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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.

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 .

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

An old man is rushing through the woods and stumbles over a dead girl's body. He rushes to the village to call the police. But what he didn't expect happens - he gets the blame for it, not only by police who interrogate mercilessly, but by his fellow villagers. He says he's innocent. But no one believes him, except the chief inspector, who's set to retire in a day or so. But this case consumes him, when it takes a dramatic turn. He takes it upon himself to find out more. So he befriends a lady and her little girl. But they do not know what he's up to. The lady helps him manage a small shop/gas station in the determined vicinity of the attacks. What will he find? What will find him? This is an excellent film, with astounding use of black and white in telling and showing the story. This was remade in 2001 by director Sean Penn with Jack Nicholson in the lead role and with a totally different ending and a more downbeat feel to it. I had already seen it and liked it, before I saw this; but now, I prefer this version. The subject matter may be a bit unsettling to parents, but the treatment is first rate and with very believable dubbed American words. If you miss this relatively unknown foreign film, you've missed one of the best of its kind.

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.

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.

Truth to tell, films from 1950's Germany about which one can enthuse are few and far between but this one is well directed by Ladislao Vajda, atmospherically shot by his preferred cameraman Heinrich Gartner and depite its slow pace, is thoroughly engrossing.

One of his country's perennially popular actors, Heinz Ruemann stars as a detective who promises the mother of a brutally murdered girl that he will find the killer. Although he is officially off the case he proceeds to fulfil his vow by means of application, perspiration, inspiration and of course, a little bit of luck. Herr Ruemann's post-war career continued unabated despite his perceived chumminess with Hitler's regime. He is an extremely engaging artiste with whom one cannot fail to connect and here he gives his customarily immaculate and understated performance.

Gert Froebe turns in a truly terrifying portrayal of the murderer Schrott which by all accounts led to his eventual casting as Auric Goldfinger and special mention must be made of Michel Simon's stupendous performance as the unfortunate Jacquier. One would have fully expected him to be dubbed but this superlative actor has learnt his lines phonetically and delivers them with the utmost conviction.

Swiss writer Friedrich Duerrenmatt professed to being unhappy with the script, feeling that it did not go far enough and required a more realistic ending. He refined and expanded the theme in the form of a novel entitled 'The Pledge', in which the detective's obsession leads to alcoholism and insanity. This version was made in 2001 by Sean Penn with an impressive central performance by Jack Nicholson. In true Hollywoodland fashion both the film and its star were overlooked as the film failed to make any money.

The later film has thus far garnered no less than 624 reviews whereas the original has achieved the grand total of ...21. The present eye praises the present object it seems plus the inescapable fact that the demographic of IMDb is mainly American.

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.

This Swiss movie, originally made for TV, was dismissed by Durrenmatt because he felt it didn't probe deeply enough into the driven character of the Inspector. I totally disagree with him. This version is powerfully realized and stunningly acted. Durrenmatt's literary version, The Pledge, undercuts the power of the theme and registers the Inspector's commitment as hollow and pointless. The American movie version of the Pledge was a conceptual, execution and box-office disaster.

What Durrenmatt does in The Pledge is to book-end this satisfying story with a narrative overlay that only revokes all the drama and suspense of the central story. This is as pointless and destructive as book-end CASABLANCA with a narrator that claims that Rick was really a scoundrel working for the Nazis the whole time.

Thanks to the excellent template by the Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt, this crime film is atmospherically dense and thrilling to the end. Heinz Rühmann was already an established star and this is one of his best movies. The unknown Gert Fröbe made his breakthrough and earned rightfully the role of James Bond villain Cedric Goldfinger. Anyone who sees, knows why. The supporting roles are also very well cast, and the film music is almost a classic. On top of that, the film is quite critical for the 1950s and deals with false accusations against marginalized groups and discrimination against children of divorced parents. The film feels modern and fresh to this day, it's a classic!

Most memorable and tense movie from my childhood. Chilling and full of tension. German movie at its best.

"It happened in broad daylight" is about a killer with pedophilic tendencies. A very sensitive subject.

The screenplay for this film was written by Friedrich Durrenmatt, who later elaborated on this script to write the novel "Das Versprechen" in the same year (most of the time the order is the other way round). On the basis of this novel Sean Penn made the remake "The pledge" (2001).

The film can be divided into two parts.

In part 1 there is an innocent suspect who commits suicide during the investigation In part 2 a police commissioner, the only one who doesn't believe that the former suspect was quilty, tries to find the real murderer.

Part 1 reminds of "Fury" (1936, Fritz Lang), part 2 of "M" (1931, Fritz Lang). I suspect that the fact that both films are from Fritz Lang is not a coincidence.

The film has a cast of a very high quality.

The French actor Michel Simon, known from among other films "L'Atalante" (1934, Jean Vigo), plays the innocent suspect.

Heinz Ruhmann, by far the most popular actor in Germany those days, plays inspector Matthai.

Gert Fröbe plays the real murderer. He was so convincing that in 1964 he was casted as villain in the Bond movie "Goldfinger" (Guy Hamilton).

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the motive of inspector Matthai to start his private investagation in the second half of the movie. There are three possibilities.

The rational one given in the film that as long as the real murderer has not been found there are children in danger.

Feelings of guilt towards the innocent suspect from the first half of the movie.

The pledge given to the mother of the murdered child that the real murderer would be found.

Given the title of the novel my choice is the third possibility.

"It happened in broad daylight" is a tense movie, proving that good movies were made in Germany between the expressionism of the '20s and the "Neue Deutsche Welle" of the '70s.

Both with respect to strong and weak elements of the film there is a relation with Alfred Hitchcock.

Strong is the way in which the film uses the technique of revealing the real murderer to the spectators at an early stage, but hiding this information from the other main characters.

Weak is the excessive reliance on (Freudian) psychology. In the film a psychologists makes a rather accurate perpetrator profile from the drawing of a child only. In "Spellbound" (1945, Alfred Hitchcock) we saw a similar overestimation of psychology.

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.

We stand here before one of the most important German speaking movies of the second half of the 20st century, one of the first explicit series (child-) killer movies and one of the most frightful ones. It contains a creme De la creme of the best German actors of the fifties. However, although the movie plays in Switzerland, all Swiss actors speak High-German and are without exception in side roles. The male main role of Kommissar Dr. Matthäi is played by Heinz Rühmann, who was the most popular German actor of the 20st century. The female main role was given by the Hungarian-Catalan director László Vajda to his girlfriend María Rosa Salgado who was dubbed. The fact that not one example of Bündner German is heard in this movie, although the series killer lives obviously in Chur, the capital of the Grisons, is strange. Even stranger is that the only used Bündner German Name "Huonder" is constantly mispronounced (by Max Haufler who should have known it better). However, two questions arise: First, why did the director agree to Rühmann and his scenario-writer to change dramatically the end? In Dürrenmatts novel "Der Verdacht", Schrott is not caught, and the movie has therefore a completely different face. Second, and more important (and hanging together with the first question): What is this movie about, really? Several times, we hear from the mouth of Dr, Matthäi about the importance of using "intution" in clearing a criminal case. But why, then, is it Matthäi who, in the end, is responsible for the suicide of the chap-man? Matthäi is even fully unable to see his guilt: To the question, on the next day, why the innocent chap-man is found hung up in his cell, he laconically answers: Because he was old, sick, did not want to go on anymore ... . What is it then, that drives Matthäi to catch the real killer? Really his pity with the children? - Hardly, because his character does know or at least not admit such feelings. As a proof, he does not doubt one second about the legitimation of his "method" when he engages Mrs. Haller and her daughter, because he intends to (mis-)use the blond little girl as a guinea-pig in order to attract Schrott. Not even then, when he realizes that the little girl has already escaped several times without him knowing it and when he speaks himself about a "miracle" that nothing has yet happened, he stops his action. This means, that Matthäi rather accepts the death of the little girl as long as he is just capable of catching the murderer. This is an idea about police work which is practically identical with the idea of the criminal. Admittedly, the serious killer stands on the other side of Good and Bad than Matthäi, but somebody who is intending to take the loss of the girl in order to solve his case is so-to-say the twin of the criminal, the line between Good and Bad getting almost non-existent.

It seems this is not a place to watch movies. No use to me.