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Der Alte - Lohngeld
episode 8
West Germany / Austria / Switzerland 1977
produced by Helmut Ringelmann, Hans Peter Renfranz for Neue Münchner Fernsehproduktion/ZDF, ORF, SRG
directed by Dietrich Haugk
starring Siegfried Lowitz, Michael Ande, Jan Hendriks, Henning Schlüter, Sigmar Solbach, Brigitta Furgler, Karl Lieffen, Klaus Dierig, Frithjof Vierock, Xenia Pörtner, Elia Zimmermann, Horst Sachtleben, Michael Gahr, Willy Friedrichs, Panos Papadopulos, Walter Riss
written by Herbert Lichtenfeld, created by Helmut Ringelmann, music by Hermann Thieme, title theme by Peter Thomas
TV-series Der Alte/The Old Fox, Der Alte (Siegfried Lowitz)
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Returning from the bank with the company wages, Staufen (Sigmar
Solbach) is held up but manages to chase the robber away using jiu-jitsu -
and sure enough the company owner Ströbel (Karl Lieffen) and especially
Ströbel's daughter Eva (Brigitta Furgler) celebrate him as hero ... and
Staufen's really into Eva. Thing is, this is not what has really happened,
local police inspectors Stark (Horst Sachtleben) and Beil (Michael Gahr)
soon find out the whole hold-up was only staged by Staufen for bragging
rights - but since this is indeed a victimless crime, they cease all
investigations, and only a rumour remains. A rumour that doesn't at all
sit well with Staufen's new boss Brock (Klaus Dierig), especially since
Brock has the hots for Eva himself. Then though, when again carrying the
company wages, Staufen is held up again, and this time he shoots the
assailant dead - and it turns out to be Popp (Firhjof Vierock), a worker
at Ströbel's company. Upon further investigations, investigating
inspector Köster (Siegfried Lowitz) of homicide finds out that Brock has
hired Popp, knowing of a prior conviction of his, and that he sent out
Staufen on his own to fetch the wages, even if after the last hold-up, it
was agreed upon that he always ought to have a companion (even if it's
more or less agreed upon by now this was just fake). And the more and more
evidence is gathered, the more Brock appears to be a tailormade culprit -
for all but Köster, for whom the whole thing is too crystal clear, so he
orders a reconstruction of the crime ... during which Staufen ultimately
gives himself away, having tried desperately to get into the good
standings with everybody again after the first fake robbery, even if it
meant to kill a man this time around. So ok, the plot of this
one is incredibly far-fetched, to the point where it becomes no longer
believable, and the long- and weird-winded way that Köster arrives at his
conclusions doesn't help one bit to remedy this, nor does mostly average
acting by most of the involved. But it's Siegfried Lowitz once in the lead
once again who really saves the episode, his acting just makes the most
ludicruous plot elements somewhat palpable, and the running gag about his
injured finger (a kitchen accident, actually) really hits home. So not
great crime TV by any measure, but not a total failure, even if not seen
through a nostalgic lense.
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