Es geschah am hellichten Tag

Pop quiz! Did you know that Sean Penn's genius but shamefully underrated 2001 thriller "The Pledge" and this obscure Swiss masterpiece from 1958 are based on the same novel by Friedrich Dürrenmatt? The two films are also very reminiscent in terms of narrative structure, but the endings are completely different and that is because the novel was not yet finished when "Es Geschah am Hellichten Tag" was wrapped, and it was only afterwards that Dürrenmatt came up with the much darker and depressing ending that features in Sean Penn's adaptation. Of course you knew, since you probably also read the trivia pages here in IMDb...

Ever since I found about it, I put "Es Geschah am Hellichten Tag" on my must-see list, but sadly it's not an easy film to find. The only decent copy I eventually found was in the original German language. That wasn't a showstopper, luckily, since my native tongue is Dutch and was perfectly able to follow the film. And what a film it is! Over 65 years old, but still one of the most compelling, intense, uncomfortable, and sadly also relevant drama/thrillers that exist.

In the woods around a small Swiss town near an important route, the brutally murdered corpse of an 8-year-old girl is discovered. The drifter who found the body is immediately the prime suspect, and the police and townsfolk are certain of his guilt when he commits suicide in jail; - even though he fanatically exclaimed his innocent. Chief inspector Matthai, however, believes the real culprit is still at large and will murder again. His only leads are a drawing of a giant man dressed in black and handing out chocolates, made by the victim a few days before her death, a psychological profiling report, and a roadmap. Matthai quits the police to start his own private investigation, but for that he needs a cover, ... and live bait!

A great plot, with persuasive characters and genuine fear for the life of the vulnerable and totally innocent Anne-Marie, make this a first-class suspense classic. And the stellar performances, of course! Heinz Rühmann is excellent as the devoted Inspector Matthai, but the most remarkable role evidently remains for Gert Fröbe as the uncanny child snatcher Schrött. It was also the role that indirectly launched his international career because it led to his casting as super-villain Goldfinger in the James Bond classic with the same title.

This haunting movie based on a Fredrich Durrenmatt novel concerns a detective (an obstinate Heinz Ruhmann) becomes involved in the case of a little girl's killing . At the beginning appears as main suspect an unfortunate vagrant (incomparable Michael Simon). Then the policeman hires a gas station and takes employee a single mother (a sweet Maria Rosa Salgado) with a daughter , being his intention of utilizing them as bait for a cruel murderous . The police detective trying to trap a child killer , at the same time his mind on the woman and the little girl . Prepare Yourself For a Most Unusual and Disquieting Tale of Suspense!

This Spain/German/Switzerland co-production is a well crafted movie with plenty of suspense , thrills and psychological studio . The picture functions on various levels with superb roles nicely played by the entire casting and a well-paced screenplay that leads to the climax with the presence of the serial killer along with the kid and the possible tragedy . Friedrich Dürrenmatt wrote the script and at the same time developing the novel form on the story under the title "Das Versprechen" . He completed the book after the movie was finished and gave it a different , much darker ending . Its perfect developing resides not in displays of frenzied action and grisly violence like happens in modern cinema , but rather lies about interesting characters and suspenseful happenings . Atmospheric white and black cinematography by Heinrich Guerner and appropriate musical score with thrilling leitmotif by Bruno Cantafora . The motion picture was well written by Ladislao Vadja (together with Hans Jacoby and Friedrich Durrenmatt) and excellently directed . Vadja was author of magnificent movies , such as : 'The miracle of Marcelino' , 'Angel passed on Brooklyn' , and 'Uncle Jacinto' all of them starred by child prodigy Pablito Calvo . In my opinion ¨The Bait¨ is one of the best films to come out of Europe in the decade of the 50s . If you like thoughtful and brooding films that are exciting and rich pace with rhythm but no displaying a great deal of action , you'll like this one .

Other movies about this exciting novel are the following ones : 'The cold light of day' directed by Rudolf Van Den Berg with Richard E. Gant ; a German version (1997) directed by Nick Hoffman ; and American version 'The pledge' by Sean Penn with Jack Nicholson , Benicio Del Toro and Robin Wright Penn .

An ititerant peddler (Michel Simon) finds the body of a young girl in a Swiss forest and alerts an inspector from a neighboring town who'd once been kind to him. When Inspector Matthai (Heinz Ruhmann) gets there, he finds a mob eager to lynch the peddler who soon commits suicide in his cell after a grueling interrogation. Matthai believes the old man was innocent and the savage razor slaying the work of a serial killer prowling the woods along a major highway. No longer on the police force, the ex-inspector sets out to catch the killer by renting a roadside gas station and hiring a young woman with an 8 year-old daughter to be his housekeeper with the intention of using the child as bait...

That's a dangerous game to play in this gripping cat-and-mouse thriller that's also a fairly good police procedural, considering the resources and lack of forensics at the time. Gert Frobe is chilling as the misogynist psychopath and it was this performance that led the producers of GOLDFINGER to cast him as the titular megalomaniac.

Es geschan am hellichten Tag (It Happened in Broad Daylight) is directed by Ladislao Vajda and collectively written by Vajda, Hans Jacoby and Friedrich Durrenmatt, from the Novel "The Promise". It stars Heinz Ruhmann, Sigfrit Steiner, Siegfried Lowitz, Michel Simon and Gert Frobe. Music is by Bruno Canfora and cinematography is by Ernst Bolliger and Heinrich Gartner.

When a child is found murdered in the woods, Oberleutnant Matthai (Ruhmann) promises the child's parents he will find the killer. It's a promise that weighs heavy on him, causing him to go outside of his rational thinking to hopefully lure the killer into a trap.

The source material has proved ripe for picking as regards film adaptations, latterly with a big Hollywood production directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson (The Pledge 2001). There's a whole bunch of themes bubbling away in the story, all of which are handled superbly by the makers. At its core it's a criminal investigation fuelled by an obsession, but morality and mob justice play a big part in proceedings as well.

Lashings of intrigue permeate the atmosphere, as does a number of suspenseful scenes as the child killer enters the fray and we see him operating his vile shtick. The sequences of him at home, a complete milquetoast to a harpy wife, simmer away with deadly expectation, the acting superb. The psychological studies of the key characters carry considerable weighty merit, always niggling away at the audience, keeping us hooked to the very last frame.

With chills (for instance the hand puppet scenes are blood curdling), expressionistic touches and a film noir sense of the human condition gone wrong, it's a film deserving of a more wider and appreciative audience. Personally I prefer the ending that Durrenmatt rewrote as Das Versprechen (the author wasn't happy with Es geschan am hellichten Tag's resolution), and that was the ending Penn went for in The Pledge. This is not in the same class as Fritz Lang's "M", but it deserves to be on the same shelf, and that is praise indeed. 8/10

Once I met an arabian, and while talking about cinema, he said, for knowing this movie he would forget five of his lovely movies, after watching it ! G. Fröbe and H. Rühmann are playing such fabulous, that you think somebody inconvenient is entering your near forest. Everybody I know is worn down after this Horror-criminal, where NO violence or anything bizarre is shown! Turn off the lights.

One of the best movies of the 1950ies.