The Devil Came from Akasava

The Devil Came from Akasava
German theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jess Frank
Screenplay by	Ladislas Fodor Paul André
Based on	The Keepers of the Stone by Edgar Wallace
Produced by	Artur Brauner
Starring	Fred Williams Susann Korda Horst Tappert Ewa Strömberg Siegfried Schürenberg Walter Rilla
Cinematography	Manuel Merino
Music by	Manfred Hübler Siegfried Schwab
Production companies	CCC Films Fenix Films
Distributed by	Cinerama Filmgesellschaft (West Germany) CEA Distribución (Spain)
Release date	5 March 1971 (1971-03-05)
Running time	83 minutes
Countries	West Germany Spain
Language	German

The Devil Came from Akasava (German: Der Teufel kam aus Akasava) is a 1971 West German-Spanish adventure-spy film directed by Jesús Franco. It was based on a novel by Edgar Wallace called The Keepers of the Stone.

The film was shot at the Spandau Studios in Berlin with location shooting in Lisbon and Spain.

Background

The Devil Came from Akasava is based on the short story Keepers of the Stone in the collection Sanders of the River by Edgar Wallace, and forming a part of exotic stories on the fictional indigenous people of the Akasava. It is a late example of Edgar Wallace film adaptations that were particularly popular in Germany during the 1960s. Lead actress Soledad Miranda was killed in a car accident in Portugal soon after finishing this film.

Plot

Prof. Walter Forrester is a British scientist working in the Akasava jungle in South America. His assistant finds a mysterious stone, but it is stolen and Forrester vanishes, leaving him as the sole suspect. However, after a Scotland Yard detective is murdered while entering Forrester's office in London, the Scotland Yard chief Sir Philipp hands the case to Jane Morgan, an attractive agent, while given its international priority, Secret Intelligence Service will be on the case. Now, on a secret mission and with double identity as the young stripper wife of the British consul Irving Lambert, Morgan arrives in South America. Meanwhile, she meets Rex Forrester, professor's nephew, who is also concerned of his fate and arrives in the country for further investigation.

Cast

• Soledad Miranda (as Susann Korda): Jane Morgan
• Fred Williams: Rex Forrester
• Jesús Franco (cameo): Tino Celli
• Horst Tappert: Dr. Andrew Thorrsen
• Alberto Dalbés: Irving Lambert
• Ewa Strömberg: Ingrid Thorrsen
• Ángel Menéndez: Prof. Walter Forrester
• Siegfried Schürenberg: Sir Philipp
• Walter Rilla: Lord Kingsley
• Paul Müller: Dr. Henry
• Blandine Ebinger: Abigail Kingsley
• Howard Vernon: Humphrey

Reception

TV guide found it was a "Campy espionage tale". A review at Horror News stated, "Anyone familiar with Franco’s career knows that his films tend to be loaded with nudity and skirts the edges of being porn. Luckily, he toned down the sexual elements to fall in line to what was standard for James Bond-inspired films. However, toned down does not mean excised."

External links

• The Devil Came from Akasava at IMDb