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.

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.

Truly one of the superlative thriller/mystery films of all time. I saw it in the original German on Austria TV and it is still gripping. I thought it is so Hitchcockian then I realized the musical technique--the sudden loud shrieks in the orchestra--at the moment of contact with the killer, his house and the car. This is Psycho. The film mood and pace is Psycho. Then again, I realized the film and the Broadway play which received Tony nomination were both celebrated shortly before Psycho was made. Could it be that Hitch made the perfect horror film as a paean to this great masterpiece. One of the few films of the genre I will set next to Hitchcock and it does indeed hold its place superbly. Can any compliment be higher. If you love Hitchcock as I do, you must get the film--the original German print of 1958 not the TV version and not the American remake with Nicholson, as fine as it is. If you understand German watch it first that way. Unforgettable.

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.

The story of the perverted child murderer SCHROTT (Fröbe) and his hunter MATTHAEI (Rühmann) is still thrilling and frightening. The present events ensure that the story remains current. Fröbe and Rühmann can show their acting skills (what they were not always allowed to do).

To keep it short:

Ingenious actors in a great film, which is based on a great book, that was written by an ingenious author.

I'm waiting for the Hollywood-remake.