Only dead witnesses are silent
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Only dead witnesses are silent |
| Original title | Only dead witnesses are silent / Hipnosis / Ipnosi |
| Country of production |
Germany Spain Italy |
| original language |
German Spanish |
| Publishing year | 1962 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Eugenio Martín |
| script |
Gerhard Schmidt Francis Niewel Gabriel Moreno Burgos Giuseppe Mangione |
| production | Alfons Carcasona |
| music |
Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Francesco de Masi Roman Vlad |
| camera | Francisco Sempere |
| cut |
Antonio Gimeno Edith von Seydewitz |
| occupation | |
| |
Silence only dead witnesses is a German-Spanish-Italian crime film from 1962 with Götz George , Heinz Drache and Jean Sorel in the leading roles.
action
Chris Kronberger is a young, dynamic boxer with a side job as a flower deliverer. Every evening he hands Magda, the lover and stage partner Georg von Cramers, a well-known magician and ventriloquist, a bouquet of roses. When Cramer is busy with his appearance in the vaudeville, Chris finds his cloakroom empty. He sees a wad of money and is about to steal it when he is surprised by the returning Cramer. For Chris, who is now panicking, it is easy to put down the ventriloquist. Then Chris flees. Cramer's assistant Erik Stein seizes the moment when he sees his boss lying unconscious on the ground and brings his long-cherished murder intent to an end. He beats Cramer with a stick until he is dead. Then he falsely calls for help, saying that he has found his boss dead. Only one was “witness” of this terrible act - Cramer's most important prop during the performance: his large doll “Grog”.
Stein's motifs are the oldest in the world: jealousy, resentment and envy, because Stein is keen on Magda, whom he secretly adores. It is also he who sends her roses evening after evening. With the murder of Cramer, “Grog” also disappears. Inspector Kaufmann takes on the case and soon believes Chris Kronberger is suspect number 1. His sister Karin firmly believes in Chris' innocence, defends him wherever she can and has quite a few arguments with the inspector. Some of those involved, be they suspects or witnesses, seem to be playing an opaque game. Why, for example, does Magda not tell Inspector Kaufmann everything she knows? In any case, she withholds evidence. And the variety choreographer Katharina also seems to be keeping something secret. She surrenders to dark prophecies and claims that "dark forces" are behind the murder. Meanwhile, the murderer Stein remains calm and cool, maintaining control and self-control at all times. But then another murder sets things in motion. Kaufmann himself now runs the risk of falling from a lofty height while pursuing the submerged Chris; a danger from which his prime suspect of all people rescues him.
But what happened to the “Grog” doll? Evidence is growing that she has a life of her own and has become the “perpetrator” herself. Chris has meanwhile gone into hiding again and tries on his own and with the help of Karin to clarify the course of events and to catch the murderer. In the end, it is the “witness” “Grog”, of all people, who sheds light on the darkness, and Magda, who lures Erik into a trap with her skilful double play and helps the police to convict him as a murderer. From the beginning she wanted nothing more than to avenge the brutal and senseless death of her friend Georg von Cramer, because she had truly loved him.
Production notes
Just dead show in silence was probably shot in Spain in 1962 and premiered on December 19, 1962 in co-producing Italy. The German premiere took place on January 31, 1963, the Spanish on May 20 of the same year. The film was first broadcast on German television on August 17, 1968.
In Italy the film is listed as Ipnosi under Italian production management. The role names vary slightly.
Reviews
“In his cloakroom a famous artist is killed by his assistant out of jealousy. He cleverly directs suspicion to someone else. But the witness of the act finally plays him into the hands of his judges. That witness is - whimsical and scary - a doll! The German-Spanish film is full of surprises, is perfect crime thriller entertainment and with Götz George, Jean Sorel, Heinz Drache, Mara Cruz and Eleonora Rossi-Drago. In a particularly interesting study: Margot Trooger. "
In the lexicon of international films it says: "Confused and rude crime story."
On cinema.online it was said briefly: "Tolerably entertaining quick shot."
Web links
- Only dead witnesses are silent in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Only dead witnesses are silent on filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Entry of the film in the Archivio del Cinema Italiano
- ↑ Only dead witnesses are silent. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 3, 2015 .
- ↑ Only dead witnesses are silent on cinema.de