Brainwashed (1960)
"Schachnovelle" (original title)

In 1938 Austria shortly after the Nazi occupation, a prominent Viennese intellectual, Werner von Basil, is arrested for smuggling art treatures out of the country and imprisoned by the ... See full summary »

Director:

Gerd Oswald

Writers:

Harold Medford, Gerd Oswald,

Stars:

Curd Jürgens, Claire Bloom, Hansjörg Felmy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Curd Jürgens	...	Werner von Basil
Claire Bloom	...	Irene Andreny
Hansjörg Felmy	...	Hans Berger
Mario Adorf	...	Mirko Centowic
Hans Söhnker	...	Bishop Ambrosse
Albert Bessler	...	Scientist
Rudolf Forster	...	Hotel Manager
Alan Gifford	...	Mac Iver
Jan Hendriks	...	First Officer
Albert Lieven	...	Hartmann
Harald Maresch	...	Ballet Master
Dietmar Schönherr	...	Rabbi
Karel Stepanek	...	Baranow
Wolfgang Wahl	...	Moonface
Dorothea Wieck	...	Countess

Storyline

In 1938 Austria shortly after the Nazi occupation, a prominent Viennese intellectual, Werner von Basil, is arrested for smuggling art treatures out of the country and imprisoned by the Gestapo in a hotel room without any mental sustence of any kind to break him down to make him talk while a young ballerina, named Irene Adreny whom is the lover of the SS officer Berger playing mind games on von Basil, tries to intervene and help the poor intellectual keep his mind intact.

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Plot Keywords:

brainwashing | chess | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

25 June 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brainwashed

Filming Locations:

Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roxy Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

User Reviews

A splendid, cerebral film!

This is a wonderful film, even better and darker than Stefan Zweig's short story upon which it is based.

It moves along at a leisurely pace by contemporary standards, which makes it all the better by providing a good sense of context for recently Nazi-occupied Austria. It Imparts an atmosphere of anxious apprehension and quiet desperation as poor Curd Jurgens struggles to hold onto his sanity while in solitary confinement, deprived of all stimuli.

Recommended for film buffs and chess players alike.