Thriller starring Stanley Baker and Peter Cushing. After the Second World War, German-born Joe Newman returns to the Bavarian village where his father lived. He is told that his father died after escaping from the Communists, but further investigation leads Joe to believe that several of his contacts are, for some reason, hiding information from him.
Some ham-fisted heroics from Stanley Baker throw the audience off the scent in this intriguing Cold War thriller adapted from a seven-part ITV serial. Director Quentin Lawrence makes atmospheric use of the Bavarian locations, as Baker's German-born jazz musician tries to uncover the fate of the father presumed perished during the war. The suspicious behaviour of stepmother Mai Zetterling and her doctor friend Peter Cushing induces Baker to seek assistance from local cops Eric Portman and Nigel Green. But matters are further complicated by insurance adjuster Niall MacGinnis and Czech refugee Georgina Ward, and Baker blunders between graveyards with a swaggering arrogance that betrays his political naivety. Lawrence doesn't always resolve the problems posed by the screenplay's episodic origins, but he keeps its secrets cannily under wraps, in spite of blaringly obvious prompts from Philip Green's intrusive score.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Joe Newman | Stanley Baker |
| Dr von Brecht | Peter Cushing |
| Hofmeister | Eric Portman |
| Lisa | Mai Zetterling |
| Brenner | Niall MacGinnis |
| Hirsch | Nigel Green |
| Maria | Georgina Ward |
| Martha | Barbara Everest |
| Heinrich | Alfred Burke |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Quentin Lawrence |
