Der Mann mit dem Glasauge (1969)

The dancer Leila, a member of the London “Las Vegas Girls,” meets her lover, Mr. Jefferson, at a hotel. He offers her a new contract, but a masked knife-thrower kills Jefferson before her eyes. Horrified, Leila leaves the hotel. Inspector Perkins and Sir Arthur of Scotland Yard find a glass eye in the dead man’s pajamas. The hotel porter reports that, shortly before the murder, several pool cues were left at reception for Jefferson. Perkins and his assistant, Sergeant Pepper, soon discover that Jefferson was an international trafficker in women. Just before her next rehearsal at the Odeon Theatre, the witness Leila falls victim to a brutal poisoning. Behind the stage, the investigators encounter numerous suspicious characters, including the inquisitive ventriloquist Eric and the knife-thrower Rubiro, who is missing one of his knives. Meanwhile, Bruce Sharringham, who is in love with the dancer Yvonne Duval, turns up at the theatre. His mother, Lady Sharringham, is adamantly opposed to her son marrying a dancer. Bruce, who is completely under his mother’s thumb, insists that he now leads an independent life, but Yvonne has little faith in the promises of the lord, who has meanwhile become addicted to heroin. Sergeant Pepper has to tell Inspector Perkins that Leila’s rooming-house room has long since been cleared out by an unknown person. All they found there was an admission ticket to a pool club in Soho, which Pepper visits that evening. He finds a busy and peculiar exchange of pool cues taking place there. A man named Bob and his boss, a man with a glass eye, watch him. After their performance, the two Las Vegas Girls, Linda and Leslie, are taken to the villa of a Mr. Donovan. But the man holding the girls captive and offering them a new contract is fatally struck by a knife. The two dancers say they saw a masked man with a glass eye commit the murder. To protect them, Perkins and Pepper take them into custody. At the Odeon Theatre, the ventriloquist Eric overhears a conversation between Bruce Sharringham and Yvonne Duval. He learns that Yvonne’s real name is Nora Wilson and that she spent some time in South America. But when Inspector Perkins arrives at the theatre, he finds Eric strangled in his dressing room. Scotland Yard’s officers have tracked down Mr. Nuthatcher, the owner of a curiosity shop. His stock includes not only glass eyes but also pool cues used to conceal heroin. However, when the officers search the pool club, they find nothing, as the boss and his accomplice Bob have already been warned. A short time later, Nuthatcher is also killed with a throwing knife. In his shop, Parker and Pepper find evidence of trafficking in women. The boss realizes that he has little time left to escape. With the help of Mr. Parker, the agent for the Las Vegas Girls, he plans to smuggle all the troupe’s dancers to Caracas aboard the ship “Olaf Ericsen” as quickly as possible. The investigation at Scotland Yard is in full swing. To track down the culprits, the two dancers Linda and Leslie are fitted with transmitters and handed over to Mr. Parker. Bruce saves Yvonne, also known as Nora, at the last moment by buying her from the criminals for £1,000. He introduces her to his mother, Lady Sharringham. Alone with her and using her false name, the dancer accuses Lady Sharringham of having been involved in Nora Wilson’s earlier abduction to a brothel. Enraged, the Lady orders the girl, whom she considers unworthy, to leave the house. Lady Sharringham tells her son that Yvonne gave up the prospect of marrying him in exchange for £3,000. Nora rushes to Mr. Parker to get her £1,000 back. He holds her there so he can send her, along with the other dancers, overseas on Lady Sharringham’s orders. But Nora, who is armed, manages to break free. At the pool club, Inspector Perkins and Sergeant Pepper discover a secret door, behind which they find a telegram with a reference to the “Olaf Ericsen.” On the ship, the boss now also falls victim to the masked knife-thrower. The mysterious killer reveals her identity to Lady Sharringham, who is also aboard. It is Nora Wilson, who was once abducted to South America and forced to work as a prostitute. After escaping, she settled in London again as Yvonne Duval, intending to take revenge on her kidnappers. Before Parker and Pepper arrive on the ship, Nora is killed by the unscrupulous Lady Sharringham. Bruce also now learns of his mother’s schemes, and she is immediately arrested. Scotland Yard chief Sir Arthur insists on personally freeing the captive girls.