THE DEVIL’S DAFFODIL

GB
1961
1hr 37mins
Dir: Ákos Ráthonyi
Starring: William Lucas and Penelope Horner

A Chinese detective breaks up a drug smuggling ring and tries to find a murderer known as the “Daffodil Killer”

This crime drama was the seventh British-West German post-war film based on Edgar Wallace novels, in this case The Daffodil Mystery which was first published in 1920. The film was produced in an English and a German version, starring different actors in the lead roles but otherwise featuring an almost identical cast and crew. It starred William Lucas and Penelope Horner in the English version, and Joachim Fuchsberger and Sabina Sesselmann in the German one. It is sometimes known as Daffodil Killer but was released in Germany as Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen, which translates as The Secret of the Yellow Daffodils. The film features a departure scene that opens with a much-used stock shot of the platforms of London Paddington at night, plus a shot of an LMS express pulling out of a station. This latter scene includes a reversed, close up view of ex-LMS ‘Patriot’ Class 4-6-0 No.45530 Sir Frank Ree. The passenger farewell uses an obvious studio mock up for the carriage but the back-projection outside the window shows a BR Met-Camm DMU! A complete mish-mash of shots, but some interesting scenes nonetheless.

This shot of London Paddington appeared first in The October Man (1947) and can also be found in The Flying Scot (1957), The Battle of the Sexes (1959), and Serena (1962).
Joachim Fuchsberger says auf wiedersehen to Sabina Sesselmann. The carriage is a studio set but the Met-Camm DMU visible through the window is the genuine article
The train departs to this close up shot of a ‘Patriot’ Class 4-6-0. Although it is far from clear, the nameplate is visible and reads Sir Frank Ree backwards so this shot is reversed. As its running number never comes into shot it is impossible to tell whether it is carrying its old LMS (5530) or new BR (45530) number.
This night shot of passing LMS coaching stock appears for good measure
As Sabina Sesselmann begins her journey the back-projection outside (which appears to be at right angles to the train!) shows another Met-Camm DMU. The vehicle in shot is DTCL number 56399, prefixed with SC for the Scottish Region. The vehicle was delivered new to Dundee in June 1958 and later became a Class 101.