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Der Alte - Sein Erster Fall
episode 101
West Germany / Austria / Switzerland 1986
produced by Helmut Ringelmann, Horst-Joachim Gehrmann for Neue Münchner Fernsehproduktion/ZDF, ORF, SRG
directed by Günter Gräwert
starring Rolf Schimpf, Michael Ande, Charles M. Huber, Jan Hendriks, Jan Meyer, Evelyn Opela, Klaus Löwitsch, Peter Fricke, Amadeus August, Udo Thomer, Toni Berger, Franz Boehm, Mathias Eysen, Silvia Janisch, Carolina Brandes, Barbara Morawiecz, Gernot Duda, Wilmut Borell, Hans Stadlbauer, Hermann Giefer, Ulf Söhmisch
written by Tobias Bertram (= Leopold Ahlsen, Günter Gräwert, Volker Vogeler), music by Eberhard Schoener
TV-series Der Alte/The Old Fox, Der Alte (Rolf Schimpf)
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Ingo Marquart (Klaus Löwitsch) has been released from prison,
something inspector Köster requested to be informed about - but Köster
has died last episode and
his replacement Kress (Rolf Schimpf) hasn't arrived yet. And
Köster/Kress's assistant Heydmann (Michael Ande) just doesn't know how to
deal with the situation. The problem here, Marquart believes he's been set
up for jailtime by three "friends", Kramer (Peter Fricke),
Pfeiffer (Amadeus August) and Sass (Udo Thomer), and learning Marquart has
been released, these three start to panic, especially Kramer, who has
become Marquart's wife Helga's (Evelyn Opela) lover over the years. Then
Sass is shot dead - but it couldn't have been Marquart, as he was actually
at the police station talking to the finally arrived inspector Kress,
asking for his case to be re-evaluated - so perfect alibi. Kramer and
Pfeiffer flee to the country, but it isn't long before Pfeiffer's shot
dead - and again Marquart has a perfect alibi, as Kress calls him at his
homes miles away from the scene of the crime right after the murder has
been reported. What strikes Kress odd is that Marquart is a bit too quick
in identifying the murder weapon as Kramer's, almost as if he has set up
Kramer ... and of course, ultimately exactly this turns out to be the
case. Concerning premise, this one resembles an old episode of Der
Kommissar, In
letzter Minute (also by producer Helmut Ringelmann), almost to the
t, and some of the dialogue here is actually stilted enough to be worthy
of Kommissar-scribe
Herbert Reinecker. Of course, eventually this episode veers off and
presents us with a whole different culprit - but the story isn't made any
better by that, just more convoluted. And while the idea to introduce the
new lead of the series, Rolf Schimpf, through the back door, sure is
inspired, it fails to impress, also because Schimpf lacks Siegfried
Lowitz's charisma. And to not give another new series regular, Charles M.
Huber - an actor of colour, something big in 1980s Germany -, a decent
entry at all doesn't exactly prove inspired writing, also taking into
account of course that Huber played another role in the Der Alte-episode
Der Leibwächter only
the year before. So in all, rather tired German crime TV, about as
inspired as the episode's very generic title (which translates "his
first case").
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