The Cold Room (1984)

A girl who arrives in modern day East Germany begins reliving the horrifying events that happened to a young girl in 1936.

Director:

James Dearden

Writers:

Jeffrey Caine (novel), James Dearden

Stars:

George Segal, Amanda Pays, Renée Soutendijk

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Segal	...	Hugh Martin
Amanda Pays	...	Carla Martin / Christa Bruckner
Renée Soutendijk	...	Lili
Warren Clarke	...	Wilhelm Bruckner
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Frau Hoffman
Clifford Rose	...	Moltke
Ursula Howells	...	Headmistress
George Pravda	...	The Doctor
Lucy Hornak	...	Sophie
Gertan Klauber	...	Older Nazi
Stuart Wolfe	...	Young Man
Wolf Rüdiger Reutermann	...	Customs Officer
Judith Melischek	...	Young Woman
Anthony Higgins	...	Erich

Storyline

Seventeen-year-old Carla arrives in East Berlin to spend the summer with her estrange historian father, Hugh. She stays in an old hotel that used to be a butcher shop. She soon gets the feeling that something is wrong with her room and that it used to be bigger somehow. There she discovers an old wardrobe with a mirror in it. When she sees an image of a young girl in the mirror instead of her own, she begins suffering from violent visions about the young butcher's daughter, who lived there during the 1930s and helped a Jewish dissident hide from Gestapo in the cold room of her father's shop. However, not only was her father a violent staunch Nazi supporter and Party member but he also raped her on nightly basis. Carla slowly loses the ability to separate these horrifying visions from reality and begins to fear her own father. Hugh tries to help her but things only get worse. Is Carla slowly losing her mind or are the visions trying to tell her something?

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Plot Keywords:

shame | stabbing | vision | butcher | gestapo | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

24 March 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Prisoner

Filming Locations:

East Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Premiere Films, Jethro Films Production, Mark Forstater Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

A TV movie made for the HBO network.

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Goofs

Approximately 71 minutes into the movie, when Heir Bruckner (Warren Clarke) is driving his daughter, Christa (Amanda Pays), home after picking her up from Nazi Headquarters, they are obviously in a British car. Heir Bruckner is driving from the right-hand side of the car, not the left-hand side as it would be in Germany.

User Reviews

Flasbacks to Nazi Germany

Enjoyed this film starring George Segal, (Hugh Martin), who plans a trip to visit his girl friend, Lili,(Renee Southendjik) who lives in Germany during the cold war and decides to bring his daughter Carla Martin,(Christa Bruckner). Carla attended a Catholic College and was given a book from a Nun concerning Berlin, Germany during 1936 and WW II and Carla becomes very interested in this book and it has a great effect on Carla's visit to Germany. This is something like a story of "Diary of Anne Frank" and Carla begins to have visions of what it was like during these war years. Carla does not get along very well with Lili and causes all kinds of problems in her hotel room and starts moving furniture all around the room and even starts to steal large amounts of food, silverware, cups plates and acts like a completely crazy person. This is a very interesting film and worth your time in viewing.