The devil's wages

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Movie
German title The devil's wages
Original title Man in the Shadow
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1957
length 77 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Jack Arnold
script Gene L. Coon
production Albert Zugsmith
music Hans J. Salter ,
Herman Stein
camera Arthur E. Arling
cut Edward Curtiss
occupation
synchronization

The Devil's Wages ( English : Man in the Shadow ) is an American western directed by Jack Arnold from 1957 with Orson Welles and Jeff Chandler in the lead roles. The film opened in German cinemas on September 20, 1958.

action

The Mexican seasonal worker Jesus Cisneros tells Sheriff Ben Sadler that he claims to have seen the young worker Juan Martin being killed by the ranch foreman, Ed Yates and the cowboy Chet Huneker. Ben, who has doubts about the truth of the story, then visits the rancher Virgil Rencher to investigate the situation. After Juan Rencher's daughter Skippy was ensnared, Rencher ordered his men to teach the Mexican a lesson. Now Rencher tries to cover his people. The cattle baron forbids the sheriff to make further inquiries. He would maintain law and order on his ranch himself. He underlines this when he calls the mayor. Ben leaves the farm, now knowing that Cisnero's story must be true. Finally, Skippy Ben reports that he heard a scream that night.

The next day, Huneker testifies that he accidentally ran over the completely drunk Juan the night he ran into the truck. The mayor tries to convince Ben to stop the investigation because of the alleged accident. As the most powerful man in town, the cattle baron would be above all doubt. Ben still gets a search warrant and examines the tool shed where the murder is said to have taken place. There he actually discovered a suspicious blood stain, which he cut out of the wood as evidence. In the meantime, Yates has tampered with the wheel nuts on Ben's car. On the way back, Ben had an accident that he survived with minor injuries.

Cisnero, who was hiding with his friend Aiken, is shot dead in broad daylight. Ben's wife, Helen, receives threatening phone calls and a window is broken in Ben's house. Even Helen questions her husband's doggedness.

Due to an anonymous phone call in which Ben is promised to learn the truth about the Mexican's death, he drives to the agreed meeting point. In the abandoned house, Ben is taken by surprise by Hunecker and Yates. The two tie him up and drag Ben through the city behind their truck. They shoot wildly around to get the attention of the citizens. Finally they leave the badly injured Ben lying on the town hall square. The horrified citizens call the doctor.

When Ben has been treated, he grabs a gun and throws his sheriff's badge at the mayor's feet. Aiken, Cisnero's friend, offers to help. The two drive to the farm in his car. There, Ben is attacked by a guard dog, when Aiken tries to come to his aid, he is seriously injured by Yates with the knife. Renchler orders his men to get rid of Ben. Before the men can obey the order, the armed citizens come to the farm. A scuffle ensues in which Renchler and his men are arrested. The mayor gives Ben his star back.

reception

The film service described the film as " cryptic and a bit cumbersome ", but praised the excellent cast.
Cinema called the film a " B-Western with brilliant actors ".

synchronization

The German dubbed version was created at Berliner Synchron GmbH under the dubbing direction by Klaus von Wahl based on the dialogue book by Fritz A. Koeniger .

role actor Voice actor
Virgil Renchler Orson Welles Fritz Tillmann
From Begley Ben Alexander Kurt Waitzmann
Aiken Clay Royal Dano Herbert Stass
barkeeper Lee Morgan Erich Poremski
Chet Huneker Leo Gordon Heinz Giese
Ed Yates John Larch Benno Hoffmann
Hank James James Gleason Carl Heinz Carell
Hastings Russell Collins Hans Hessling
Helen Sadler Barbara Lawrence Sigrid Lagemann
Herb Parker Paul Fix Robert Klupp
Jake Kelley Forrest Lewis Erich Poremski
Jesus Cisneros Martin Garralaga Alfred Balthoff
Jim Shaney William Schallert Gerd Martienzen
Sheriff Ben Sadler Jeff Chandler Curt Ackermann
Skippy Renchler Colleen Miller Maria Koerber
Tom Roberts John F. Hamilton Walter Bluhm
Tony Santoro Mario Siletti Stanislav Ledinek
Wolf Landers John Cliff Manfred Meurer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Certificate of Release for The Devil's Wages . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , February 2008 (PDF; test number: 14 759 DVD).
  2. ↑ Film review on filmdienst.de, accessed October 17, 2019
  3. ↑ Des Teufels Lohn on cinema.de, accessed October 17, 2019
  4. ↑ The devil's reward. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on October 17, 2019 .