''Duel with Death'' (German: ''Duell mit dem Tod'') is a 1949 Austrian war

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Paul May Paul May (8 May 1909 – 25 February 1976) was a German film director and editor. He directed 40 films between 1935 and 1972. Biography He was the son of Peter Ostermayr, a film producer with Universum Film AG, and his wife Olga, ''née' ...

and starring

Rolf von Nauckhoff Rolf von Nauckhoff (1909–1968) was a Swedish film actor who worked mainly in Germany.World Filmography: 1967 p.152 Selected filmography * ''Johan Ulfstjerna'' (1936) - Student reading a poem (uncredited) * ''Shipwrecked Max'' (1936) - Waiter * ...

Annelies Reinhold Annelies Reinhold (5 January 19176 January 2007) was an Austrian film actress.Giesen p.185 She actively starred in films over a duration of 10 years. Selected filmography * ''The Three Codonas'' (1940) * ''Violanta'' (1942) * ''Paracelsus'' (1943 ...

, and

Fritz Hinz-Fabricius Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridoli ...

.Fritsche p.49 The film portrays the Austrian resistance to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Otto Pischinger. It premiered at the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

in July 1949 before going on general release in Austria that December.

Synopsis

A Professor is brought before an

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

military court to explain apparently incriminating evidence against him. This gives him a chance to recount what really happened during the war years.

Cast

as Dr. Ernst Romberg *

as Maria Romberg *

as Pfarrer Menhardt * Hans Dreßler as Defense lawyer Dr. Hallmann * Louis V. Arco as Gerichtsvorsitzender *

Ernst Waldbrunn Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...

as Franz Lang *

Maria Eis Maria Eis (born Prague, 22 February 1896 - died Vienna, 18 December 1954) was an Austrian actress of stage and screen. Between 1918 and 1923 Eis performed on stage at the ''Neue Wiener Bühne'' (New Vienna stage), the ''Renaissancebühne'' (Re ...

as Frau Lang *

Erich Auer Erich Auer (14 April 1923 – 17 December 2004) was an Austrian theater, film and television actor.Goble p.173 He had leading roles in several heimatfilmen during the early 1950s. He was married to Martha Wallner, a popular Austrian actress. The ...

as Geisler * Martin King as Ziegler *

Manfred Schuster Manfred Schuster (born 14 February 1958) is a German ice hockey player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d ...

as Beierle *

Hannes Schiel Hannes Schiel (31 May 1914 – 2 December 2017) was an Austrian actor. Schiel was born in Vienna in 1914, and studied law at the University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, A ...

as Rainer, Standartenführer der SS *

Josef Krastel Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...

as Kaindl *

Emmerich Schrenk Emmerich Schrenk (2 November 1915 - 2 October 1988) was an Austrian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1949 to 1983. Filmography References External links * 1915 births 1988 deaths Austrian male film actors Austrian ...

as Dietz, Sturmführer der SS *

Otto Schmöle Otto Schmöle (1890–1968) was a German actor. Filmography Bibliography * Kulik, Karol. ''Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles''. Virgin Books, 1990. External links * 1890 births 1968 deaths German male film actors Actors fr ...

as Präsident des deutschen Feldkriegsgerichts *

Ulrich Bettac Ulrich Ewald Berthold Bettac (2 May 1897 – 20 April 1959), was an Austrian actor and theatre director. He was especially well known for his work as a character actor at the Burgtheater in Vienna; he also had a fairly extensive film career. S ...

Erich Dörner The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Heinz Moog Gustav Heinrich Eduard Moog (28 June 1908 – 9 May 1989) was a German actor.http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13495155.html He appeared in more than seventy films from 1943 to 1989. Filmography References External links * Audio r ...

References

Bibliography

* Fritsche, Maria. ''Homemade Men in Postwar Austrian Cinema: Nationhood, Genre and Masculinity''. Berghahn Books, 2013.

External links

* 1949 films 1940s war drama films Austrian war drama films 1940s German-language films Films directed by Paul May World War II war crimes trials films Austrian black-and-white films 1949 drama films Austrian World War II films Films about Austrian resistance {{Austria-film-stub