The crook and the good Lord

Movie
Original title	The crook and the good Lord
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	1960
length	95 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Axel von Ambesser
script	Curth Flatow , Stefan Gommermann
production	Ernst Steinlechner
music	Norbert Schultze
camera	Oskar Schnirch
cut	Herbert Taschner
occupation
Gert Fröbe : Paul Wittkowski Karlheinz Böhm : Pastor Steiner Rudolf Vogel : Anton Baumberger Ellen Schwiers : Maria Holzmann, widow of a locksmith Lucie English : Mrs. Nestle, rectory housekeeper Manfred Art : Peter Holzmann Barbara Gallauner : Miss Mauer Hans Jürgen Diedrich : Sergeant Franke Toni Treutler : Thérèse Baumberger Rose-Marie Kirstein : Helga Baumberger Gerd Seid : Richard Schumann Hans Zander : Policeman Walter Jacob : President of the court Erland Erlandsen : detective inspector Hans Clarin : Karl Schmiedel Renate Grosser : Schmiedel's girlfriend Rosl Mayr : Woman in the courtroom Stefan Neuner : boy in the church Helmut Fischer shaving man in train compartment Wilmut Borell : Man in the train compartment Annemarie Wernicke : Woman in the train compartment Herta Saal : Mother in the train compartment Angelika Bender : First child in the train compartment Constanze Engelbrecht : Second child in the train compartment Alexander Engelbrecht : Third child in the train compartment Uli Steigberg : First police officer on the train Franz Fröhlich : Second policeman on the train

The crook and the good Lord is a crime comedy from 1960 . The world premiere took place on December 23, 1960 in a mass start.

action

The crook and safe cracker Paul Wittkowski is on trial for the fourth time for breaking into the Munich Palace of Justice, this time innocent. Nevertheless, he is sentenced to eight years in prison with subsequent preventive detention. When he is about to be taken out of the courtroom, Wittkowski manages to tear himself away and flee to a church. There he asks God for help and as a result of a misunderstanding he receives a little cash and a cassock , with which he tries to break away as pastor “Wittleben”.

When the police searched the train in which he was traveling, Wittkowski jumped off and came to the village of Seebrücken, where he found shelter in the rectory. The young pastor Steiner is engaged in a guerrilla war with the local Christmas tree decoration manufacturer Baumberger, the richest man in the village, because he tries to seduce or blackmail the young locksmith widow Frau Holzmann, who is deeply indebted to him, to an affair . Wittkowski, who takes a liking to Frau Holzmann and her little son Peter and who, thanks to his training as a locksmith, is also of great help in the workshop, decides to use his skills for their good and first steals the promissory note from Baumberger's safe without the money in it to let go. This is perceived as a miracle by the religious villagers and Steiner's services, which Baumberger had previously held empty, are quickly gaining popularity again.

Meanwhile, Steiner is slowly discovering that “Pastor Wittleben” is actually the fugitive Wittkowski, but instead of immediately betraying him to the police, he secretly exchanges his burglary tools for prayer books and gives Wittkowski the chance to face himself. Wittkowski is willing to accept the offer, but in between he has one last trick to play on Baumberger, as he does not give up on Frau Holzmann: He puts him in a situation from which he cannot talk himself out without exposing his real intentions, and settles the matter finally.

Due to a subsequent misunderstanding, however, it happens that Wittkowski leaves Steiner in a hurry and returns to town to his friend and accomplice Schmiedel and his girlfriend. He agrees to do something with them again; but as it turns out, it was the two of all people who attached Wittkowski with the last break-in. The two then try to use Wittkowski again as a scapegoat , and Wittkowski is promptly caught at the scene. But with the prayer books in his tool case, the case takes a complete turn, this time for the better. With the help of Pastor Steiner, Wittkowski leaves prison as a free man and, together with him, removes the last remnants of his life as a crook before he begins a new, honest life in Seebrücken.

History of origin

The film was directed by the production company Co. KG DIVINA-FILM GmbH & manufactured. The company belonged to Ilse Kubaschewski , who was also the owner of the first distributor Gloria-Film GmbH & Co. Filmverleih KG . The outdoor shots were made in Munich and in the small town of Kreuzberg near Freyung , the studio shots in the Divina-Studio Baldham .

Reviews

The lexicon of international films described Der Gauner und der liebe Gott as a largely successful film staged in the popular swaying style. "Worth seeing: Gert Fröbe in his famously mastered crook role." The Protestant film observer also particularly emphasizes the acting performance of Fröbe: "Above all, Gert Fröbe's magnificent performance makes this cheerful, sometimes somewhat superficial film a delightful pleasure."

Awards

On December 8, 1960, the film was given the rating of particularly valuable by the German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) . In 1961 Gert Fröbe was awarded the Ernst Lubitsch Prize for the best comedic performance in German film and at the San Sebastián International Film Festival as Best Actor for his performance in this film .

Web links

• The Rogue and God in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• The crook and the good Lord at filmportal.de
• The crook and God at Alive AG

swell

1. ↑ The crook and the good Lord. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 23, 2017 .  
2. ↑ criticism no. 36/1961
3. ↑ Awards for The Crook and the Dear God. In: Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 29, 2010 .