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Der Kommissar - Ratten der Grossstadt
episode 3
West Germany 1969
produced by Helmut Ringelmann for Neue Münchner Fernsehproduktion/ZDF
directed by Theodor Grädler
starring Erik Ode, Günther Schramm, Reinhard Glemnitz, Fritz Wepper, Emily Reuer, Helma Seitz, Hilde Volk, Ilona Grübel, Horst Frank, Gerd Baltus, Klaus Schwarzkopf, Fred Haltiner, Werner Pochath, Heini Göbel, Dietrich Thoms
written by Herbert Reinecker, series created by Helmut Ringelmann, Herbert Reinecker, music by Herbert Jarczyk, title theme by Herbert Jarczyk
TV-series Der Kommissar, Harry Klein
review by Mike Haberfelner
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The owner of a pub mainly frequented by day labourers is killed, and
neither his daughter Hanna (Ilona Grübel) nor barmaid Miss Matusek (Hilde
Volk) claim to have seen anything - but both drop hints about one of the
regulars, Mozart (Werner Pochath), a mentally challenged but good-natured
guy who hangs out with Krass (Horst Frank), the leader of the pack,
Krüger (Klaus Schwarzkopf), Palle (Fred Haltiner) and alcoholic Bender
(Gerd Baltus), all day labourers with criminal records who only rarely
look for work but rather a good time and who aren't above occasional petty
theft. Inspector Keller (Erik Ode) and his team investigate, but apart
from gnawing suspicions that Hanna and Matusek know more than they let on,
and that Krass's gang are very probably involved, they come up with very
little - so one of Keller's assistants, Walter (Günther Schramm), goes
undercover as an alcoholic day labourer, and he's welcomed into Krass's
gang with open arms after he claims he has done time with an acquaintance
of Krass. It soon seems the whole gang want to draw suspicion to Mozart,
and when Keller and company investigate they find out that Mozart has in
fact regularly spent his nights in the pub upon Hanna's request and
without her father - the deceased - knowing, and apparently what could
have happened was the victim-to-be having found Mozart in the pub and
being killed in the ensuing struggle. Thing is, Krass and company are much
too adamant dropping subtle hints for the story not to sound fishy.
Eventually, the gang find out Walter's a cop, and instead of using that
knowledge to their advantage by feeding him false information to help with
framing Mozart, they decide to kill him - but Walter's saved by the
police, and Krass and gang are rounded up, and now it's proven that not
Mozart but the rest of the gang have killed the pub owner after he and
Bender got into a fight as the pub owner refused to sell him any more
liquor. It sure is fun to find two mainstays of German and
European exploitation cinema, Horst Frank and Werner Pochath, in this
episode, which other than that is a rather routine episode, that on one
hand offers the rather likeable and relateable team of investigators led
by Erik Ode, on the other a slightly convoluted investigation for a
straight-forward murder case, and very stilted dialogue, especially when
it comes to the day labourers at the center of the case. Not one of the
best episodes I may add, but as so many episodes of Der Kommissar,
well worth a look for rather than in spite of its shortcomings on the
script side of things, as oddly enough they help to create and fortify the
world the series is set in.
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