MONEY. MURDER. ZURICH. (DER ZÜRICH-KRIMI) - EPISODE 15: BORCHERT UND DAS GEHEIMNIS DES MANDANTEN (DAS ERSTE, 2022)

Launched in 2016, the brilliant 90-minute crime drama Der Zürich-Krimi returns this month on German pubcaster Das Erste with Borchert und das Geheimnis des Mandanten and Borchert und die dunkeln Schatten.

Der Zürich-Krimi stars the great Christian Kohlund (Das Traumhotel, Black Forest Clinic) as the melancholic Thomas Borchert, an "unlicensed attorney" who works in Zurich for lawyer Dominique Kuster and often acts as a private investigator. Ina Paule Klink (Wilsberg) co-stars as Dominique. The other regulars are Pierre Kiwitt as Police captain Marco Furrer, Robert Hunger-Bühler (Dr. Reto Zanger), Susi Banzhaf as Regula Gabrielli (Dominique's assistant) and Yves Wüthrich (Urs Aeggi, Furrer's deputy). Andrea Zogg, who plays taxi driver Beat Bürki, is absent from this episode.

Thomas Borchert and Dominique Kuster attend the vernissage of portrait photographer Corinna Riemer. Stephan Altweger, the nephew of entrepreneur Jürg Altweger, shows arrogance towards Italian caterer Giovanni Lazzari but Thomas puts him straight. Outside the gallery, Borchert sees a man leaving the courtyard in a hurry and he discovers that Jürg Altweger has been shot dead. Surprisingly, Captain Marco Furrer arrests Giovanni Lazzari. The caterer was heard arguing with Jürg and gunshot residues were found on his hand. Thomas and Dominique accept to defend Giovanni but the Italian is hiding something to his lawyers.

The suspenseful Borchert und das Geheimnis des Mandanten was penned by Robert Hummel (Letzte Spur Berlin) and directed by Roland Suso Richter. Also with Julia Richter (Corinna Riemer), Michele Cucioffo (Giovanni Lazzari), Clelia Sarto (Cristina Lazzari), Moritz von Treuenfels (Stephan Altweger), Birte Wolter (Sandra Altweger), Liliom Lewald (Dennis Kovac), Steffen Münster (Jörg Altweger), Kathleen Gallego Zapata (Judge Mildenberger), Michael Stobbe (Prosecutor Favre), etc. Produced by Graf Film with Czech company Mia Film (Allmen) for ARD Degeto and Das Erste. 

Produced by Klaus Graf, Annemarie Pilgram and Michal Pokorný. Katja Roesch, Ondřej Nerud and Sandra Moll (ARD Degeto) are the production managers. Filmed in Zurich and Prague. Music by Michael Klaukien. Cinematography by Max Knauer, BVK. Production services in Switzerland provided by Christof Neracher for Hugofilm. Made with the support of the Czech Film Fund.  Episodes 1 to 9 of Money. Murder. Zurich. (the international title of Der Zürich-Krimi) are available in the United States and Canada on the SVOD service MHZ Choice. Distributed by Beta Film.

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/04/money-murder-zurich-der-zurich-krimi.html (Episode 13)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/04/money-murder-zurich-der-zurich-krimi.html (Episode 7) 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2021/03/money-murder-zurich-der-zurich-krimi.html (Episode 6)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/04/money-murder-zurich-der-zurich-krimi_26.html (Episode 5)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/07/money-murder-zurich-der-zurich-krimi.html (Episodes 3 & 4)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/06/money-murder-zurich-der-zurich-krimi.html (Episodes 1 & 2) 

See: 

 

https://www.robert-hummel.de/
https://www.daserste.de/unterhaltung/film/der-zuerich-krimi/index.html
http://www.kohlund.com/
https://www.graffilm.com/en/company.html

ON THE OTHER HAND, DEATH: A DONALD STRACHEY MYSTERY (2008, HERE TV)

Donald Strachey is the quintessential private eye, a worthy heir to Philip Marlowe, but with a difference... He's gay. On the Other Hand, Death (2008) is the third of four excellent made-for-TV movies based on a literary series.

 

Donald Strachey was created by American journalist and author Richard Lipez, who died in March 2022. He was openly gay and wrote 16 Donald Strachey Mystery novels (published between 1981 and 2019) under the nom de plume Richard Stevenson. A posthumous 17th book is to be published. Strachey lives in Albany, N.Y. with his longtime partner Timothy "Timmy" Callahan, the assistant to a New York state senator. His cases often concern the local gay community. 

From 2005 to 2008, U.S. premium LGBTQ (1) channel Here TV shown four films shot in Canada and starring Chad Allen (Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman) as Donald Strachey and Sebastian Spence (First Wave) as Timothy Callahan: Third Man Out (2005), Shock to the System (2006), On the Other Hand, Death (2008) and Ice Blues (2008). The last two were filmed back-to-back but On the Other Hand, Death is actually the fourth movie. All were helmed by director Ron Oliver (Queer as Folk, Psi Factor), who brought a substantial dose of his creativity to the TV versions of Richard Stevenson's books (2). 

 

On the Other Hand, Death is based on the second novel (published in 1984) and was written by Gillian Horvath (Highlander: The Series, Forever Knight) and Ron McGee. Donald Strachey is tailing a woman who happens to be an undercover cop, Officer Gina Santer. She and Detective Bub Bailey interrogate Donald. He tells them a mysterious client paid him in cash to follow his unfaithful wife. Later, Timothy and Don join Tim's ex-boyfriend Andrew McWhirter, who supports a couple of lesbian friends: Dorothy Fisher, a school guidance counselor, and her partner Edith Strong. Dorothy is on paid leave because a parent accuses her of promoting homosexuality as she advises his gay son.

 

The couple's home is the subject of homophobic attacks, including one in presence of Strachey and Callahan. The P.I. investigates while Kenny Kwon, his assistant, searches for information on the "client". Chad Allen brings back his character with talent and class. The chemistry between the gay actor (outed by a tabloid in 1996) and Sebastian Spence, who's straight and plays his role with ease, is essential to these adaptations where mystery and a film noir atmosphere are combined with romance. This romantic aspect is influenced by the Thin Man movies (1934-1947) and their husband/wife sleuth duo Nick and Nora Charles (3).

 

Another pleasant element of the Donald Strachey Mysteries is the presence of the irresistible Nelson Wong as the enthusiastic and irreverent Kenny Kwon. The role was a bit part in Third Man Out but Kenny returned in Shock to the System to be Donald's secretary ("office manager") and now he's training to be a private detective. Since Ice Blues, the last Donald Strachey, Nelson Wong played characters named "Kenny Kwon" in a long list of Hallmark TV movies directed by Ron Oliver. Fans of both Hallmark Channel and Wong call these participations "the Kennyverse".

 

Daryl Shuttleworth plays Albany Police Detective Bub Bailey. Margot Kidder, aka Lois Lane in the Superman movies, shines as a superheroine of her own with the role of Dorothy and Gabrielle Rose is perfect as Edith. Like  the other Donald Strachey Mysteries made for television, On the Other Hand, Death is a celebration of detective fiction. Also with Damon Runyan (Andrew McWhirter), Lori Triolo (Gina Santer), William MacDonald (Jonas Baskin), Barclay Hope (Carl Deems), Kerry James (Joey Deems), Ralph Alderman (Sheriff Reg Howard), Keegan MacIntosh (Derek Baskin), David Orth (Peter Garritty), etc.

 

Produced by Shavick Entertainment with Here!. Exec produced by Barry Krost and Brad Danks. Produced by Paul Colichman, Stephen P. Jarchow and James Shavick. Philip Webb is the supervising producer. Music by Peter Allen. Cinematography by C. Kim Miles, CSC. Editing by Tony Dean Smith. Production designed by Rick Whitfield. Costumes designed by Karen Munnis with Katie Quinn. The superb title sequence was designed by Krista Lomax. Filmed with the participation of The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the  Province of British Columbia Film Incentive BC.  

 

Chad Allen retired from acting (and production) in 2015 to become a psychologist. The versatile Ron Oliver became the king of Christmas movies. Mentioned in the On the Other Hand, Death TV movie, The Trevor Project is an important suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. 

 

(1) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning.

(2) (3) See Bonnie Jean Mah's excellent documentary Martinis & Murder: Inside the Donald Strachey Mysteries (2009).

 

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2021/09/third-man-out-donald-strachey-mystery.html (Review of Third Man Out)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/01/shock-to-system-donald-strachey-mystery.html (Review of Shock to the System)  

 

See also:   

 

https://bryandspellman.com/donald-strachey-mysteries

https://www.advocate.com/politics/commentary/2005/08/15/chads-case (Chad Allen interview)

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-12-05/the-housewives-of-the-north-pole-kyle-richards-peacock-betsy-brandt-ron-oliver (Ron Oliver)  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-hallmark-christmas-1.6293368 (Nelson Wong)

ALLMEN: THE PINK DIAMOND (ALLMEN UND DAS GEHEIMNIS DES ROSA DIAMANTEN - DAS ERSTE, 2017)

A philosophical dandy turned art detective and his loyal butler are looking for a stolen diamond. Allmen und das Geheimnis des rosa Diamanten is the second of a very enjoyable and stylish German feature-length comedy/detective series aired on Das Erste since 2017.

Johann Friedrich von Allmen lives in Zurich. He's a bon vivant, a man of culture and taste who likes elegance and refinement. Allmen has no equal when it comes to spending his money, to the point that he squandered the family fortune and lost his beautiful home. Thankfully, he turned an expertise in tracing missing artworks into a profession as the founder of Allmen International Enquiries. Though it allows him to maintain his idea of a costly lifestyle, his faithful Guatemalan valet Carlos does his best to moderate — not without a touch of irony — the flamboyant "Don John". Created by bestselling Swiss author Martin Suter, Allmen first appeared in Allmen and the Dragonflies (Allmen und die Libellen, 2011), a novel followed by five more. 

 

Four Allmen TV movies based on the books were aired by pubcaster Das Erste between 2017 and 2021: Allmen und das Geheimnis der Libellen, Allmen und das Geheimnis des rosa Diamanten, Allmen und das Geheimnis der Dahlien and Allmen und das Geheimnis der Erotik. The project of a fifth one,  Allmen und der Koi, was evoked last year but shooting hasn't started. Those films star Heino Ferch (Nordholm, Anatomy of Evil) as Allmen and Samuel Finzi (Flemming) as Carlos. Adapted by scriptwriter Martin Rauhaus (Hotel Heidelberg) from the book Allmen and the Pink Diamond (Allmen und der rosa Diamant), Allmen und das Geheimnis des rosa Diamanten was directed by Thomas Berger (Kommissarin Lucas). The mysterious Mr. Montgomery gives Allmen a SFr.20,000 retainer to find a stolen pink diamond known as The Eye of Shiva.

 

The precious stone is believed to be in the hands of a Russian businessman named Artjom Sokolow. The art detective looks for information — Allmen style — in a nightclub. Carlos meets Sokolow's Colombian housemaid Maria Moreno and falls for her. Allmen finds the Russian at a prestigious German hotel where death soon strikes. The epicurian dandy and his manservant face dangerous adversaries. Most of the charm of these adaptations of Allmen comes from the performances of the  both talented Heino Ferch (with an incredible look) and Samuel Finzi. The likeable duo is often compared to P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster. Andrea Osvárt (Tranporter: The Series) plays Joelle "Jojo" Hirt, the daughter of one of the richest men in Switzerland and Allmen's love interest. Isabella Parkinson joins the regular cast as Maria Moreno.  

 

Also with Nora von Waldstätten (Vanessa), Daniel Wagner (Artjom Sokolow), Alexander Finkenwirth (Neuenhauser), Oscar Ortega Sánchez (Don Gregorio), Tomas Sinclair Spencer (Colin Montgomery), Robert Seeliger (American), Roman Šmejkal (Taxi driver Arnold) etc. Allmen und das Geheimnis des rosa Diamanten was mostly shot in Prague. Produced by UFA Fiction and Mia Film (Der Zürich-Krimi) for  ARD Degeto and Das Erste. Kristina Henning-Egger and Benjamin Benedict are the producers. Co-produced by Zbyněk Pippal and Michal Pokorný. Holger Krenz and Kirsten Frehse (ARD Degeto) are the line producers. Music by Fabian Römer and Mathias Hillebrand-Gonzalez. Benedikt Herforth is the production designer. Cinematography by Frank Küpper. Editing by Lucas Seeberger and Melania Singer. 

 

Allmen und das Geheimnis des rosa Diamanten is available in the U.S. and Canada as Allmen: The Pink Diamond, thanks to MHz Choice.

 

https://www.stern.de/lifestyle/leute/allmen-und-das-geheimnis-der-erotik--heino-ferch-verraet-details-zur--allmen--reihe-30453864.html

https://mhzchoice.com/first-look-allmen/

 

See also:

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/08/allmen-secret-of-dragonflies-allmen-und.html (Allmen #1)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2021/06/allmen-allmen-and-mystery-of-dahlias.html  (Allmen #3)