FAQ

Army-appointed defense lawyer, Major Steve Garrett (Kirk Douglas), is called to the small village of Neustadt to defend four American soldiers -- Sgt Chuck Snyder (Frank Sutton), Cpl Birdie Scott (Richard Jaeckel), Cpl Jim Larkin (Robert Blake), and Pvt Joey Haines (Mal Sondock) -- who brutally raped a 16-year old German girl, Karin Steinhof (Christine Kaufmann) while she was in the process of changing from her wet bikini into her clothes. The rape scene is shown in the first 15 minutes of the movie. The rest of the movie depicts the town's reaction to the crime and Garrett's efforts to keep the soldiers from suffering the death penalty. In order to do that, he has to place Karin on the witness stand and, essentially, "rape" her all over again.

Town Without Pity is based on Das Urteil (The Verdict), a 1960 novel by German author Manfred Gregor (real name: Gregor Dorfmeister). The novel was adapted for the movie by German screenwriters George Hurdalek, Jan Lustig, and Silvia Reinhardt.

There are versions of the movie available in German, but there is also an English version. Parts of the movie where German-speaking characters are talking to each other are in German, but the movie is narrated by reporter Inge Koerner (Barbara Rütting) in English. The trial is conducted in English.

Filming took place in the towns of Bamberg and Forchheim in Bavaria, Germany with some scenes shot in a studio in Vienna, Austria.

Garrett tries to convince Karin's father (Hans Nielsen) not to let her testify, but Steinhof is pushing for the death penalty, a verdict that is possible only if Karin takes the stand. In order to prevent the four GIs from being sentenced to death, Garrett's only alternative is to force Karin to break down on the stand and be unable to finish answering questions. He does just that by bringing in vindictive witness and making her appear to be a liar and tease who gets thrills from letting men see her naked. As he predicted, Karin breaks down and must be carried out of the courtroom. The GIs get dishonorable discharges and jail sentences ranging from six months to 25 years. Karin's boyfriend Frank (Gerhart Lippert) forges his mother's check in order to get enough money to take Karin away from the town, but his mother presses charges against him, and he is apprehended by the police as he and Karin try to leave. Her life crumbling around her, Karin does the only thing she thinks a 16-year old can do to end it all...she drowns herself in the same river near where the rapes occurred. In the final scenes, Garrett vomits when he hears the news about Karin's suicide, packs up his things, and drives out of Neustadt.