Review: THE CARD WITH THE LYNX' HEAD - A KAI FISCHER KRIMI EXTRAVAGANZA IN THREE SEASONS

THE CARD WITH THE LYNX' HEAD - A KAI FISCHER KRIMI EXTRAVAGANZA IN THREE SEASONS (1963 (4 Episodes), 1964  (4 episodes) and 1965 (5 episodes)).

If there is one femme fatale of German Krimi, it has got to be Kai Fischer. You can read all about her HERE.

In 1962 she pitched her idea of a family-friendly Krimi-series to the newly founded national tv station ZDF. The concept of "The Card" was devised by Kai Fischer herself (according to the opening credits). And it shows. This is basically Pippi Longstockings having grown up and being a PI. In each of the half-hour long episodes, she has got to solve a criminal case and has to show a different side of her potential each time.  

Teaming up with Wolf Neumeister, with whom she had already collaborated in "Grabenplatz 17", she developed the ideas for the series.

This hits very close to home, obviously with a lot of dialogue and characters centered around her real life (nose-jobs, boxing boyfriends, actors asf.).  The production values are quite high, and it shows that the ZDF national TV-station put some money into their first Krimi series. This is a total Kai Fischer overdose, both visually (so many beautiful shots of her) as plotwise. She is all over the place here and we get lots of (uncredited) cameos or first-time performances by then unknown krimi-actors.

Aired 3 days after ZDF began broadcasting, this was a prestigous affair. Not only was she the first (self-employed) female PI in German moving pictures history (there had been the french "Protea" silent serials before that), but the first one on TV worldwide.

But then, this was not prime-time, but afternoon entertainment, so murder cases and thriller plots are off limits here. We are talking about forgery, theft, blackmail and other minor stuff. With the episode 9 "The man in the silver mask", the series really pushed the envelope of what was possible to show - even hinting at drug-abuse - while consciously going back to the silent serials of Fueillarde!! What a start for season 3... The last episode "The Circle" is a complete sleaze-crime package, again, in family-friendly format...

Taking on the role-models of the early 1960s, Kai "Fröhlich" (Kai "Happy" instead of Fischer) runs a PI bureau with her aunt (dropping her voice to sound more masculine) as an invisible male boss (Mr. Luchs (Mr. Lynx)). Only once we see Thomas Reiner as the cousin of Kai actually posing as the boss. Communicating with her clients only through electronic devices, they get the impression that Kai is only the secretary and we get a fine premier example of "Charlie's Angel".

Given the obvious similarites to the novels about female PI "Honey West" one might assume that the idea was taken from them (not the TV-series with Anne Francis that aired much later). But then, who knows.

 

Kai's MG 1500 looks very much like Honey's
white cabriolet sportscar...

But we have not been able to unearth any earlier TV series where a woman is the sole investigator and main character. And instead of Margeret Rutherford of the Miss Marple series, we here get someone athletical, intelligent, funny AND beautiful. 

S01/E01 Das Geheimnis der Großgarage**** - The mystery of the parking house

Kai is called by the owner of a parking house where mysterious things happen. Going in as a tomboyish car mechanic, she busts an international car-napping gang.

A good start, this is top-level Krimi entertainment that can hold up to cinematic releases from the same area. 

S01/E02 Die Juwelen der Tänzerin***** - The Dancer's Jewels

Having built her reputation through the owner of the parking house, she is hired by a film studio to protect the expensive jewelry of a star. Needless to say, Kai enters the set as an assistant, only to become "accidentally" part of the dance routine and finally has to steal the jewelry herself to protect it.

This is top-notch. Completely enjoyable and very lavishly produced. We get full film sets and a nice look behind contemporary film production. Here she encounters Wachtmeister Kage for the first time in an opposites attract situation. 

S01/E03 Technische Störungen -*Technical Difficulties

Kai's aunt has equipped the bureau with a lot of technical features that all go wrong when two shady men from Luxembourg enter and demand that Kai delivers the "service" that they had negotiated with her boss. As it turns out, things involve the theft of a valuable painting. Kai here is nothing else than the secretary in peril as her aunt unloads the technical malfunctions on her.

Ouch, this is not good. They tried to make fun of James Bond and gadgetry in criminal movies, but it feels very lame and the case is threadbare. Much less lavish than the first two episodes and one to skip, honestly.

S01/E04 Privatleben fällt aus -  ** Private live cancelled

We meed Kai's love interest, a pilot who just rushes in for a few hours to be together with her. But private amusement has to be cancelled as young children approach her as they had been roobed of their pocket money by a gang of teenage delinquents. Kai investigates only to find out that this gang itself does footwork for a much bigger criminal organisation. They do kidnap her but finally she can help herself out of the situation, much to the delight of Wachtmeister Kage, who seems to become more and more interested in her. 

That is ok, a bit too big in scope for the short running time Kai here is really going PI and does some good looking fight scenes. 

S02/E01 Zur munteren Witwe - 1/2 The Joyful Widow **

Kai is hired to bust a gambling organisation that has occupied the rooms of the bar 'The Joyful Widow' Needless to say, Kai shows up as a waitress, sabotages all the false gamblers and in the end has a wine-bottle-throwing-showdown with all three of them in the cellar (which she wins) Luckily, Wachtmeister Kage is there to finally collect the thugs and "save" Kai. 

The last 5 minutes are pretty funny, but until then it is kind of a bore. We just see all the actors playing cards - a little bit aimless. 

S02/E02 Der Teufelshandschlag ***-1/2 Devtl's Handshake

We meet Kai at the local Judo-club (which looks like it's her real one) where she is practicing the "Devil's Handshake" She is then hired by a fashion-house as they suspect spionage for their upcoming in-house fashion show. Needless to say, Kai has to become a mannequin to solve this case that involves a noble-man's crane and and a creepy electrician.

Fashion-house-krimis in the 1960s are always fun, and this is no exception. Not outstanding, but well-scripted and -acted and -shot and funded 

S02/E03 Luftgeschäfte - *** Thin Air Enterprises

Kai (with a blonde wig) has to pose as an international film star on a flight to Kabul where her newest epic "Lust in the Orient" (or so) is being filmed. Secretely she has to deliver the blueprints for a dam to Kabul that a German building comany should erect there. The ease of going from Munich via Istanbul/Badgad/Teheran to Kabul sounds like a fairy-tale... The plane, though is full of people who are after the plans, including a well-known English detective, a former african colonial comissioner (hehe!).

I wish the crew would have filmed in Kabul but that was obviously out of the budget, the plane-set though is pretty well done. This one has a twist-ending. 

S02/E04 Die Frau auf der Treppe **** - The Woman on the Stairs 

Kai has to prevent a south-american spy (Professor Zamorra!!) from trafficking the world-changing chemistry formula he has stolen from his West-German collegue to East Germany. Under a pretense she enters his flat and is heavily groped by the latin lover/spy/scientist. With much back and forth, she finally ends up being bound to a heater with a poisoned arrowhead pointing at her.

Besides being cleverly written, very well made and highly entertaining, the episodes has close-ups of Kai's feet in in Nylons, bondage, sexual assault, peril, secret formulas and our latin friend obvously has some K.O-drops ready in his drawer - you never know who's showing up. Everything you want for afternoon entertainment.

 

S03/E01 Der Mann mit der Silbermaske *****+*****  The Man with the Silver Mask

Now that is  a banger!

Birgit Thormann, rich heir to a factory, lives as bohemian in an artist community. Strugglifng with money, one artist suggest that they would steal one of the classical paintings she has and file an indemnity with the insurance. The insurance company, however, is already suspecting something like this and hires Kai beforhand. Kai enters the community's costume party/vemissage  in a spectacular back-free black glitter-dress cat-suit with a mask! Then the "Man with the Silver Mask" puts on a real show act while the painting is being stolen. Kai goes full Feuillarde in her cat-suit and mask and follows the thief over the rooftops of Munich.

The episode is pure gold. We get bautiful heist-sequences with no dialogue or sound effects, only music. We get the complete morbidity of beatnik existentialism culture, Kai group-dancing in pre-disco fashion and finally we get "The Man with the Silver Mask" doing his mysterious act! Obviously this episode is filled with "actors" from Kai's personal artist friends, we even got a female scatter, ad-libing to some cool, cool jazz. The studio-set  reflects the artistic style as the "outer world" behind the windows is painted in Dr. Caligari style!

Acting in this are Dieter Geissler of "Obsessions" and "Notte Dei Fiore" - 'fame' as well as Jürgen Feindt (numerous "Report" films) and Immy Schell ("Mädchen in Uniform") and numerous other acting friends of Kai's inner circle.

This is easily 12 out of 10 and a complete reward for the one or two less than perfect episodes. 

S03/E02 Das Brautbukett - The Bride's Bouqet ***1/2

The jewelry of  a famous opera diva has been stolen in her hotel. The thief was immediately arrested but the necklace has vanished, obviously hidden somwhere. Opera diva hires Kai, thief sends girlfriend and competing thugs go in themselves to look for it.

The plot is very like "Hotel der toten Gäste", but much much better. Kai poses as room-service to find out where the gems have been hidden.

Thomas Reiner, straight out of "Blood and Black Lace" has a cameo as Kai's cousin who has to act like he's "Herr Fuchs". 

S03/E03 Um eine Wagenlänge - At a car's length **

For a merger of two companies, a lawyer has to bring the files of the the company's assessment to the merger meeting. Sadly the assessment is pretty bad so that the company tries to get rid of the lawyer and the assessment. Kai is being hired as body guard. She is then chased in a long car-chase sequence.

... which is the sole raison-d'etre for this episode, but sadly, it is neither well staged nor filmed.

S03/E04 Harte Sitten - Hard Rules ***

 

Things vanish in a storage facility and Kai works as storage labouress with "the boys". Lots of fistfights, hard talk and sexism in this shot-on-location episode.

S03/E05 Gefangen im Ring - Trapped with "The Circle" *****

A brunette mannequin has a car-accident. Her Volkswagen had been manipulated as she tried to leave the drug-pushing circle that is actually her fashion agency. Her boss is unkonwn to her and fearing for her life, she asks Kai to help her. Of course Kai becomes a fashion model by day and "bar-girl" in the "Menagerie". Bar mistress "Olga" has just beaten up drunk and depressed singer  Ada and so Kai has to step in and do the bar singing. Kai then expresses her doubts that the mysterious "boss" actually exists so he approaches her in the dark while she is changing clothes and threatens to kill her. Needless to say, Kai sends the cocaine she has been given to the police and searches the bar's back office which brings her in mortal danger.

This is vintage Krimi stuff, completely devoid of any humour, but full of mannequins, drugs, murder and back-office crime deals. And we get "Olga" forcing the girls with physical abuse. Kai even sniffes cocain on-camera and philosophizes about the effects. Yes and all as family-friendly afternoon-fare. Thank you ZDF. 

Co-starring Corinna Genest (Hurra die Schwedinnen sind da - and uncredited in Joseph Sarno's Sisters of Evil) and Uta Emmer (who did experimental off-off-off theatre including "blood-performances") as Olga!

If you are a fan of Kai Fischer, this is a must-see. She is so full of herself in these episodes (and they are full of her, too) that it is a pure joy. If you are the occasional Krimi-viewer, S01/E02, S03/E01 and S03/E05 are very worthwile.

This has been put out by Pidax on DVD from the original screening prints (they actually look like 35mm prints), so the quality is quite good. No english, though and I doubt that the series ever went abroad.