The Phantom of Soho Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

The Phantom of Soho 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.

Wow. In case The Curse of the Yellow Snake's depiction of Asians or The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle's allusions to British incursions into Africa weren't enough to set contemporary PC sensibilities on edge, The Phantom of Soho actually revisits (at least in passing) Britain's "African adventures" while also working in white slavery, all within the context of a sleazy nightclub (hilarious misspelled as "Sansibar", as some of the supplements get into) and a "Jack the Ripper" type maniac taking out various lowlifes. It's absolutely hyperbolic on one level, though the "mystery" here isn't especially compelling. The chief assets of this film are some fun performances and a probably unintentionally comic depiction of supposed British nightlife in less than luxe environments. Dieter Borsche is on hand as intrepid Inspector Patton, but it may Werner Peters who steals the show as a mad (?) doctor.

The Phantom of Soho Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Phantom of Soho is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This film is the outlier, video quality wise, in the set due to what was evidently a very late discovery that only a standard definition master (currently?) was "available" for the film. The Play Menu for the film offers the following verbiage:

This presentation of The Phantom of Soho is sourced from a standard definition master as no high definition source was available at the time of this release. We hope this doesn't negatively impact your enjoyment of the film.

A further note, the English languge dub for this film had some short sections of the film missing which had to be replaced with audio from the original German track.

As an upscale, this isn't the worst thing I've ever seen (head over to some of my reviews of archival Doctor Who material for a few prime examples), but it certainly doesn't match the luster or precision of the rest of the transfers in this set. There's still some rather appealing contrast and nicely modulated gray scale, and detail levels are at least acceptable most of the time, but there are clear signs of upscaling and perhaps even a bit more digital tweaking like some sharpening (somewhat ironic, given that a lot of the presentation can be on the blurry side) that gives this a less organic appearance than the rest of the films in the set.

The Phantom of Soho Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again as with the other films in this set, The Phantom of Soho features LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks in either German or English. Following a certain through line, the English track is once more softer than the German track, but it also sounds generally more compressed, without some of the high frequencies that the German track offers, or at least not with the same energy. Dialogue and effects are all rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Phantom of Soho Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Eureka! has packaged The Mad Executioners and The Phantom of Soho together on one disc with the following supplements:

• The Mad Executioners

Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 11:12) 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 Phantom of Soho

Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 8:45) is available as a standalone supplement or under the Play Menu where it is authored to lead directly to the main feature (you actually have to get a Submenu in this particular instance).




Audio Commentary by Kim Newman & Barry Forshaw is accessible in the aforementioned Submenu.

• Bryan Edgar Wallace - An Era (HD; 9:58) features Alice Brauner in another fantastically engaging interview which serves as a companion to the one offered as a supplement on the Mabuse set. Subtitled in English.


• Trailers

The Mad Executioners German Trailer (HD; 3:46)




The Mad Executioners US Release Trailer (HD; 1:48)




The Phantom of Soho German Trailer (HD; 2:55)




The Phantom of Soho International Trailer (HD; 2:55)




The Phantom of Soho US Release Trailer (HD; 1:14)

The Phantom of Soho Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Phantom of Soho has the least appealing video of this set for understandable reasons, but it also may be one of the most undeniably gonzo offerings in the collection. While video "is what it is", audio is generally fine and the supplements very appealing, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.