The black windmill

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Movie
German title The black windmill
Original title The Black Windmill
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1974
length 106 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Don Siegel
script Leigh Vance
production Don Siegel
music Roy Budd
camera Ousama Rawi
cut Antony Gibbs
occupation
synchronization

The Black Windmill (original title: The Black Windmill ) is a literary film adaptation directed by Don Siegel based on the novel Seven Days to a Killing by Clive Egleton. The main roles are played by Michael Caine and Donald Pleasence .

action

MI6 agent Major John Tarrant is said to be infiltrating a group of arms smugglers supplying Northern Irish terrorists. At the same time, Tarrant's son David is kidnapped by the same criminals, which include Ceil Burrows and McKee. The kidnappers demand uncut diamonds worth £ 517,075 as a ransom.

This is exactly the amount Tarrant's manager, Cedric Harper, had previously spent on uncut diamonds. The only people who know about the diamond purchase are Tarrant, Harper, and a committee within the Secret Service, chaired by Sir Edward Julyan.

Ceil Burrows and McKee leak false information to Tarrant in his apartment, suggesting that Tarrant was involved in the kidnapping. The alleged evidence is also discovered by Tarrant's colleagues who are trying to install a bug in his phone. The government refuses to pay the ransom, so Tarrant, fearing for his son, sees only one way out, steals the diamonds and travels to Paris to meet the kidnappers.

Tarrant is overpowered and stunned by the kidnappers and the diamonds are removed. The French police finally find the unconscious Tarrant next to the body of Ceil Burrows. He is now under suspicion of murder, is arrested and is supposed to be extradited to England.

McKee helps Tarrant escape on the transport and then tries unsuccessfully to kill him. Tarrant manages to return to London and is finally able to find the whereabouts of the kidnapped child with the help of his son's mother.

David is held captive in a black windmill in Sussex. Knowing that a member of the secret service must be involved in the kidnapping, he sends various suspects a message aimed at luring the traitor to Sussex. Sir Edward turns out to be the traitor and falls into the trap. Tarrant storms the windmill, frees his son, and kills McKee.

Reviews

“Exciting and technically precise spy film. The psychological differentiation is less successful; the confusing double agent game makes the story difficult to understand. "

- Lexicon of International Films

“The film is professionally staged in an admirable way and very entertaining. But the plot dissolves into a mess that serves as a vehicle for chases and escape scenes. This fact means that, despite all efforts, there are no moments of surprise. "

- Nora Sayre of the New York Times

“ The black windmill is committing the one crime that a thriller cannot be forgiven. The film is not exciting. He's terribly passive and static too, and Siegel's direction nearly brings Caine to a standstill. The problem is partly with the script, which provides a jumble of motifs but then only superficially explains processes, and partly with the choice of Caine in the lead role. "

- Roger Ebert

Remarks

  • Filming began in August 1973 and lasted eleven weeks. The black windmill was shot mostly in Greater London and West Sussex in England and Paris in France .
  • The day of the first performance in the FRG was September 6, 1974.
  • In one scene, the clean-shaven young John Rhys-Davies can be seen in a small role.

synchronization

The German dubbed version was made in 1974 by Berliner Synchron GmbH. Fritz A. Koeniger wrote the dialogue book, while Dietmar Behnke was responsible for the dubbing .

actor role German speaker
Michael Caine Major John Tarrant Joachim Ansorge
Donald Pleasence Cedric Harper Friedrich W. Building School
Delphine Seyrig Ceil Burrows Inken summer
Clive Revill Alf Chestermann Rolf Schult
John Vernon McKee Christian Rode
Joss Ackland Chief Superintendent Wray Heinz Giese
Janet Suzman Alex Tarrant Barbara Ratthey
Catherine Schell Lady Melissa Julyan Almut Eggert
Joseph O'Conor Sir Edward Julyan Ernst Wilhelm Borchert
Mark Praid James Stroud Benjamin Völz

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Catholic Institute for Media Information (KIM) and Catholic Film Commission for Germany (ed.): Lexikon des Internationale Films. The complete range in cinema, television and on video. Volume S, Rowohlt, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-499-16357-8 , pp. 4954f.
  2. ↑ http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D05E6DF1138EF3ABC4052DFB366838F669EDE (last accessed October 30, 2010)
  3. ↑ https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-black-windmill-1975 (last accessed October 30, 2010)
  4. ↑ Bishop 2003, p. 38
  5. ↑ locations (last accessed October 30, 2010)
  6. ^ Lexicon of International Films. Volume GH, Hamburg 1995, p. 4955