On special order

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Movie
Original title On special order
In the special order Logo 001.svg
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1959
length 79 minutes
Rod
Director Heinz Thiel
script Heinz Thiel
production DEFA
music Helmut Nier
camera Horst E. Brandt
cut Wally cucumber
occupation

In the special order is a German spy film by Heinz Thiel from 1959 and the first feature film of the DEFA , where the National People's Army is centrally addressed.

action

Captain Fischer of the naval forces of the GDR heads a mine clearing command that crosses off Cape Arkona . Shortly before the end of the day, he was informed that a cutter had penetrated the territorial waters of the GDR. Since the police are in an unfavorable position to bring the ship up in time, Fischer is assigned to put the cutter in the waters of the GDR.

The captain of the cutter, on which there are only fish and coffee beans, is known to Fischer: it is Arendt, with whom Fischer was stationed in Denmark in 1943 with the coastal artillery of the Kriegsmarine . Fischer believed that Arendt died in World War II , but he now tells him that a certain Petersen saved him back then. Fischer later told a comrade about that time. Fischer was still an ensign and Arendt was first lieutenant . Fischer recalls that he was never sure of Arendt's views. In view of the transport of concentration camp prisoners , but also through leaflets from resistance fighters , Fischer's image of Nazi Germany changed . He begins to sympathize with the resistance fighters around the Dane Petersen, especially since one of the heads of the Danish fighters is Fischer's superior captainleutnant Wegner. Also the corporal Lutz is actively involved in the resistance.

However, the group will be betrayed before Wegner can convince Fischer to actively participate in resistance campaigns. Lutz and Wegner are shot, Arendt takes Wegner's position. When Fischer realizes that the soldiers are familiar with the nightly meeting place of the resistance fighters and that he is supposed to take part in a big arrest operation, he and Arendt take a shortcut to the resistance fighters around Petersen in order to warn them. Arendt, too, who was initially appalled by Fischer's behavior, is now committed to the resistance. The resistance fighters use secret routes to reach the sea, where a boat is already waiting for them. Fischer and Arendt also want to follow, but in the end only Fischer arrives at the boat and can flee with the resistance fighters. Fischer believes that Arendt was left injured.

Fischer ends his story from back then. He slowly realizes that Arendt was playing the wrong game back then. He couldn't have known Petersen by name. Fischer informs his supervisor and research actually shows that Arendt only appeared as a first lieutenant in Denmark as a camouflage. In reality he was Obersturmführer in the Gestapo and betrayed the resistance troops and his own men, such as Lutz and Wegner. Meanwhile, the truth is also discovered on the cutter. A diver appears on the ship occupied by Fischer's men, which took photographs of GDR institutions and now wanted to come back to his client Arendt on board. He is arrested and Arendt is now also imprisoned as a spy.

production

In 1958, the special order was filmed under the working title Der Kommandant . It was the first feature film directed by Heinz Thiel and the first feature film from the GDR to focus on the achievements of the NVA .

It premiered on January 3, 1959 in Guben and was shown in GDR cinemas on January 9, 1959. On September 18, 1960, the film ran for the first time on DFF 1 on television. In 1960, Hans Oliva published a film narration of Im Sonder mission.

criticism

Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler noted that due to the mere framework story “it is not yet the film about our national armed forces as we need and expect from DEFA”, but the film “makes a convincing statement about the democratic character of ours Army and their officers "do -" and the whole thing is good film craft. "

The lexicon of international film called the special order "staged with suspense and good acting, even though it is generally woodcut-like and committed to the Cold War canon."

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. 'Top Gun' in the GDR? . In: Bernhard Chiari, Matthias Rogg , Wolfgang Schmidt (Eds.): War and the military in the film of the 20th century . Oldenbourg, Munich 2003, p. 545.
  2. ^ Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler in: Filmspiegel , No. 3, 1959, p. 3.
  3. On special order. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 3, 2018 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used