Der schwarze Panther von Ratana (1963)

Two Thai gangsters led by the American Larry Finch steal a valuable gemstone from the head of a Buddha statue in a temple, in full view of the monks present. A firefight breaks out: the Thai thieves are caught by the monks, while the foreigner escapes with the help of his accomplice, also a Westerner, who is waiting in a vehicle. Thus begins the story of a mysterious black big cat that is terrorizing the village of Ratana on the edge of the jungle. In Bangkok, the German chief engineer Paddberg is told by his client, the Anglo-Thai Company, that it intends to acquire a tin mine and that Paddberg must first prepare an assessment. Meanwhile, mine owner Tschang is having trouble with his constantly drunk explosives expert: it is none other than diamond thief Finch, who works there alongside his pal Jack Roller. Tschang eventually falls victim to the panther, and Roller is the one who benefits. When engineer Paddberg arrives at the site, he is quickly drawn into the strange events surrounding the supposedly man-eating black panther. There have already been several victims: after Mr. Tschang, the last owner of Ratana’s tin mine, Father Antonio, the Malay Monk, the Chinese man Liu Ling, and Liu Ling’s wife also die. But are these really accidents, or is a murderer hiding behind the guise of a big cat? Paddberg wants to get to the bottom of the strange events and receives help from Dr. Keller, a doctor who soon also finds herself in the sights of a sinister killer. It soon becomes clear that the black panther’s murderous activities in Ratana are closely connected to the criminals and temple robbers shown at the beginning. Jack Roller is behind these staged “accidents”; little by little, he has taken over the entire mine. Paddberg soon realizes that this ruthless man must be the key to solving the baffling case. More attacks, brawls, and shoot-outs follow before Paddberg, with the help of a policewoman named Yvonne who is posing as a dancer, finally takes out the villain with a powerful jet of water.