Madeleine Tel. 13 62 11 (1958) ♀

Around the same time of the first Rialto Edgar Wallace adaptions, a stream of grittier, sleazy Krimi appeared, somewhat similar to the Noirish French Polar of the late 1950s, often featuring Jean Gabin, and, like those movies, revolving around white slave trade, prostitution and narcotics, this in a considerably realistic and grimy setting. One of the earliest ones, Madeleine Tel. 13 62 11, was a fun little 1958 Krimi revolving around call girls and inspired by the mysterious murder of real-life call girl, Rosemarie Nitribitt which shook the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957. As a result numerous filmmakers seized the moment and took up the subject of murder and prostitution in some form, including Arca Film, founded in 1953 by Gero Wecker, a production company that had already meddled in successful ‘scandalous’ films, with Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald in 1956, its 1957 sequel, Liane: Die Weisse Sklavin.

On Kurfürstendamm, Berlin, a young girl is found murdered by poison, when her car crashes. It is discovered that she was an expensive call girl. Kriminalrat Semler, who lectures at the university on the subject of prostitution, brings up the case thus peaking the interest of one of his pretty students, Karin (Sabine Sesselmann), who decides to write her doctoral thesis about it. Semler lets her study some of his files but warns her about venturing into the sordid milieu for research. But Karin appears to have a possible way in when she encounters an old school friend, Madeleine (Eva Bartok), a drop-out who now appears to be living in luxury. Meanwhile, architect Gert Kleiber runs into the elegant Madeleine, but little does he know that the young woman he’s falling in love with is, in fact, a call girl. Well-funded customers can call Madeleine on 13 62 11. She is the ‘star’ of a certain Frau Clavius (Ilse Steppat), the unscrupulous procuress of a classy prostitution racket, secretively residing in a posh mansion, taking advantage of several willing girls. The seemingly respectable Frau Clavius is also involved in the smuggling business of shady ‘Nikki’ Maybach (Stanislav Ledinek), a sleazy businessman from Düsseldorf, who keeps bringing her new girls. Maybach is arrested and the police send charming undercover Inspector Wolf Siebert (Heinz Drache) to Berlin, where he manages to ingratiate himself with Frau Clavius, with an alleged recommendation from ‘Nikki,’ and thus, posing as a rich customer, gets access to Mrs. Clavius’ secret establishment. Soon Karin discovers  Madeleine’s secret and offers to help her friend but Madeleine doesn’t want her getting involved with the dangerous Frau Clavius. While Gert Klaiber is still puzzling over the occupation of the wealthy and mysterious Madeleine, Karin goes to Mrs. Clavius ​​under the pretext of wanting to be a call girl.

Madeleine has fallen in love with Gert and desperately wants to leave the sordid mileu. But when the unscrupulous Frau Clavius ​​threatens to tell Gert everything, Madeleine reluctantly welcomes her next client... Inspector Wolf Siebert. He receives some incriminating statements, enough to put an end to Mrs. Clavius’ business. When leaving the apartment, the inspector is seen by Gert, and Madeleine reluctantly confesses her sordid past. Shocked, Gert leaves the house telling Madeleine he doesn’t want anything to do with her. Desperate, Madeleine attempts suicide but is saved in time by Karin. After the young girl’s attempts to persuade the stubborn Gert to return also fail, Madeleine sees no other way and returns to Mrs. Clavius. That night, a wild sleazy party takes place at Villa Clavius for its secret bourgeois clientele, with scantily clad and naked call girls dancing and stripping in front of the lecherous older men and women. But the sordid revellers are unaware that the police have surrounded the building, closing in on Frau Clavius. Released from prison, the sordid Nikki joins the party, salivating over Janina (Shari Kahn), an exotic 15 year old girl, who gives a topless performance for the exited customers. Frau Clavius tells Nikki that the girl, still a virgin, is his special present. But nobody suspects that Kriminalrat Semler and his colleagues have surrounded the property, preparing for a raid that will break up the call girl ring and put an end to Frau Clavius’ sordid career. Madeleine rescues Janina in time from the paws of Nikki and Karin is delighted to discover that Wolf is a repectable police inspector. Madeleine is finally free and has only one thought left: Gert Klaiber. He has taken on an order in India and is already on his way to Tempelhof Airport. Shortly before departure, the two of them have a discussion that gives Madeleine hope for a future together.

Kurt Grigoleit’s noirish, hard-boiled, cinematography is suitably moody and atmospheric, generating an enjoyably pulpy vibe, the lurid content generating a nicely sordid and sleazy mood. There is a lengthy topless scene of 15 year old Shari Khan, voyeuristically watched by Heinz Drache, and later she has an extended dance routine at the party, her nipples covered by pasties. This is right bedore she is being sexually harassed by the fat and sleazy Nikki. Kai Fischer’s striptease ends chastely with suspenders, panties and a bra, while a second strip scene cuts away just before the girl slips off her bra, revealing the merest glimpe of breast. Director Kurt Meisel managed to create a compelling atmosphere, enhanced by the Willi Mattes' jazzy and groovy score, and helped by likeable performances of the two female leads, Eva Bartok as Madeleine and the gorgeous Sabine Sesselmann as the young law student who decides to help her and the other ladies trapped in the seedy underworld of Frau Clavius' prostitution racket. Heinz Drache is a likeable hero, prefiguring his later roles in the Wallace Krimis, of which Stanislav  Ledinek, Kai Fischer and Ilse Steppat are also regulars. You may also recognize the later as Irma Bunt in the brilliant On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).