"Die weiße Spinne" or "The White Spider" is a West German film from 1963, so this one is already over 50 years old. It was directed by Harald Reinl, who is mostly known for his Winnetou works, and Egon Eis adapted the crime novel by Louis Weinert-Wilton. Eis also worked on many of the Edgar Wallace films from that time and that's the main reason why this film looks completely like a Wallace movie. At almost 100 minutes, it is slightly longer than these. But the cast also has parallels. Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Dor were regulars in the series and same can be said about some of the other cast members. The film is basically all about Dor's character and how she has to prove she is innocent in terms of her husband's death and that she did not kill him to get her hands on his fortune. And just like with the Wallace films, nothing is safe in here, everything can happen and it does not take long till people doubt the man is actually dead. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Or is he fooling everybody and well alive? Watch for yourself! Or don't as, honestly, I could not have cared less at some point. This film also has the problems of the Wallace movies and one of these would be the realism. I just cannot take the film seriously from a dramatic perspective if it lacks realism on so many occasions, even some crucial moments, for example when a man is held at gunpoint and then pushes a desk at the guy with the gun, so that one falls out of the window and dies. This was not a good watch. Only check it out if you really really love Edgar Wallace and Egon Eis.

This film has been identified as one of the German series of Edgar and Bryan Wallace based films made in the 1960's. While it may have been made as part of the series since the film plays very much like the other films, it really can't be considered a Wallace film since its not based on a book by either Bryan or Edgar Wallace.The plot of the film centers around a woman who's husband has died in a fiery car crash outside a gambling club. Broke from her husbands gambling debts and the cost of the funeral she tries to cash in her husbands insurance policy. The insurance company is suspicious, partly because the amount of the policy was recently raised and partly because there have been other suspicious deaths recently. Making matters worse is a lawyer who shows up on her door step wanting to be paid for covering some of her husbands debts. Unable to pay anyone the lawyer gets her a job working for a reform society that helps convicts get back into society. The woman also attempts to confront the people in the gambling club for what she feels is the real responsibility for her husbands death. All of this leads her down the rabbit hole as she comes face to face with the White Spider, a gang of murder for hire killers. She also is haunted by the police who thing she may have had something to do with her husbands demise and a recently released convict who seems to want to do more than help.This is a good little thriller that is a nice way to spend an evening in front of the TV. The plot moves along nicely, isn't too complicated, or so complicated that we can't feel superior that we're a couple of steps ahead of the characters on the screen. Its well acted (though slightly less well dubbed) and moves along at a good clip. It does have that uniquely German feel of the Wallace films which are suppose to be set in England and London's Soho district, but look and feel nothing like Soho or anywhere else in England for that matter.If you like the German Wallace films this is a must. If you like neat little thrillers with a smart edge and witty dialog this is also a must. Anyone else looking for a good excuse to spend two hours eating a bag of popcorn in front of the TV should also try this movie since its a very good mystery thriller for an evenings entertainment.7.5 out of 10, raised to 8 out 10 for IMDb purposes.