Scene of the crime: The little rascal
| Episode of the series Tatort | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The little rascal |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Production company |
SFB |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| classification | Episode 177 ( List ) |
| First broadcast | January 26, 1986 on German television |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rolf von Sydow |
| script | Dieter Schubert |
| production | Horst Borasch |
| music | Jürgen Franke |
| camera | Rolf Liccini |
| cut | Barbara Herrmann |
| occupation | |
| |
Die kleine Kanaille is a result of the ARD crime series Tatort . The episode produced by the broadcaster Free Berlin (SFB) was first broadcast on January 26, 1986 on ARD. It is the second crime scene with Chief Detective Bülow, who has to solve the death of a wealthy woman and the role of her much younger husband and a neighbor girl.
action
16-year-old Birgit lives in a children's home in a Berlin villa district. One day, while reading dime novels in the attic, she watched the neighboring rich fur trader Marianne Lorenzen having fun in the garden with her much younger husband Theo. Shortly afterwards, Lorenzen drowns in the swimming pool. Theo blames the police for not being able to hold Lorenzen. The police doctor found heart failure as the cause of death, but somehow thought the case was strange. Bülow also becomes suspicious. Meanwhile, Birgit contacts Theo and makes hints that she knows that he had killed his wife. Although Theo evicted her from the property, Birgit stayed in the garden, where she was watched by Bülow.
Later, Bülow seeks out Theo, while he notices that Birgit has a view of the swimming pool from the attic of the children's home. Bülow explains to Theo that the police doctor found something strange. Bülow recreates the course of events according to Theo's information and tells him that alcohol was found in the blood of the dead. Bülow says goodbye without having a concrete suspicion against Theo. Theo contacts the manager of the home and asks if he could hire Birgit as a model for a fashion show. Birgit appears quite demanding and self-confident and indicates to Theo that she has him in hand. Therefore, it is “smart” of him to hire them. She boldly asks for several fur coats as gifts. Bülow's assistant Leuschner learns in a phone call with Commissioner Horst Schimanski that Theo was the widower of a rich, older wife and heir to her property three years ago. The woman had a fatal car accident at the time. Meanwhile, Theo and Birgit meet again, although Theo is visibly uncomfortable. Bülow follows them and watches them unnoticed in a café. Birgit, who dreams of a life in luxury, suggests that Theo adopt her.
Bülow goes to the children's home and speaks to the director. Bülow wants to meet Birgit. The home manager also mentions the fashion show to which Birgit was hired. Birgit flirts in front of Theo that Bülow wants to speak to her and even suggests that he marry her. Birgit secretly tears off a button from Theo's coat in the closet that he was wearing when his wife fell into the pool. Birgit meets with Bülow in an ice cream parlor. She praises his generosity and says she feels sorry for him because he is now a widower. She pretends not to have seen the incident, but to have been in bed. Birgit tells him that she and Theo have gone out. During the conversation, Bülow had placed his friend and colleague Sonja Bach at the next table to later hear her opinion about Birgit. Sonja explains that she does not consider Birgit a child, but rather a "sly little rascal".
Bülow goes to the fashion show that takes place on a Spree steamer. Birgit is cheeky and cheeky towards the other models and also towards Theo. She also tries to flirt with Bülow. Shortly afterwards, the director of the home forbids Birgit to continue to meet with Theo, which Birgit promises to do, but disregards it. When Theo wants to dump her at the next meeting, she blackmailed him with the button that she tore off his coat. Bülow also meets up with Birgit again, but this time too, Bülow can't get anything concrete out of her. Birgit shows Bülow a shabby backyard where she grew up until her parents died. She tells him that she wanted to become a whore to escape poverty. She also implies that there are men who rule and others who want to serve. Theo was a servant who had to serve his wife from front to back. Birgit bursts into tears in front of Bülow, now he knows that she must have seen how Theo killed his wife. He implores her to tell him everything, otherwise she would be in great danger. Birgit, however, denies having seen anything and defends Theo. Meanwhile, Theo manipulates the fence of his property on the shore of the lake by sawing the metal posts.
When Birgit returns to home, Theo invites her to his garden party. In the evenings she sneaks out of the children's home to go to Theo's party. Shortly afterwards, Bülow arrives at the home, and he and the director of the home discover that she has secretly left the home. Bülow then goes over to the party and asks Theo about Birgit. Birgit, who cannot swim, falls into the lake at the manipulated fence, as Theo planned, and threatens to drown because she is tangled in a net that Theo has also attached there. However, since Bülow hears her screams, he and Theo, who pretends to be unsuspecting, save her in time. Theo claims to have warned them. He put the net there as a bank reinforcement. Birgit survived the event without damage, despite the attack, she still does not reveal anything to Theo. Bülow makes it clear to her that the network was meant for her. Bülow is disappointed and says goodbye to Birgit. He is still convinced that Birgit will fall over, even if she has now let herself be bought by the prospect of a life of wealth at Theo's side.
Shortly afterwards, Bülow's assistant Öllerink reads the newspaper story about the romantic happiness of Theo Lorenzen and Birgit, his mannequin. The fur millionaire and the girl from the home want to get married, either now or at the latest when she is of legal age. Theo is anything but happy about his "love happiness". Birgit is still flirting with the fact that she has the button from his coat and him in her hand. In a flashback, Theo recalls how he had also been pressured by his wife because she apparently knew about his murder of his first wife. Because she tortured him so much with her leverage, he threw her into the water while dancing, knowing full well that she has a sick heart and would therefore probably die in the process. While Theo and Birgit begin their wedding preparations, Bülow swears that he will get Lorenzen after all.
Background and audience rating
When it was first broadcast, this episode reached 17.11 million viewers, corresponding to a market share of 44%. The episode was filmed in West Berlin between July 29 and September 6, 1985.
criticism
The critics of the television magazine TV-Spielfilm judged this crime scene negatively and comment: "Today some crime scenes are just wasteland".
Web links
- Crime scene: The little rascal in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The little rascal in the online film database
- Summary of the plot of Die kleine Kanaille on the ARD website
- The little rabble at Tatort-Fans.de
- The little rascal in the crime scene fund
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for the crime scene: Die kleine Kanaille . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , July 2010 (PDF; test number: 123 592 V).
- ↑ Tatort: Die kleine Kanaille data on the 177th Tatort at tatort-fundus.de
- ↑ Short review on tvspielfilm.de, accessed on November 25, 2014.
|
previous episode January 12, 1986 (only ORF): Strindberg's fruits |
Crime scene follow |
next episode February 23, 1986: One saw the murderer |
Death makes inventive (1985) | The Little Kanaille (1986) | Deadly Blinding (1986) | Guiltlessly Guilty (1988) | No tricks, Mr. Bülow (1989) | All Theater (1989)