Thomas Keck

Klaus murders women. After killing another girl, Klaus is spotted by his friend Kersten as he leaves his latest victim's house. Kersten gives him a ride and Klaus begins to plot the man's death. He's a witness, after all. Nobody else can say Klaus was there except Kersten. They decide to head to a party. Klaus' unhappy wife is there. So are a bunch of other people. Killing Kersten will be difficult. Then they all play a game called... Murder Party!

Bank director Ernst Rose, owner of the Hamburg bank Traven & Co., is asked to go to the airport earlier than expected to pick up his daughter Silvia. When he arrives, he realizes too late that he has walked into a trap. He is overpowered by kidnappers and abducted. The gang around Alexander Ford and his men want to rob three and a half million from the bank vault at the weekend. But it can only be opened with four keys, which are in the hands of four so-called key holders. Under the direction of criminal Ford, all those involved become puppets in a game of life and death.

Director Wolfgang Staudte who left East Germany in 1953 to make movies in West Germany, 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 another woman. 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 defence lawyer, driven to an extreme, knows he has to find the real killer or his client will be convicted.

Technical draftsman Herr R. is a dependable guy. He gets along with his colleagues although his boss wants him to go beyond technical cleanliness to problem solving. He's a dutiful husband; his wife's a social climber and pressures him to seek a promotion, but they also share sweet moments. He's a caring father, helping his son with homework. His parents visit; his mother criticizes his wife. Old schoolmates drop by, as do neighbours. Some comment on his wife's expensive tastes. His promotion may be a long shot, especially after he gives a dull and tipsy toast at an office dinner. But why would Herr R. run amok?