The Pawnbroker (1971)

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Movie
Original title The pawnbroker
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1971
length 76 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Ludwig Cremer
script Ludwig Cremer
production Jürgen Richter
music Bernhard Eichhorn
camera Manfred Ensinger
cut Margot von Schlieffen
occupation

The pawnbroker is a German television film drama from 1971 by Ludwig Cremer with Heinz Rühmann in the leading role of the bitter title hero. At his side, Sabine Sinjen took on the female lead. The drama is based on the original "Angel in the Pawnshop" by AB Shiffrin and Patrick Hamilton.

action

Pawnbroker Hilary has become hard and bitter in his long and hard life, and many of his customers in his pawn shop feel that he has been treated unfairly by him. His decisions sometimes seem quite idiosyncratic, although he is by no means unfamiliar with the worries and needs of those people who expect a good price for their objects from Hilary. One of these people is the young cop Timothy Spangle, whose greatest hope is to finally be entrusted with a major case. But there is also an alcoholic who regularly tries to finance his drinking in the pawn shop, a musician who wants to move his instrument or a hungry and unsuccessful writer who offers his typewriter for a hot meal.

One day little Lizzy Shaw enters the shop, whose needs are completely different. She has nothing to sell, just on the run from her violent former lover, Danny O'Keefe. The somewhat dreamy and battered Lizzy opens up a new perspective on life for the grumpy old man and makes it clear to him that life can mean not only misery and deprivation, but also joy and confidence. Eventually one day, O'Keefe walks into Hilary's pawn shop and becomes a single challenge for the old man. Hilary is now challenged to grow beyond herself. And thanks to Lizzie's influence, he begins to find his moral courage again and opposes Danny.

Production notes

The pawnbroker was created in the spring of 1971 in the studio in Munich and was broadcast for the first time on Sunday, November 14, 1971 at 8:15 p.m. on ZDF. The film was released on DVD in 2016.

Otto Stich designed the set, Ilse Dubois the costumes.

useful information

The ZDF granted its star all sorts of rights to have a say; so Rühmann u. a. Participate in all casting questions and also in the final editing.

As early as 1959, a television version of the play was broadcast under the title Leihauslegende . The main actors were Martin Berliner and Brigitte Grothum .

The German TV film drama Der Pfandleiher dealt with here must not be confused with the US theater play The Pawnbroker by Edward Lewis Wallant , the 1964 film version of which was released in Germany in 1967 as Der Pfandleiher .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Torsten Körner: A good friend. Heinz Rühmann biography

Web links