No question about it, the most exciting film in the „Old German Film“ series this month is Georg Tressler’s DAS TOTENSCHIFF from 1959 based on the 1926 novel by B. Traven. Sailor Philip Gale (Horst Buchholz) from New Orleans gets his seaman’s muster book stolen in Antwerp. He can’t get on his ship without his papers and the Belgian police sends him to Holland. He finds out that his identity verification will take at least 2 months. He can’t survive in Rotterdam that long without his papers and so he travels to the south to find a port that doesn’t ask for papers. With the help of ship trimmer Lawski (Mario Adorf) he finds work on the coffin ship “Yorrike.” What he doesn’t know is that Yorrike isn’t meant to reach it’s port of destination. Tressler’s film depicts Traven’s story of an ostracized man in high-contrast black and white. One of the best German films of the 50s that was way ahead of its time.

THE OLD GERMAN FILM, Wednesdays at 15:45:
5.4. DER TAG NACH DER SCHEIDUNG
12.4. DAS TOTENSCHIFF
19.4. FRAUEN SIND DOCH BESSERE DIPLOMATEN
26.4. DER BLAUE ENGEL

Language: German