Crime scene: The game of death

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Episode of the series Tatort
Original title The game of the dead
Country of production Germany
original language German
Production
company		 MR
length 88 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
classification Episode 362 ( List )
First broadcast June 1, 1997 on ARD
Rod
Director Sylvia Hoffman
script Sylvia Hoffman
music Martin Haas
Robert Sattler
camera Armin Alker
cut Beate Gottschall
occupation

Das Totenspiel is a television film from the crime series Tatort produced by Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) and broadcast for the first time on June 1, 1997 in the program Das Erste . It is the 362nd episode of the crime scene and the 17th case of the chief detective Edgar Brinkmann, embodied by Karl-Heinz von Hassel . This time Brinkmann and his team are dealing with the murder of a Frankfurt bank manager.

action

Two men push a limousine with Frankfurt license plates down a slope near Karlsbad and make it explode in order to simulate an accident. The Czech officials found the body of the bank manager Dr. Norbert Zeuthen, Commissioner Beda Foltyn informs his Frankfurt colleague Brinkmann that the dead man was shot before the alleged accident. Brinkmann pricks up his ears because his bank has come into the sights of investigations because of suspected money laundering and is investigating in this direction. Zeuthen's widow Carola does not believe in an accident and tells her friend Iris, the wife of Zeuthen's board colleague Arndt Lorenz, that her husband could hardly have been alone because he visited a lover in Karlovy Vary, but her husband's death did not happen the bank, since that way she could put the blame on the dead alone. Meanwhile, Arndt Lorenz receives a call from a Mr. Unger from Karlsbad, who explains to him that he had not received the agreed amount from the bank. Lorenz asks his chairman, Dr. Frenkler, who explains to him that Unger's services to his bank were ultimately worth less money than agreed, after all, everything was Zeuthen and Lorenz's fault. Brinkmann and Wegener, who found out about the money laundering scandal, visit Lorenz shortly afterwards, who reports that Dr. Zeuthen laundered illicit money from private customers through the bank's accounts, he didn't know anything himself and countersigned everything in confidence. That Dr. Zeuthen was murdered, he doesn't want to have known. The officers visit Carola Zeuthen, she is cool and has no alibi to show for the time of the crime, she points out that the death of her husband would only have financial disadvantages for her.

In the meantime, Foltyn is able to find out in Karlsbad that Zeuthen had a relationship with the former hotel employee Anna Ladicek, who is now in a relationship with a Swiss bank manager. In the meantime, Unger calls Lorenz and lets him know that he is now in Frankfurt and wants his money, after all, he has done everything as agreed. After a dispute about Lorenz's marital infidelity, his wife leaves the house, shortly afterwards Lorenz is visited by Unger, who continues to demand his money, Lorenz reproaches Unger for the gunshots that it should have looked like an accident. When Lorenz picks up his gun, a scuffle breaks out between the men, a shot goes off and kills Lorenz, Unger then flees. Iris, who is still on the property, hears the shot and finds her husband, Unger sees her running away and is sure to have recognized Zeuthen, Brinkmann has the confused-looking woman admitted to a clinic. Brinkmann and Wegener go to Carola Zeuthen and confront her with the statement that her husband was seen alive, this cannot be explained by Iris' statement, she tells the officials that Iris Zeuthen was close and that she had accused her own husband of Zeuthen's death. Iris tries to leave the clinic and is temporarily arrested, she testifies that she took the gun out of the desk drawer before the crime because she was afraid. She repeats that she has seen Zeuthen, Brinkmann sends her home. Meanwhile, Foltyn seeks out Anna Ladicek, who is now living with Unger. Unger has just returned and explains to the officers that he was in Switzerland. Anna pretends to be surprised at Zeuthen's murder, Unger explains that she did not know Zeuthen, and both have an alibi for the time of the crime. Iris seeks Carola and asks her if Zeuthen is still alive. Carola thinks she is crazy and asks her to stand by what she did, including her lawyer Dr. Kruger does not believe her and is convinced of Iris' culprit.

While Iris can shake off the officers who are shadowing her and drive to Karlsbad, where she wants to look for Zeuthen, Brinkmann learns that there were other fingerprints on the murder weapon in the Lorenz case, they check the fingerprints and discover that they are actually with which Zeuthen's are identical. The officials learned from Krüger that Iris wanted to go to Karlsbad, she checked into the Grand Hotel in which Zeuthen had also lived and asked about Zeuthen and his lover Anna. The hotel porter reports the arrival of the woman from Germany and her inquiries to Foltyn, meanwhile Iris sees Unger in the city, he can shake her off, but gets nervous and explains to his Czech accomplices, who murdered Zeuthen, that Iris must also have an "accident" . Iris, who found out Anna's new address, gets into a taxi to go there. Unger's accomplice is at the wheel, but Iris unconsciously escapes her killer by accident. Brinkmann has meanwhile arrived in Karlsbad and can reconstruct Iris' research with the help of his colleague Foltyn. Iris arrives at Unger's house and takes a photo, shortly afterwards she is surprised by Unger and his Czech accomplice, Iris addresses him as Norbert Zeuthen, he tells her that he had fabricated the accident and assumed his new identity in order to to evade criminal prosecution in Germany. Her husband did not stick to the agreement and therefore had to die. He stuns Iris, who can be freed at the last moment by Brinkmann and his Czech colleagues, Norbert Zeuthen and his accomplice are arrested.

Audience and background

The first broadcast of Das Totenspiel on June 1, 1997, Das Erste had a market share of 26.05 percent and was seen by 8.40 million viewers in Germany. The episode was shot in Frankfurt, Karlsbad and the surrounding area.

criticism

TV Spielfilm rated the film as mediocre and judged: "Brinkmann is not a good bank".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Audience ratings at tatort-fundus.de. Retrieved March 20, 2016
  2. ↑ "Short review of Das Totenspiel in TV feature film"
previous episode
May 25, 1997: Murder business 		Crime scene follow next episode
June 8, 1997: Murder behind the dike