Swifter than Death

The first appearance of Heinrich Schroth as Joe Deebs, a popular detective character in German silent cinema patterned after Sherlock Holmes.

Harry Peltzer, who is passionate about his job as a firefighter, and his superior, fire chief Paul Körner, are the best of friends. This changes the day they both meet Nelly, a young, blonde cashier at a vending machine buffet, on whom both men immediately set their eyes. As Harry has a much better chance with Nelly, Paul's friendship with him soon turns into bitter antagonism, if not outright enmity.

A taxi driver, (Piel), finds an odd contraption on the back seat that renders him invisible, but his friend steals the device to rob a bank. An inventive comedy.

A police deputy in Paris have a lead on an international gang into trafficking. The police dresses as a steward to tail the head of the gang to Marseille. On the ship he meets with Madeleine. A girl controlled by the traffickers.

German big game hunter brings elephants back from Africa safely through enemy lines, but they go on a stampede in Berlin. Filming began during WWII in Germany, but production was stopped because story showed Third Reich police and military having problems coping with an elephant stampede; after the War, it got completed by its originator, and exported to the US with English dubbed, while removing all references to its 1940s German origins!

The smart detective Brown had once convicted the criminal Ellen Sandow and brought her to prison. Now he visits her in the infirmary there. When Ellen has served her sentence and left prison, she is first taken to the luxury hotel "Esplanade" with Brown's help, where she is taken in by a wealthy relative of Brown. Ellen threatens to get into the old waters when she meets a former gangster friend in the luxury accommodation. This John Verdon intends to steal a valuable plan from a mining company and is hoping for Ellen's help. But she has learned from her past mistakes and informs Brown of Verdon's sinister plans. After further turbulent events, Brown succeeds in putting the villain down.

A black envelope presents the hero, detective Harry Peel, who loses his fortune over the course of the story, with tasks. A mysterious criminal, car and motorcycle chases through the wintry Alps, and the blowing up of a bridge provide cinematic spectacle and opportunities for daredevil stunts.