Confess Dr. Corda!

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Movie
Original title Confess Dr. Corda!
Confess Dr Corda Logo 001.svg
Country of production Federal Republic of Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1958
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Josef von Báky
script RA Stemmle
production CCC film ( Artur Brauner )
music Georg Haentzschel
camera Göran Strindberg
cut Walter Wischniewsky
occupation

Confess Dr. Corda! is a German crime film that was shot in 1958 under the direction of Josef von Báky . The black and white film, the plot of which is based on a true story, was made by Artur Brauner's CCC film . In the title role as Dr. Fred Corda is occupied by Hardy Krüger , Corda's wife is played by Elisabeth Müller . Key roles are occupied by Hans Nielsen , Siegfried Lowitz , Fritz Tillmann , Rudolf Fernau , Lucie Mannheim and Eva Pflug .

The premiere of the film took place on May 22, 1958 in the Ufa-Palast in Hamburg .

action

The married assistant doctor Dr. Fred Corda has a relationship with the nurse Gabriele Montag. She actually wanted to attend a language course in the evening and then celebrate Mardi Gras with her colleagues . However, she agrees to meet Corda for a discussion. Since the doctor's closing time is unexpectedly delayed, Gabriele has to wait for a while at the agreed meeting point in the forest. There she becomes the victim of a brutal murderer who kills her with a fist and pulls her lifeless body to the bank of a stream. A little later, Corda finds the body. Although he leaves traces on the scene and a witness saw him near the dead, he does not report the murder to the police. Instead, he goes to his hospital room. He is also silent about his superior Professor Schliessmann, who is still having a confidential conversation with Corda that evening. Then the doctor drives home to his wife Beate and his little daughter Susi.

The next morning the news spreads in the hospital that Sister Gabriele has disappeared without a trace. At the same time, some nurses report that they have recently been molested by a man. The medical college notifies the police and starts looking for the missing person. After her body is discovered, Chief Inspector Dr. Pohlhammer and Inspector Guggitz with the investigation. Even before the first interview with Dr. Cordas comes, the officers know that he had a relationship with the victim and was at the scene before the police. During the interrogation, Corda is confronted with several incriminating evidence and witness statements. Although the doctor does not confess, it is clear to Pohlhammer and Guggitz: Dr. Corda is the murderer and the jack from his car is the tool.

While her husband in custody comes, Beate Corda takes a suicide attempt . The overwhelming evidence and the public angered by the press drain the resilience of everyone involved. Still, there are people who believe Corda and want to prove his innocence. These include his wife Beate, who soon forgave him for his relationship, and his father, who led the well-known lawyer Dr. Nagel hired as defense attorney and the former police major Juch as detective. Others, like Dr. Shimmer, turn away from Corda during the protracted detention.

After some time, detective Juch can arrest a man known as Frauenschreck, who ultimately turns out to be a harmless exhibitionist . Defense attorney Dr. Nagel is more successful in his research. Two experts entrusted with the case are able to determine that the autopsy report is incorrect and that Corda's jack cannot be the weapon of the crime. Nevertheless, it is not possible to obtain a release from prison. In desperation, both Dr. Corda and his wife Beate almost had a nervous breakdown . The crime is surprisingly cleared up. Another murder occurs under the same circumstances. The perpetrator is caught and immediately confesses. Dr. Corda is free and returns to his family.

History of origin

Background and script

The script by RA Stemmle on which the film is based was initially entitled Confess, Dr. Cord . It is based on actual events that occurred in 1955 in Steyr, Upper Austria . The employed in the local state hospital anesthesia physicians Günther Hoflehner at that time was innocently involved in a murder case. A 25-year-old nurse was abused and beaten to death. The doctor, who could be proven to have had a relationship with the nurse, came under serious suspicion of murder. In the course of the interrogations, he became involved in contradictions, so that he was taken into custody. It was only after 187 days in detention that the allegations were found to be false. The act could ultimately be assigned to the serial killer Alfred Engleder , who was arrested in 1957 . Instead of aligning the film plot with the spectacular series of murders, Stemmle concentrated on the no less exciting and dramatic miscarriage of justice .

Accordingly, the following quote can be read after the film leader :

"An innocent convict is the matter of all decent people."

- Briar

occupation

The film producer Artur Brauner relied on a promising and proven team for both the choice of actors and the technical staff . The direction was taken over by Josef von Báky , who said during the shooting: "It will be an accusatory, an aggressive film that should make you think."

Hardy Krüger and Elisabeth Müller took on the leading roles. When casting the supporting roles, they also relied on established and well-known actors, above all Lucie Mannheim , Hans Nielsen , Siegfried Lowitz , Fritz Tillmann and Rudolf Fernau .

production

The entrance of the town hall in Goslar. Some scenes of the carnival celebration were filmed here.

The outdoor shots were shot in Goslar and the surrounding area. The interior shots took place in the CCC-Film studios in Berlin-Haselhorst . The buildings were designed by the film architects Erich Kettelhut and Helmut Nentwig . Ursula Stutz was responsible for the costume advice. Ottokar Runze acted as assistant director . Production manager was Horst Wendlandt .

reception

publication

The FSK released the film on May 19, 1958, from 16 years of age. In the presence of the doctor Günther Hoflehner, on whose case the film is based, the premiere took place on May 22nd of the same year in the Ufa-Palast in Hamburg .

Confess Dr. Corda! was also marketed abroad and ran there under the following titles, among others:

It was first broadcast on television on April 6, 1963 in the GDR 1 program . On May 10, 1965, the film was shown on ZDF and received extremely positive reviews from the audience. In autumn 2014 it was released on DVD , published by Pidax (Alive AG) as part of their “Pidax Film-Klassiker” series.

criticism

The critic Falk Schwarz wrote: “One of the cinema owners called 'box office poison' because his films flopped was Hardy Krüger. First as the guy next door, honest, open, adventurous, positive. But already with ' Alibi ' , The Fox of Paris ' , he was looking for and found character roles that often also portrayed him negatively. He endured his (film) fate without power. The audience didn't approve of that. ”The actor Krüger couldn't really portray Corda's inner torments, it said. His outburst in the prison cell remains loud and unshaped. Baky does not stage an "inner change". It was praised how “technically high some of the German films of the fifties” were, for which this film is “a good example”. In conclusion, Schwarz stated: "The great Lucie Mannheim as the housekeeper, whose nerves are on edge and who no longer wants to stay in the Corda family, shapes this inner turmoil in a way that Hardy Krüger owes his role."

“In addition, the film is good, clean, exciting and made reliable in its human sense. Stemmle's book allowed it, the director Josef von Baky did it; he was supported by the excellent camera of Göran Strindberg, the sparse background music of Georg Haentzschel and a staff of excellent actors, none of whom remained below his value, some a good deal more. [...] All in all, this film belongs on the positive side of the otherwise meager German balance sheet. "

- Hamburger Abendblatt , May 1958

“The author of the film, RA Stemmle, fell into the widespread misconception that mere imitation of an extraordinary criminal case must also generate extraordinary tension. What he learned from the case of the Styrian doctor Dr. Hoflehner, who spent 190 days suspiciously in the remand prison for the murder of his beloved, is just a wingless, imaginative hybrid of a timid riot, burdensome problem and dull social criticism. The director Josef von Baky (' The Early Ripe ') tried to help the cumbersome conglomerate in association with the cameraman Göran Strindberg; but neither she nor Hardy Krüger or Elisabeth Müller was able to free it from the ballast of random facts. "

- Der Spiegel , June 1958

"A cinematically successful transmission of the well-known judicial affair, [...] not only remarkably gripping for crime film lovers."

- Paimann's film lists , August 1958

"The subject of miscarriage of justice against the background of an actual criminal case in a film that is ambivalent due to demagogic shortening and trivialization of internal guilt."

- Protestant film observer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 97 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 93 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: 2660 meters
  2. ^ Günther Hoflehner: Steyr anesthesia pioneer . In: Upper Austrian news . May 12, 2014 ( nachrichten.at [accessed on February 6, 2015]).
  3. ^ Alfred E. “The Beast of Sierning” at the Upper Austrian Gendarmerie Museum
  4. ↑ movie letter from Berlin. There is a lot of activity in the Spandau studios . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . May 17, 1958, p. 22 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 1.9 MB ]). Abendblatt.de ( Memento of the original dated February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abendblatt.de
  5. ↑ a b Confess, Dr. Corda! Hoflehner film premiered in the Ufa Palace. In: Hamburger Abendblatt . May 23, 1958, p. 11 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 1.9 MB ]). Abendblatt.de ( Memento of the original dated February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abendblatt.de
  6. ↑ TV on the weekend . Feature films. In: Hamburger Abendblatt . August 2, 1975, p. 11 ( abendblatt.de [PDF; 1.9 MB ]). Abendblatt.de ( Memento of the original dated February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abendblatt.de
  7. ↑ You confess, Dr. Corda! Fig.DVD case (in the picture: Hardy Krüger)
  8. ↑ Falk Schwarz: Do you confess, Dr. Corda! see review on the page filmportal.de, January 12, 2017. Accessed July 6, 2019.
  9. ^ Film: New in Germany . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1958, pp. 55 ( online ).
  10. ↑ You confess, Dr. Corda! In: Paimann's film lists . No. 2394 , August 26, 1958 ( Reizfeld.net ). Reizfeld.net ( Memento of the original from February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / nano.reizfeld.net
  11. ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 366/1958