The Last Witness (1960)
"Der letzte Zeuge" (original title)

Wolfgang Staudte takes a few swipes at the West German judicial system in this fairly effective courtroom drama about the murder of a four-month-old baby. Police almost immediately arrest ... See full summary »

Director:

Wolfgang Staudte

Writers:

Thomas Keck, Robert A. Stemmle,

Stars:

Martin Held, Hanns Lothar, Ellen Schwiers

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Held	...	Direktor Werner Rameil
Hanns Lothar	...	Rechtsanwalt Dr. Fox
Ellen Schwiers	...	Ingrid Bernhardy
Jürgen Goslar	...	Dr. Heinz Stephan
Adelheid Seeck	...	Gerda Rameil
Werner Hinz	...	Landgerichtsrat Ricker
Lore Hartling	...	Assessorin Ebeling
Siegfried Wischnewski	...	Kriminalinspektor Gerhuf
Harald Juhnke	...	Kriminalsekretär Wenzel
Otto Graf	...	Anwalt Dr. Beyer
Albert Bessler	...	Dr. Hollberg
Lucie Mannheim	...	Frau Bernhardy
Hans Hessling	...	Vorsitzender des Schwurgerichts
Hellmut Grube	...	Staatsanwalt Thalmann
Rudi Schmitt	...	Amtsgerichtsrat Glänzer

Storyline

Wolfgang Staudte takes a few swipes at the West German judicial system in this fairly effective courtroom drama about the murder of a four-month-old baby. Police almost immediately arrest the mother Ingrid who is the mistress of the father, a rich business VIP married to someone else. His position and wealth keep him insulated from suspicion. A hot-shot lawyer has to overcome the unaccountably biased perceptions of the police, the judge, the prosecutor and almost everyone else in the judicial system. The defense lawyer, driven to an extreme, knows he has to find the real killer or his client will be convicted.

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Genres:

Crime

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

30 December 1960 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A Última Testemunha

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kurt Ulrich Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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