Friday, 16 December 2022

THE OLD FOX (DER ALTE) - SEASON 11 ON DVD (ELEPHANT FILMS)

Season 11 of the long-running German crime drama The Old Fox (Der Alte) is now available in France on DVD in the "Le Renard - Intégrale saison 11" boxset from Elephant Films (All Zone, 12 episodes).

Der Alte ("The Old Man") was launched in 1977 on ZDF by producer Helmut Ringelmann as the successor to Der Kommissar, a series made by his company Neue Münchner Fernsehproduktion for the pubcaster. Set in Munich, Der Kommissar ran from 1969 to 1976 and starred Erik Ode as Kommissar Herbert Keller. The first Freitagskrimi (1) of the channel lasted 97 episodes, all penned by Herbert Reinecker. The scriptwriter also wrote each of the 281 episodes of Derrick, a crime drama devised by Ringelmann and Reinecker as an alternative to Der Kommissar (2)though set in Munich too and aired on ZDF from 1974 to 1998
 
Produced by Neue Münchner for ZDF, ORF (Austria) and SRG (Switzerland), Der Alte employed several authors. Writer and producer Hans Gottschalk (Raumpatrouille Orion) conceived the main character, Hauptkommissar Erwin Köster (3) of the Munich Mordkommission II (Homicide Squad II). Siegfried Lowitz, a familiar face from the Edgar Wallace movies, became the "new Kommissar". Erwin Köster was given assistants: Gerd Heymann, played by Michael Ande (Fußballtrainer Wulff, Treasure Island), and Martin Brenner (Jan Hendriks, another Edgar Wallace regular) (4). Der Alte premiered on Easter 1977 with a pilot titled Die Dienstreise, written by Oliver Storz (Raumpatrouille Orion) & Jochen Wedegärtner (Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre) and directed by Johannes Schaaf. 
 
Karl Heinz Willschrei, one of the scriptwriters of the series, co-created Ein Fall für zwei (1981-2013) for ZDF. At the end of 1984, Siegfried Lowitz expressed his desire to leave Der Alte with the 100th episode (aired in January 1986) and return to theatre. Helmut Ringelmann gave the role of the new boss of Mordkomission II, Hauptkommissar Leo Kress, to Rolf Schimpf. Ringelmann noticed the actor in Der Sheriff von Lisenbach (1984) and first hired him in Mensch Bachmann, a family series he produced the same year. Schimpf was no stranger to the crime genre because he played Waldi Zeldmann in  SOKO 5113 since 1978. Gerd Heymann remained but Martin Brenner got transferred. The Polizeiarzt  ("police doctor") played by Ulf J. Sohmisch since 1983 stayed a few years more but never got a proper name.
 
Leo Kress came from Augsburg with his own assistant, Henry Johnson. This black detective (a first in the history of German TV) was based on a real-life black investigator from the Munich police named Raimund Eichner and he was portrayed by Charles M. Huber (credited Charly Muhamed Huber). A new theme intro, composed by Eberhard Schoener, replaced the theme by Peter Thomas. Sold in more than 100 countries, Der  Alte arrived in France in 1987 as Le Renard. The "Le Renard - Intégrale Saison 11" 6-disc DVD boxset contains the 12 episodes of this almost perfect 11th season, shown on ZDF between January and December 1987.

- Tod eines Piraten. A young man tries to break into his own house. A great episode written by Volker Vogeler and directed by Zbyněk Brynych, with excellent performances from Claude-Oliver Rudolph (Fritz) and Christoph Eichorn (Patrick Killian). Werner Schnitzer (Ruprecht) later played Hahne in Siska (1998-2008), the successor to Derrick  (5). Tobias Ringelmann, Helmut's son, appears in the (fictional) film at the beginning.

- Der sanfte Tod. A couple calls the police because their neighbour  has been listening loudly to the same song for hours. Scriptwriters Günter Gräwert (who also helmed this episode) and Adolf Schröder tackle homosexuality. The song used as a leitmotiv is Why by composer, singer and hit maker Frank Duval. Duval worked regularly for both Derrick and Der Alte. With Tobias Hoesl (Jens), Eva Kryll (Barbara), Edgar Selge (Erich), Enzi Fuchs (Mrs Heinzen) and a pre-Tatort Miroslav Nemec.

- Die Abrechnung. It's laundry day for Kress and his daughter Sabine (Bettina Redlich) when a young woman falls from a window. This death is related to a murder and drug trafficking in Malaysia. Written by Volker Vogeler and directed by Zbyněk Brynych. Tobias Hoesl returns in a different role. With Ursula Karven.

- Tod von Schalterschluß. Journalist, novelist and scriptwriter Max Pierre Schaeffer wrote this brilliant episode directed by Günter Gräwert. A bank robber kills a woman during a hold-up. Evelyn Opela (Mrs Helmut Ringelmann) plays Gitta Graf. Gert Burkhard  appeared in many episodes of Der Alte and Derrick, in different roles. The end title song is called Speech Behind Speech (1978). It's one of the collaborations of Eberhard Schoener with Sting, Andy Summers and later Stewart Copeland before The Police became famous.

- Wie das Leben so spielt. A photograph witnesses a double murder. An excellent episode written by Volker Vogeler and directed by Dietrich Haugk. Guest starring Eleonore Weisgerber, Ralf Schermuly, Udo Schenk, Ulli Kinalzik, etc.

- Werwischte Spuren. The firemen receive a strange emergency phone call. Rosel Zech (Veronika Voss, Lola) plays Gabrielle Lohmann. With Sven Eric Bechtolf and Enzi Fuchs. Written and directed by Günter Gräwert.

- Ultimo. A fabulous episode penned by Volker Vogeler and helmed by Zbyněk Brynych. Albert Kozak (Ulrich Haupt) is back from hospital after a murder attempt. Swiss actor Christian Kohlund (Der Zürich-Krimi, Black Forest Clinic) is Holger Kozak. With Susanne Uhlen, Gerd Baltus, Gerd Burkhard, etc. The song heard during the superb ending is Rhine-Bow (1978) by Eberard Schoener with Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland.

- Ein teuflischer Plan.  Another gem from Volker Vogeler, directed by Alfred Weidenmann. An accountant kills himself in his office and a bankrupt man is found dead by his wife. Edgar Selge returns in a different role. With Reinhild Solf, Harald Leipnitz, Peter Bongartz, Lisa Kreuzer, Gerd Burkhard, etc.

- Die letzte Nacht. Sentenced for rape, Hans Steiger (Will Danin) is released after years in jail. With Christine Buchegger, Sissy Höfferer, Beate Finck, Esther Hausmann, Ulli Kinalzik, etc. The melancholic song of this episode is I Want To Be Free, composed by Günther Ress and performed by Edna Bejarano.

- Alibi: Mozart. Max Pierre Schaefer and Günther Gräwert team up for this classic about the murder of a pianist directed by Zbyněk Brynych. Second guest role of Evelyn Opela this season. Also with Gerd Böckmann, Anja Jaenicke, Franz Boehm, Tommi Piper, etc.

- Der Stichtag. A conundrum from Max Pierre Schaefer and Günther Gräwert, directed by the latter. A company director takes a night train with his secretary. With Udo Vioff, a frequent guest star of Der Alte and Derrick.

- Mord ist Mord. A supermarket manager and his mistress are surprised by two robbers. Penned by Volker Vogeler and helmed by Zbyněk Brynych. Rosel Zech is back in a different role. With Thekla Carola Wied, Winfried Glatzeder, Philipp Moog, etc.

In 1998, Leo Kress and his men appeared in the final episode of Derrick. Kress retired at the end of the 322nd episode (2007) but Rolf Schimpf returned as the ex-detective in Episode 340. He was succeeded by Walter Kreye as Hauptkommissar Rolf Herzog (2008-2012) and Jan-Gregor Kremp (Hauptkommissar Richard Voss, 2012-2022). Michael Ande decided to leave the series in 2016 after 39 years as Gerd Heymann. Charles M. Huber left in 1997 and was replaced by Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss as Axel Richter until 2015. Huber changed career for politics and humanitarian work. 
 
The episodes of the "Le Renard - Intégrale Saison 11" boxset are in French and in German (without subtitles). Bonus material consists of a photo gallery and the trailers of some other titles of Elephant Films, like Hunter (with Fred Dryer), Fantasy Island, Commissaire Moulin, Ein Fall für zwei and Derrick. Next year Thomas Heinze will be the new Hauptkommissar of Der Alte.

(1) Friday crime drama.
(2) Unlike Der Kommissar, Derrick was filmed in colour and produced by Helmut Ringelmann's other company Telenova for ZDF, ORF and SRG.
(4) The team was later completed by Meyer Zwo (Wolgang Zerlett, 1979-1987), Löwinger (Jan Meyer, 1985-1986) and Marküs Böttcher as Werner Riedmann (1986-2015).
(5) Produced by Helmut Ringelmann.

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