West German Heimatfilm / local film with Claus Holm and Waltraud Haas
The story of this almost ideal homeland film is quickly told. Village jack-of-all-trades Toni (Claus Holm) is in a relationship with the pretty Italian Gina (Renate Ewert), which not only displeases her ex Matteo (Kurt Heintel). One day, pretty Toni is suspected of being a poacher. Suddenly the forester (Sepp Rist), the father of Toni's ex Andrea (Waltraud Haas), is shot. And then there is Gina's mother (Ilse Steppat), the attractive tavern owner Coletta Nicoletti. Luckily, the good Andrea has a good uncle (director Richard Häussler does the honors himself) who, as a criminal expert, can shed light on the dark matter.
Unfortunately, life is not as easy as it is in the world of Heimatfilm. Nevertheless, you can watch the whole thing well. As a boxer and former miner, Claus Holm, who was born in Bochum in 1918, became a DEFA star with the enormous box office success "Ehe im Schatten" (1947). The Erlbacher-Toni from the mountains (it was filmed in the Großglockner area) can definitely be taken from him. Waltraud Haas plays her typical role as a kind-hearted but very boring girl to marry. It would be better to admire her in her star role as the Rössl landlady (Im Weißen Rössl, 1960).
Things get more interesting with the two magnificent Italian women, played by the enchanting Renate Ewert and the famous Ilse Steppat (1917-1969). Ilse Steppat had also been there in "Ehe im Schatten" and was already a well-rehearsed team with Claus Holm. Unfortunately, shortly after her magnificent appearance as a Bond villain (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969), Ilse Steppat died much too early!
Ewert and Steppat's joy in playing is wonderful. One drawback, however, remains that their roles themselves are too clichéd as "foreign, foreign, exotic". The native and German-speaking (Waltraud Haas) brings good, the foreign and Italian (Renate Ewert and Ilse Steppat) brings ruin. Fortunately, those days are over!
Ralf Wolter (Sam Hawkins from the Karl May films) ensures a bit of a good mood as a Saxon tourist, who also reminds us of the "brothers and sisters in the East" affected by the division. So everything is there, everything checked off that a local film from the fifties has to offer.
Incidentally, the production of the CCC film by Artur Brauner goes back to the novel "Die drei Indizien / The Three Indices" by Martinus and Fichelscher.
