Kommissar X - Drei gelbe Katzen

Second adventure in the KOMMISSAR-X film series

After the success of the first film with KOMMISSAR X, producer Theo Maria WERNER and his PARNASS FILM were able to start their next adventure straight away. This time we were going to Sri Lanka, which was then called Ceylon. Rudolf ZEHETGRUBER was hired as director, who would later start the popular film series with the VW Beetle DUDU.

The evil Yellow Cats gang is active in Ceylon. The gang has kidnapped Babs Lincoln (Danish actress Ann SMYRNER), the daughter of an important American. Of course, Captain Tom Rowland (Brad HARRIS) has to take action. And wherever Rowland is, the philanderer Joe Walker (Tony KENDALL) isn't far either...

In addition to the exotic setting, the film also offers good opponents for the two heroes of the series. The German actor Siegfried RAUCH (later television captain on the DREAM SHIP on the German television station ZDF) plays the villain Nitro, who - nomen est omen - specializes in nasty explosions. But an even more dangerous opponent is King (Dan VADIS), who poses a serious challenge, especially for Captain Rowland. The final fight between the two American bodybuilders Brad HARRIS and Dan VADIS is the undisputed highlight of the film. HARRIS and VADIS already knew each other as colleagues from the CINECITTA sword and sandal films and had also appeared together in GERMAN ADVENTURE FLICKS such as DIE FLUSSPIRATEN VOM MISSISSIPPI / THE RIVER PIRATES OF MISSISSIPPI (1963).

All in all, there could have been more action scenes. The sardonic dialogues are also somewhat neglected in ZEHETGRUBER. Perhaps Ilse KUBASCHEWSKI's GLORIA film distributor didn't want to expect more from cinema viewers. Be that as it may, Italian director Gianfranco PAROLINI was hired for the third adventure to provide even more action.

However, the film was quite successful at the box office: 1,485,000 visitors wanted to see the film in West Germany (source: InsideKino), 649,213 in France and 770,533 in Spain (source: Box Office Story). With an estimated ticket price of the equivalent of 1.17 EURO, not a bad box office in the three countries mentioned alone. The KOMMISSAR-X franchise had become established.