A CASE FOR TWO (EIN FALL FÜR ZWEI) - SEASON 4 ON DVD (ELEPHANT FILMS)

To Monique Planson.

The cult German crime drama A Case for Two (Ein Fall für zwei) ran for 300 episodes between 1981 and 2013 on ZDF. Its fourth season is available in France on DVD since last month in the "Un cas pour deux - Intégrale saison 4" boxset (All Zone, 10 one-hour episodes) from Elephant Films.

Ein Fall für zwei was born from an idea by scriptwriters/producers Georg Althammer and Karl Heinz Willschrei, who wanted to create a crime drama whose main character wouldn't be a cop or an amateur sleuth. Experts in their craft, they worked for Bavaria Atelier on detective dramas like Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre (1967-1976). Karl Heinz Willschrei wrote the espionage series Alexander Zwo (1972) and several episodes of Tatort (1) or Der Alte (between 1977 and 1979). Althammer and Willschrei founded their own production company, called Monaco Film, in 1976. A subsidiary named Galmon-Film (later Odeon Film) was set up in 1981 to produce Ein Fall für zwei for the Freitagskrimi (Friday crime drama) line-up of ZDF. The concept pitched to the channel was a duo composed of a young lawyer and an experienced private eye. When Georg Althammer and Karl Heinz Willschrei were told that the great actor Günter Strack (The Odessa File, Torn Curtain) wanted to be in a TV series, they changed the tandem for an experienced lawyer — to be played by Strack — and a young detective. 

 

Georg Althammer gave the role of the private investigator to Claus Theo Gärtner. Regularly on stage like Günter Strack, Gärtner won of the Deutscher Filmpreis of the Best young actor for the film Zoff (1972). He played in the 1977 sci-fi TV movie Operation Ganymed and starred in the series Die Straße (1978). Ein Fall für zwei was launched by ZDF in September 1981 with a  pilot where Josef Matula (Gärtner), a Frankfurt police officer who quit the force, became the personal P.I. of lawyer Dr. Dieter Renz (Strack). Günter Strack left Ein Fall für zwei in 1988 after 60 episodes and the billiard player detective teamed up with three other lawyers during the impressively long run of the series (2). In autumn 2011, Claus Theo Gärtner expressed his desire to leave after 30 years as Josef Matula and he bowed out with the 300th episode in March 2013. Surprisingly, ZDF decided to revamp Ein Fall für Zwei around another attorney and private detective duo. The new version started in May 2014, with the same title and even a cameo of Claus Theo Gärtner (in 2015) but without  the famous theme music by jazz musician and television/film composer Klaus Doldinger (3).

 

Co-produced by ORF (Austria) and SRG (Switzerland) and sold in more than 50 countries, Ein Fall für Zwei arrived in France in 1991 and the series is regularly repeated there. For a long time, Klaus Doldinger's theme was replaced by a local intro but it was restored for French repeats and DVDs. The "Un cas pour deux - Intégrale saison 4" boxset from Elephant Films contains the 10 episodes of this exceptional 4th season,  shown on ZDF between January and December 1984.

 

- Totes Kapital. An excellent season premiere penned by Hans-G. Michel and helmed by Michael Meyer. Willi Kunze, a woodworker, is refused a loan for a surprising reason. With Bruno Dallansky (Willi), Karl Michael Vogler (Patton) as Klaus Altmann, Loni von Friedl (Doppelgänger) as Doris Zenker.

- Auf eigene Gefahr. An ex-girlfriend of Josef hires him because she thinks her husband is unfaithful. Matula's investigation takes an unexpected turn. With Gila von Weitershausen (Gerti Breuer). Written by Peter Hemmer and directed by Michael Mackenroth.

- Elf Jahre danach. Udo Lemke killed the first husband of Frauke Kuiper. As he's about to be released from prison she wants to prevent him from seeing her daughter Ann, who was a key witness during his trial. A great work by Karl Heinz Willschrei, directed by Michael Meyer. With Ursula Heyer (Frauke Kuiper), Rolf Becker (Udo Lemke).

- Chemie eines Mordes. Another great episode written by Karl Heinz Willschrei. Alexander Markus is suspected of a deadly hit and run. With Hansjörg Felmy (Tatort) as Markus, Hans Clarin (Danzer), Heidi Bruhl (Iloana Faber), Reiner Schöne (Alexander Birk). Directed by Eugen York.

- Die verlorene Nacht. A jigsaw puzzle devised by Karl Heinz Willschrei. With Christoph M. Ohrt (Edel & Starck, HeliCops - Einsatz über Berlin) as Uli Grass and Maja Maranow (Elke Kirch). Helmed by Kaspar Hedelbach.

- Zuckerbrot und Peitsche. Dieter Renz goes undercover in this episode written by Karl Heinz Willschrei and directed by Bernd Fischerauer. With Kathrin Ackermann (Mrs Hubschmid), Towje Kleiner (Mr Bertram). Actor Reiner Schöne, who appeared in Chemie eines Morders, is also a songwriter and singer. His Reiner Schöne Band made the music of this episode.

- Morgengrauen. A three-parter penned by Karl Heinz Willschrei and helmed by Michael Mackenroth. Initially aired by ZDF on November 16, 18 and 20, 1984. Matula works as the housekeeper of a villa where he finds a dead body. He's quickly accused of murder in this mysterious case partially filmed in Brittany and whose atmosphere reminds of Alexander Zwo. 

 

With Heidelinde Weis (Helga Winzer), Désirée Nosbusch (Nathalie Winzer), Edwin Noël (Prosecutor Ahrendt), Herbert Stass (Kirch), Armin Mueller-Stahl as Dr. Winzer, Yolande Gilot (Claudine), French actor Pierre Londiche as Leblanc, Thekla Carola Wied (Judge). Jürgen Schmidt, who plays Hauptkommisar Urban, played Kommissar Roland in the episode Die Verlorene Nacht. Music by Birger Heymann. Stunts of Part 2 by Rémy Julienne.

- Immer Ärger mit Ado. Ado, an old bricklayer, asks Renz for advice. With Wolfgang Reichmann (Ado), Heiner Lauterbach (Kluge). Written by Karl Heinz Willschrei and directed by Ilse Hoffmann.

From 2017 and 2019, Claus Theo Gärtner returned to his signature role for three 90-minute specials. All the episodes of the "Un cas pour deux - Intégrale saison 4" boxset are in French and in German (without subtitles), except for Zuckerbrot und Peitsche  (in German with subtitles). Bonus material consists of a photo gallery and the trailers of some other titles of Elephant Films: Highway to Heaven, The Rockford Files, Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost and Wycliffe.  German crime cult dramas Derrick and Der Alte are available from Elephant too and reviewed on this blog.

(1) The crime drama collection of ARD, launched in 1970 and still aired today. Karl Heinz Willschrei penned 10 Tatort TV movies, including the most watched episode ever, Rot - rot - rot (26.57 million viewers in 1978).

(2) Dr. Rainer Frank (Rainer Hunold, 1988-1997), Dr. Johannes Voss (Mathias Hermann, 1997-2000) and Dr. Markus Lessing (Paul Frielinghaus, 2001-2013).

(3) Founder of the band Passport, Klaus Doldinger composed the music of classics such as The Neverending Story (Die unendliche Geschichte, 1984) and Das Boot (1981) or the theme of Tatort.

 

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/mfp/8444898/un-cas-pour-deux?pid=10287802134

http://www.elephantfilms.com/

 

See also:

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-case-for-two-ein-fall-fur-zwei-season.html (Ein Fall für zwei - Season 3)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/10/a-case-for-two-ein-fall-fur-zwei-season.html (Ein Fall für zwei - Season 2)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-case-for-two-ein-fall-fur-zwei-season.html (Ein Fall für zwei - Season 1)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2017/04/matula-zdf_28.html (Matula #1)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/04/matula-der-schatten-des-berges-zdf.html (Matula #2)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/04/matula-tod-auf-mallorca-zdf.html (Matula #3)

HPI - SEASON 3, EPISODES 1 & 2: SYMÉTRIE RADIALE & 18 CARATS (TF1)

[Favourite of the Month][Spoiler-free review] The fabulous Audrey Fleurot (Les combattantes, Spiral) is back in HPI. The brilliant 8 x 52-minute third season of French private channel TF1's record-breaking comedy/crime drama starts this thursday with episode 1.

Created for TF1 by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot and Nicolas Jean — two of the creators of La Mante — with Stéphane Carrié (1), HPI established itself as a ratings juggernaut in France and Belgium during spring 2021 and confirmed its status with the second season. The series is sold in more than 90 territories. Audrey Fleurot plays Morgane Alvaro, a mother of three (from two different fathers) with a disdain for authority and a 160 I.Q. that makes her HPI (Haut Potentiel Intellectuel, hence the title). She was a cleaning lady at the commissariat de Lille until Commissaire Céline Hazan noticed her abilities and offered her a consultant job in the team of Commandant Adam Karadec. 

The actors alongside Audrey Fleurot are excellent: Mehdi Nebbou, who worked for Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott and appeared on German TV in Allmen and Tatort and in the U.S. drama Homeland, plays Commandant Karadec. Céline Hazan is played by Marie Denarnaud (Les papillons noirs, La malédiction du volcan). The other regulars are Bruno Sanches (Gilles Vandraud), Bérangère McNeese (Daphné Forestier), Cypriane Gardin (Théa), Noé Vandevoorde (Eliott), Cédric Chevalme (Ludovic Mullier) and Christopher Bayemi (Luther) as Dr. Bonnemain. Clotilde Hesme (Lupin) plays Commandant Roxane Ascher. Swiss actor Jérémy Lewin joins the regular cast as Brigadier Timothée Guichard.

In 2019, almost 8m viewers watched Le Bazar de la Charité on TF1 so HPI could have been a hit on the sole popularity of the versatile Audrey Fleurot. Her chemistry with Mehdi Nebbou is fantastic and they make their characters irresistible. Their talents are aptly served by the quality of both the production and the writing, which ensure a balance between humour and the cases of the week. The eagerly awaited third season, filmed between July 2022 and March 2023, starts with an incredible two-part story. In Symétrie radiale, Morgane Alvaro works as a cleaning lady again and she has not given any news to her colleagues for several months. At the police station, everybody misses her. Gilles and Daphné cannot help showing some dislike towards Céline's new recruit, Brigadier Guichard.

Morgane's obnoxious employer, Émilie Fontaine, complains that she's the victim of a mysterious tormentor. Morgane offers her to investigate in order to find who's behind her predicament. Things get complicated when Émilie vanishes. With Anne Azoulay (Émilie Fontaine), Pierre Rochefort (Maxime Fontaine), Ludovic Lecaille (Lorenzo), etc. In 18 carats, the ex-police consultant is in big trouble as she must face Karadec but also an old adversary. The great French actor Rufus returns as Henri. With Nicolas Martinez (Judge Caron), Anne Azoulay (Émilie Fontaine), Pierre Rochefort (Maxime Fontaine), Ludovic Lecaille (Lorenzo), Pauline Parigot  (Laëtitia Keller), etc. Scenario (Episodes 1 & 2) and story arc by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot and Julien Anscutter. Directed by Mona Achache.

Produced by Septembre Productions and Itinéraire Productions with TF1. Co-produced by Be-Films, RTBF (Télévision belge), Umedia, Pictanovo and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. Filmed with the support of Région Hauts-de-France. Jean Nainchrik, Anthony Lancret and Pierre Laugier are the line producers. Frank Delpech exec produces. Produced by Anthony Lancret, Pierre Laugier and Bérengère Legrand. Music by Yannis Dumoutiers. Cinematography by Emmanuel de Fleury. Editing by Bertrand Maillard. Main title design by Brett & Cie (Crimes parfaits). Graphic animations by La Brigade du Titre. Visual effects by Super 35 Productions and Umedia. 

Supported by the Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique and the investors of the Tax Shelter, with uFund. High Intellectual Potential (the international title of HPI) is distributed by Newen Connect.

(1) Based on an idea from Nicolas Jean. Djibril Glissant and Franck Martins contributed to the series.

 

https://www.tf1.fr/tf1/hpi

https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1258326/article/2022-11-25/hpi-saison-3-reprise-du-tournage-quelles-communes-du-nord-seront-concernees 

DERRICK - SEASON 4 ON DVD (ELEPHANT FILMS)

Derrick, the German crime drama starring Horst Tappert and Fritz Wepper, ran for 281 episodes from 1974 to 1998 on ZDF and aired in over 100 countries. Season 4 (10 one-hour episodes) is now available in France on DVD (All Zone) in the "Inspecteur Derrick - Intégrale saison 4" boxset released by Elephant Films.

Derrick was devised by producer Helmut Ringelmann and scriptwriter Herbert Reinecker as an alternative to Der Kommissar, their crime drama launched in 1969 on ZDF. Produced by Ringelmann's Neue Münchner Fernsehproduktion and set in Munich, Der Kommissar starred Erik Ode as Kommissar Herbert Keller (an investigator inspired by Maigret).  It stayed in black & white until the end in 1976 and its 97 one-hour episodes were all penned by Reinecker. In April 1977, Der Alte, Helmut Ringelmann's successor to Der Kommissar, premiered on the channel (1). The prolific Reinecker worked on the Edgar Wallace, Jerry Cotton and Winnetou film series. Interested by the psychological and social backgrounds of crime (2), he wrote each of the 281 episodes of Derrick. The main character, Oberinspektor Stephan Derrick of the Munich Mordkommission, made actor Horst Tappert recognizable all over the world. 

Tappert's first notable role was the criminal mastermind in the miniseries The Great Train Robbery (Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse, 1966). He played  a villain in The Hound of Blackwood Castle (Der Hund von Blackwood Castle, 1967), an Edgar Wallace movie, before switching sides as the detective in the next two: Gorilla Gang (Der Gorilla von Soho, 1968) and The Man with the glass eye (Der Mann mit dem Glasauge, 1969). Helmut Ringelmann offered him the title role in Derrick, a production of his new company Telenova (for ZDF, ORF and SRG) filmed in colour. Horst Tappert described the Oberinspektor as "devoured by the melancholy and cynicism of Humphrey Bogart" (3). An element of Der Kommissar was kept when the Kriminalhauptmeister Harry Klein, one of Keller's men, left his boss to become Inspektor and work for Derrick. 

Munich-born actor Fritz Wepper bid farewell to Der Kommissar in an episode where Harry introduced his replacement... his brother Erwin Klein (Fritz Wepper's brother Elmar Wepper). Before Derrick, Wepper shared scenes with Tappert in Der Mann mit dem Glasauge and got noticed in Cabaret (1972). He remained popular long after Derrick thanks to TV series like Zweï Brüder (1994-2000, with Elmar Wepper), Um Himmels Willen (2002-2021) and Mord in bester Geselshaft (2007-2017). The other regulars of Derrick were Willy Schäfer (Berger), Günther Stoll (Schröder) and Gerhard Bormann (Echterding). Helmut Ringelmann liked to work with a quasi-repertory company of guest actors. The filming of the famous series began in summer 1973 and ZDF presented it with 3 episodes aired during autumn and winter 1974. 12 episodes from the second season followed throughout the year 1975.

 

Originally, viewers knew the culprit from the start  — like in Columbo — though this was dropped for whodunnits. Occasional action sequences are another feature of these early seasons. The channel aired the first 29 episodes (Seasons 1 to 3) of Derrick out of their production order. Season 4 was shown on ZDF from January to October 1977. This fourth season is perfect in every department, from the plots to the very diverse locations.

 

- Yellow He. A young man is seduced by a young woman in a disco. Later, his uncle is shot dead. The brilliant 30th episode of Derrick was helmed by Zbyněk Brynych, a talented Czech director who frequently worked for Helmut Ringelmann's productions since Der Kommissar. With Martin Semmelrogge (Alfred "Ali" Rabes), Maria Schell (Erika Rabes), Susanne Beck (Annemarie "Yellow He" Gelberg), etc.

- Hals in der Schlinge. Heli and Ingo Giserke discover that their father hanged himself. The legendary Edgar Wallace director Alfred Vohrer and cinematographers Rolf Kästel & Michael Georg take us to the Alter Nordfriedhof and the Munich Olympic Stadium. Günter Strack (Ein Fall für zwei) plays Kless.  With Helga Anders (Heli), Willy Kowalj (Ingo), Herbert Fleischmann (Ludemann), etc.

- Eine Nacht in Oktober. The young secretary of a lawyer is murdered. The guest cast is first-class: Swiss actor and director Bernhard Wicki (Dr. Lechner), Traugott Buhre (Steinbrink), Brigitte Horney (Mrs Lechner), Carl Lange (credited Karl Lange) as Dr. Meyers, etc. There's even Iris Berben, the future Rosa Roth (1994-2013) as the victim. Directed by Wolfgang Becker.

- Offene Rechnung. A group of pensioners leaves one of them, severely injured, in the park of their retirement home. A masterpiece helmed by Alfred Vohrer. Some scenes were filmed in the Munich U-Bahn and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater. With Rudolf Platte, Edith Heerdegen, Rudolf Fernau, Konrad Georg... Music by the illustrious German composer Peter Thomas.

 

- Tod des Wucherers. A classic directed by Zbyněk Brynych and served by the fabulous performances of Gerd Baltus (Erich Winterhammer), Agnes Dünneisen (Hilde Hensch), Peter Kuiper, etc. Music by Peter Thomas.

- Das Kuckucksei. Eberhard Horre takes a strange phone call from his wife. An episode helmed by Alfred Vohrer, with scenes filmed near Starnberg Lake. The Transrapid 04, an experimental highspeed monorail train from the Krauss Maffei company, is seen on its test track. With Ralf Schermuly (Eberhard Horre), Gerd Böckmann (Alfred Horre), etc. Last participation of Günther Stoll, who died in January 1977 only aged 52. Music by Rolf Kühn.

- Mord im TEE 91. A man is found dead in the Trans-Europ-Express in this espionage story directed by Zbyněk Brynych. With Alwy Becker (Andrea), Harry Meyen (Harris), Siegfried Rauch (Mohr), etc.

- Via Bangkok. A musician back from Thailand is beaten to death. With Thomas Holtzmann (Jakob Renz), Cornelia Froebess (Helga Renz), Christian Wolff... Directed by Theodor Grädler.

- Inkasso. A car washer discovers a dead body in this brilliant episode directed by Helmuth Ashley. Locations include the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich and the Olympia Schwimhalle. With Monika Gabriel, Karl Walter Diess, Dirk Galuba, Lisa Kreuzer, etc. Music by composer, singer and hit maker Frank Duval. Duval worked regularly for both Derrick and Der Alte.

 

- Tote im Wald. An English exchange student girl is found murdered in the woods. With Martin Lüttge (Tatort) and Gaby Dohm (Black Forest Clinic).

The theme of Derrick was composed by English musician Les Humphries. Derrick arrived in France as Inspecteur Derrick in 1986 on Silvio Berlusconi's La Cinq. The 10 episodes of this fourth season from Derrick are in the DVD boxset from Elephant Films in French or German (without subtitles). Bonus material is comprised of a photo gallery and the trailers of some of the titles from Elephant, such as Les évasions célèbres (1972), Nana (1981),  the gripping French period drama Le trompette de la Bérésina (1966), From Here to Eternity (the 1979 miniseries) or La chambre des dames (1984).

 

(1) Der Alte still exists today.

(2)(3) https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/mieser-eindruck-a-c92c15d4-0002-0001-0000-000041599515

 

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/mfp/shop/9253057/inspecteur-derrick?pid=10079840211&sellerLogin=ElephantFilm

http://www.elephantfilms.com
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm 

http://krimiserien.heimat.eu/d/derrick.htm

 

See also:

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/10/derrick-season-3-on-dvd-elephant-films.html (Season 3)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/06/derrick-seasons-1-2-french-region-2-dvd.html (Seasons 1 & 2)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-old-fox-der-alte-season-10-on-dvd.html (Der Alte - Season 10 on DVD)