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IMDb > Town Without Pity (1961)

Town Without Pity (1961) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   464 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 71% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Manfred Gregor (novel)
George Hurdalek (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Town Without Pity on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
March 1961 (Austria) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
The Story of What Four Men Did To a Girl... And What the Town Did To Them!
Plot:
Four American soldiers stationed near a German village face death in the rape of a local girl and are defended by outside counsel Major Steve Grant. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
In View of the Singular Brutality of this Movie… more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Kirk Douglas ... Maj. Steve Garrett
Barbara Rütting ... Inge Koerner
Christine Kaufmann ... Karin Steinhof

E.G. Marshall ... Col. Jerome Pakenham
Hans Nielsen ... Karl Steinhof
Ingrid van Bergen ... Trude

Robert Blake ... Cpl. Jim Larkin
Richard Jaeckel ... Cpl. Birdwell "Birdie" Scott
Frank Sutton ... Sgt. Chuck Snyder
Karin Hardt ... Frau Steinhof
Gerhart Lippert ... Frank Borgmann
Mal Sondock ... Pvt. Joey Haines
Alan Gifford ... Gen. Stafford
Max Haufler ... Dr. Urban
Rose Renée Roth ... Frau Kulig
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Stadt ohne Mitleid (West Germany)
Ville sans pitié (Switzerland: French title) (literal title)
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Runtime:
105 min
Language:
English | German
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Christine Kaufmann's American film debut. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: The U. S. flag in the courtroom scenes is displayed incorrectly. The union or blue field should be on the observer's left. more
Quotes:
Sgt. Chuck Snyder: I guess I'm a little nervous about how this will look on my record.
Maj. Steve Garrett: [Slams coffee pot down on table] Record! I've seen it. It's enough to gag a hyena. Personally I hate your guts, but I have to defend you.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Skipped Parts (2000) more
Soundtrack:
Town Without Pity more

FAQ

What is this movie about?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
Where was "Town Without Pity" filmed?
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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful:-
In View of the Singular Brutality of this Movie…, 13 July 2008
10/10
Author: Prof_Lostiswitz from Cyberia

… I have no alternative but to ask that you watch it as soon as possible.

This is undoubtedly Kirk Douglas' finest performance, probably because he's playing a character somewhat like himself. But rookie actress Christine Kaufmann completely steals the show in what must have been a very difficult performance. She deserved an Oscar, not just a second-rate Golden Globe.

Director Gottfried Reinhard is the son of impresario Max Reinhard, the guy who put Frank Wedekind on the stage. Although you may not have heard of him, Wedekind wrote such famous plays as Lulu and Springtime Awakening (which resembles Town Without Pity in some ways). That line "the law is like a great wide river" is a paraphrase of a famous line from Springtime Awakening… in fact, the movie has a ton of great quotable lines e.g. "such a small town, and so much hate and meanness".

Besides the portrait of a small town where everyone hates everyone hates everyone else, added tension is given by this being a proud and ancient place humiliated by foreign conquest and occupation (West Germany, 1960). The many tensions reach boiling point and explode. This Swiss-American co-production goes places Hollywood would never dare, it more resembles German movies like The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum.

The theme song was a smash hit in 1961, and even got an Oscar nomination; the music was written by the legendary Dimitri Tiomkin, a classically trained composer.

"No, it isn't very pretty what a town without pity can do-oo".

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Saw some of it, missed 2nd half...HELP? snaik005
US Flag blooper rlaniewski
Blooper in Town Without Pity r-e-studley
theme song jamesroo
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