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Fremde Stadt

Strange City
Retrospective 2025
Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, © Moana-Film
A man arrives in Munich with two million deutschmarks in a suitcase. He stole the money from a bank in Dusseldorf. He hopes to “launder” the cash by having his ex-wife pay it into her bank account bit by bit. But despite her newly-resurgent love, she demands fully half of the booty as payment. Soon he also has a detective breathing down his neck who dreams of sailing around the world in his own boat. And then there is the shady couple following him in a dark Citroën DS with Dusseldorf license plates … In his black-and-white, CinemaScope thriller, Rudolf Thome actually managed to make Bavaria’s capital, dubbed the “World City with Heart”, look like a dangerous place. Against that consciously inhospitable backdrop, the avowed Howard Hawks fan paraded an illustrious line-up of greedy pursuers, with all of them (with the exception of a harmless aquarium enthusiast) hoping to score their own haul. Their common victim is forced to pay a steep price during risky transactions, but it seems by the end of the film as if his plan has come to fruition – while Rudolf Thome set out for new shores: from Munich to Berlin, actually and artistically.
by Rudolf Thome (Director), Max Zihlmann (Screenplay)
with Roger Fritz, Karin Thome, Peter Moland, Werner Umberg, Eva Kinsky, Georg Marischka, Martin Sperr, Christian Friedel, Stefan Abendroth, Hans Noever Federal Republic of Germany 1972 German 106' Black/White

With

  • Roger Fritz
  • Karin Thome
  • Peter Moland
  • Werner Umberg
  • Eva Kinsky
  • Georg Marischka
  • Martin Sperr
  • Christian Friedel
  • Stefan Abendroth
  • Hans Noever

Crew

Director Rudolf Thome
Screenplay Max Zihlmann
Cinematography Martin Schäfer
Editing Ursula Goetz-Dickopp, Heidi Genée
Music John Andrews, Richard Palmer-James
Producer Rudolf Thome

Additional information

DCP: Moana-Film

Photos