rather smartly if perhaps just a bit deceitfully entered into a deal with Edgar's son Bryan Edgar Wallace for the rights to that Wallace's writing, but probably more importantly, to that Wallace's name, which then allowed Brauner to market films with a supposed Wallace imprimatur that quite frequently had next to nothing (and in some cases, absolutely nothing) to do with Wallace.

As those interested in this set wend their way through the various films, both Tim Lucas' fun introductions and the often information packed commentaries get into the vagaries of Brauner's marketing acumen in basically licensing the Wallace name, even when Bryan Edgar Wallace was at best only tangentially involved in any given production (if even that), but this set kind of hilariously gets going with an adaptation of an actual book by Wallace père, namely Edgar Wallace himself, the guy who singlehandedly created the whole Wallace Krimi craze (at least from a writing standpoint). The original novel came out in 1926 and might seem to contemporary eyes to be Wallace's "response" to another iconic author's work that had appeared a little over a decade previously and been a sensation, namely Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu offerings. There is therefore a probably undeniably un-PC portrayal of ethnic types here where nefarious Asian types are scheming villains. In this case a priceless Chinese artifact with ostensibly supernatural powers is the "McGuffin" of the story, as a guy named Cliff Lynn (Joachim Fuchsberger) investigates an opening attack and murder, while also navigating both romantic and family issues. The film's setting in supposedly soon to be mod mid sixties London may help take the edge off some of the perceived race baiting the film probably undeniably engages in, but the real issue here may be the lack of an exciting mystery, despite the fact that the original novel cover evidently stated "it is impossible not to be thrilled by Edgar Wallace".

The Curse of the Yellow Snake Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Curse of the Yellow Snake is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. All of the films in this set (with the exception of The Phantom of Soho, which was sourced from a standard definition master) have the same generally great appearance, with a good accounting of gray scale and some decent if not overwhelmingly deep blacks. Detail levels can be quite pleasing even in some midrange framings, where some of the midcentury sets and costumes are rendered with precision. Small signs of age related wear and tear can be spotted. Grain resolves without any issues.

The Curse of the Yellow Snake Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All of the films in this set feature the original German soundtrack delivered in LPCM 2.0 Mono, with English dubs also available via LPCM 2.0 Mono. Both tracks get the job done without any major issues, though the English track is just a bit softer and perhaps doesn't have quite the vibrancy in the midrange and low end that the German track does. Interestingly, if you toggle between the two tracks, sync is just slightly off with regard to the underscore. There are some pops and hiss evident on both tracks, but nothing too problematic. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Curse of the Yellow Snake Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Eureka! has packaged The Curse of the Yellow Snake and The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle together on one disc with the following supplements:

• What is a Krimi? (HD; 5:51) is an excellent and informative introduction to the set.


• The Curse of the Yellow Snake

Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 12:26) is available as a standalone supplement or under the Play Menu where it is authored to lead directly to the main feature.




Audio Commentary by Kim Newman & Barry Forshaw




Trailer (HD; 3:12)

• The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle

Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 10:05) is available as a standalone supplement or under the Play Menu where it is authored to lead directly to the main feature.




Audio Commentary by Kevin Lyons & Jonathan Rigby

The Curse of the Yellow Snake Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

At least there's no nefarious opium den in The Curse of the Yellow Snake to further pillory Asian types, but this is still a perhaps slightly wobbly start to this set, at least to more contemporary PC minded sensibilities. Still, it is perhaps undeniably hilarious that this is the only "Wallace Krimi" film in this set to be based on an actual Edgar Wallace (as opposed to Bryan Edgar Wallace) tome. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very appealing, for anyone who is considering making a purchase.