Room 13

Well, she's covered up in a way she never expected.

After twenty years away, notorious London gangster Joe Legge (Richard Häussler) pays a visit to Sir Robert Marney (Walter Rilla), to blackmail him into participating in a train robbery. Scotland Yard gets wind of this meeting and, to avoid the scandal of a police investigation, they hire private eye Johnny Gray (Joachim Fuschberger) to look into it. Johnny tracks Legge and his mob to the Highlow Club, where they plan their heist from a secret room. But the investigation is complicated when women at the club start turning up dead - their throats slit with a razor belonging to Sir Robert. But is Sir Robert the killer? Will Legge pull off his train heist? And can Johnny solve the case before it's too late?

Room 13 (not to be confused with The Girl in Room 2A) is barely a giallo. Really, it's about 80% heist movie, 15% spy thriller and 5% giallo, but that 5% is enough to earn it a place on this list. Some early gialli cling to the framework of gothic horror, but this one is based more on film noir. It's a fun movie to watch with a quick run time, a couple of explosions, a few jokes thrown in and a murder mystery B-plot, but it doesn't have the outrageous style that would develop in later gialli.

• The movie was based on the novel of the same name, by Edgar Wallace, best known as the creator of King Kong.

• The movie is in black and white, but the credits are in color.

• The most famous cast member is Karin Dor, who plays Sir Robert's daughter, Denise. You may remember her as Helga Brandt in You Only Live Twice.

• The body count in this movie is awfully high, but keep in mind that half of the deaths occur in the final shootout between police and mobsters.

What the Hell am I Watching?

When police investigate the murder of a burlesque stripper at the Highlow Club, they realize that she's an undercover officer because she's wearing "official underwear of Scotland Yard."

Also, this is what a forensic crime lab looks like in 1964.

Fashion Moment:

Very little to report. Lots of tweed and very formal suits.

The dancers at the club wear these over-complicated 19th century can-can outfits, but that's as daring as the fashion gets.