The Last Witness (1960)
Director Wolfgang Staudte who left East Germany in 1953 to make movies in West Germany, takes a few swipes at the West German judicial system in this fairly effective courtroom drama about the murder of a four-month-old baby. Police almost immediately arrest the mother Ingrid who is the mistress of the father, a rich business VIP married to another woman. His position and wealth keep him insulated from suspicion. A hot-shot lawyer has to overcome the unaccountably biased perceptions of the police, the judge, the prosecutor and almost everyone else in the judicial system. The defence lawyer, driven to an extreme, knows he has to find the real killer or his client will be convicted.
Director:
Wolfgang Staudte
Writers:
Robert A. Stemmle, Thomas Keck.
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Martin Held as Direktor Werner Rameil |
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Hanns Lothar as Rechtsanwalt Dr. Fox |
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Ellen Schwiers as Ingrid Bernhardy |
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Jürgen Goslar as Dr. Heinz Stephan |
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Adelheid Seeck as Gerda Rameil |
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Werner Hinz as Landgerichtsrat Ricker |
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Lore Hartling as Assessorin Ebeling |
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Siegfried Wischnewski as Kriminalinspektor Gerhuf |
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Harald Juhnke as Kriminalsekretär Wenzel |
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Otto Graf as Anwalt Dr. Beyer |
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Albert Bessler as Dr. Hollberg |
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Lucie Mannheim as Frau Bernhardy |
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Hans Hessling as Vorsitzender des Schwurgerichts |
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Hellmut Grube as Staatsanwalt Thalmann |
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Rudi Schmitt as |
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Herbert Tiede as Dr. Heinz Stephans Anwalt |
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Blandine Ebinger as Gymnastiklehrerin |
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Martin Berliner as Beamter beim Nachlassgericht |
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Tilly Lauenstein as Aufseherin |
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Ursula Diestel as |
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Maria Milde as |
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Alexa von Porembsky as Sekretärin |
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Harald Sawade as Portier |
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Käte Alving as |
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Hilla Höfer as |
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Erich Dunskus as |
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Ilse Trautschold as |
| Editing | Wolfgang Wehrum | Editor |
| Production | Kurt Ulrich | Producer |
| Directing | Wolfgang Staudte | Director |
| Writing | Robert A. Stemmle | Screenplay |
| Crew | Ekkehard Kyrath | Cinematography |
| Sound | Werner Eisbrenner | Original Music Composer |
| Writing | Thomas Keck | Screenplay |
| Writing | Maximilian Vernberg | Story |
