Wilsberg: Angel of Death

Episode in the Wilsberg series
Original title	Death Angel
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Production ; company	Cologne Film on behalf of ZDF
length	89 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
classification	Episode 14 ( list )
First broadcast	May 14, 2005 on ZDF
Rod
Director	Buddy Giovinazzo
script	Jürgen Kehrer
production	Anton Moho
music	Fabian Römer
camera	Roman Novocien
cut	Katja Dringenberg
occupation
	Leonard Lansink : Georg Wilsberg; Heinrich Schafmeister : Manfred "Manni" Höch; Rita Russek : Commissioner Anna Springer; Roland Jankowsky : Overbeck; Ina Paule Klink : Alex Holtkamp; Jochen Kolenda : Head of Department Tumbrink; Caroline Peters : Susanne Diepenbrock; Helmut Zierl : Dr. Thalheim; Tamara Simunovic : Sonja Schäfer; Thorsten Merten : Rainer Wiedemann; Bettina Theißen : Mrs. Kentrup; Kristina Walter : Mrs. Reimers; Lilia Lehner : Doctor's assistant Corinna; Bela B : gallery owner Dirk Biereichel; Arno Kempf : journalist; Oliver Fobe : Policeman; Jan Nissen : Policeman; Stefan Preiss : forensic doctor; Josef Wolf : criminal investigation officer;

Angel of Death is the 14th episode in the Wilsberg television series . It was first broadcast on May 14, 2005 on ZDF . Directed by Buddy Giovinazzo , the screenplay was written by Jürgen Kehrer .

action

Liesel Diepenbrock, Jessica Wiedemann's aunt, has died, but Jessica does not appear at the funeral. Her sister, Susanne Diepenbrock, is concerned because she cannot reach her sister and turns to Wilsberg, because the police only want to file a missing person report after 48 hours. Wilsberg is supposed to find Jessica, who lives in the Mauritzviertel . Her sister fears something has happened to her.

Manni Höch has meanwhile been entrusted with the supervision of a residential construction project for senior citizens. In order to realize this project, which does not meet with broad support from all residents of the district, an older residential building has to be demolished. All residents have already moved out of this, with the exception of an elderly lady who was previously unavailable for Manni. In order to avoid negative press, Manni is urged by his work colleague Sonja Schäfer to put the remaining tenant, Rita Holdgreve, at ease and to persuade them to move out.

Meanwhile, Wilsberg visits Jessica's husband Rainer Wiedemann. He finds out that she has a relationship with the art gallery owner Dirk Biereichel, of whom her husband has learned. But Biereichel does not know her whereabouts either. Shortly afterwards, Jessica's body is found in the forest.

After the second visit to Ms. Holdgreve was unsuccessful, but Manni came across an overfilled mailbox, his colleague called the police. She fears that the old lady may have passed away. When the police arrive and have the apartment opened, their suspicion comes true. The press then rushes to the building department. Höch's superior, Tumbrink, asked him to put an end to the negative headlines and to publish a reply, because someone had to take responsibility for this scandal.

Wilsberg extends his investigation to Jessica's work environment. From her employer, Dr. Thalheim, who was Liesel Diepenbrock's family doctor at the same time, got hardly any useful information from Wilsberg. Jessica's work colleague, the doctor's assistant Corinna, chats with Wilsberg. It turns out that Jessica's sister Susanne, like her aunt Liesel, suffered from hereditary osteoporosis . Jessica provided Susanne with a medicine that had not yet been officially released. Her aunt Liesel was looked after by Ms. Knowledgerup, a resident of the Mauritz district, who went shopping and picked up Liesel's medication. Wilsberg notes that four women have died in the Mauritzviertel in the past six months, all of whom were cared for by Ms. Knowledge.

Thereupon Wilsberg insinuates that she made use of the deceased's estate, possibly even being responsible for her death. In order to set a trap for her, they agree with Mrs. Reimers, who used to work as an actress at the Stadttheater in Bielefeld, to set a trap for Mrs. Wissenrup. When Mrs. Reimers is visited by her supervisor, she asks her to donate a large amount of money, which she is keeping in the house, to the pastor in the event of her death. Furthermore, she asks Ms. Knowledge to pick up the medication from the doctor. Ms. Reimers receives her medication and after a while calls Ms. Wissensrup that she is not feeling well. She enters the apartment with a duplicate key and finds the presumably deceased senior citizen. Thereupon she searches the furniture for the cash and is caught in the act by Wilsberg and Alex. Commissioner Springer and Overbeck arrest Ms. Wissensrup.

Susanne Diepenbrock, who continues to use the as yet unapproved drug from Dr. Thalheim wants to maintain, puts this under pressure. She received a CD from her sister, which she can use to prove that her aunt Liesel participated in an unapproved test of the drug. She suspects that Dr. Thalheim made the drug available to other patients. Dr. Thalheim initially refuses any cooperation, but later invites Susanne to a joint restaurant visit. There he gives her knockout drops in the wine. At the last moment, Wilsberg can prevent Dr. Thalheim can drag Susanne into his car. Dr. Thalheim is arrested and confesses to Commissioner Springer, who has meanwhile arrived, the murder of Jessica. This had threatened to publish his illegal series of experiments on patients.

Tumbrink has his employee Höch rehabilitated by the press after the case is resolved so that Höch can keep his job.

background

The working title of the episode was Wilsberg eats Vietnamese and corresponds to the underlying novel by Jürgen Kehrer . Apart from the "Angel of Death" who appears in both the book and the film, the novel and the film have little in common. There is also no connection between the book title and the film. Shooting began on August 10, 2004 and ended on October 8, 2004. The film was recorded at various locations in Münster . In the opening credits you can see an aerial photo showing the cathedral with the State Museum on the left and the Überwasserkirche on the right. This is followed by a representation of the Prinzipalmarkt , which was taken from the tower of the Lambertikirche . From the Prinzipalmarkt, the camera guides the viewer across Domplatz to Frauenstrasse, where the Solder antiquarian bookshop is located, where the Wilsberg antiquarian bookshop is located in the television series. The recordings made by Dr. Thalheim show and the walks in front of the practice were filmed at Dechaneischanze and Kapitelstraße. Thus, the action not only takes place in the Mauritzviertel , but the film was also made on site. The police station was set up for the shooting in Bispinghof . A café was set up in front of the castle for the shooting, in which Wilsberg meets with the doctor's assistant Corinna.

Although Manfred Höch succeeded in the episode Angel of Death in averting his threatened transfer from the Münster building department, this is initially the last episode in which Heinrich Schafmeister played. It wasn't until seven years later that Schafmeister had another appearance in the episode The Bielefeld Conspiracy . Bela B. can be seen in Angel of Death in a cameo as gallery owner Dirk Biereichel, where his role bears his real first name. The screenwriter Jürgen Kehrer plays a forensics officer who collects evidence at the location where Jessica's body was found in the forest. Stefan Preiss was already seen in the previous episode, Guilt and Sin, as a forensic doctor. Arno Kempf appeared in the fourth episode of Wilsberg and the Murder Without a Corpse in 2001 , but played a different role there.

On June 23, 2005 the episode was released on DVD with FSK-12 approval along with the 13th episode Guilt and Sin of Polar Film. In addition to the two main films, the DVD contains a making-of and a portrait of the city of Münster as bonus material.

The running gag "Bielefeld" refers in this episode to the Bielefeld City Theater, where Ms. Reimers said she used to be an actress.

reception

Audience ratings

6.18 million viewers saw the episode Angel of Death when it was first broadcast on ZDF.

criticism

According to the judgment of the Frankfurter Rundschau , the episode is “worth seeing” . The editorial team of TV Spielfilm sums it up, “Manni's farewell” is “a turning point” . The departure of Schafmeister means "the end of an era" . For Prisma , Schafmeister's exit is "a bitter loss" for the series. She awards three out of five points for the episode. The lexicon of international films writes: "The (television) series thriller located in the tranquil Münster once again links an initially private case with issues of public interest."