''The Appeal to Conscience'' (german: Ruf an das Gewissen) is a 1949 German

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by

Karl Anton Karl Anton or Karel Anton (25 October 1898 12 April 1979) was a Bohemian-born German film director, screenwriter and film producer. Biography He was born in Prague on 25 October 1898. His father Wilhelm Anton (1861–1918) was a physician. An ...

and starring

Karl Ludwig Diehl Karl Ludwig Diehl (14 August 1896 – 8 March 1958) was a German film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1924 and 1957. His father was Karl Diehl, the German professor of Anarchism. Filmography * ''Die Tragödie der Entehrten'' (1924) ...

Werner Hinz Werner Hinz (18 January 1903 – 10 February 1985) was a German film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984. Selected filmography * ''The Old and the Young King'' (1935) - Kronprinz Friedrich ('Fritz') * ''White Slaves'' (19 ...

and

Gustav Diessl Gustav Diessl (30 December 1899 – 20 March 1948) was an Austrian artist, and film and stage actor. Biography Diessl was born Gustav Karl Balthasar Diessl in Vienna. In 1916, he was an extra on different stages in Vienna but was soon recruited ...

.Davidson & Hake p. 61 It was originally shot in 1944, but remained uncompleted until it was finished by

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PRO ...

in the post-war era. It remained unreleased until it was given a 1949 premiere in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Subsequently it was distributed in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

in 1950 and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1951. It was produced by

Tobis Film Tobis Film was a German film production and film distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch from silent to sound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound studio. Tob ...

, one of the dominant companies of the

Nazi era 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 ...

. It was shot in Studios in German-occupied

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, with some

location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

taking place around the city. 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 ...

Gustav A. Knauer Gustav A. Knauer (1886–1950) was a German art director.Gemünden p.171 He designed the sets of more than a hundred films during his career. Selected filmography * '' The White Roses of Ravensberg'' (1919) * '' The Flight into Marriage'' (1922) ...

and

Fritz Lück 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 ...

Synopsis

It involves the solving of a murder case re-opened ten years after it occurred by a celebrated crime writer.

Cast

as Kriminalrat Husfeld *

as Volkmar Hollberg, Schrifsteller *

as Dr. Gregor Karpinski *

Käthe Haack Käthe Haack (born Käte Lisbeth Minna Sophie Isolde Haack; 11 August 1897 – 5 May 1986) was a German stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 200 films and 30 television productions between 1915 and 1985. Life and career Käte Li ...

as Helga Andree *

Marina von Ditmar Marina von Ditmar (30 October 1914 – 3 September 2014) was a German film actress born in Saint Petersburg of Baltic German descent. After moving to Germany she studied acting under Lucie Höflich and Ilka Grüning. Her first roles were performe ...

as Ingrid Andree *

Anneliese Uhlig Anneliese Uhlig (27 August 1918 – 17 June 2017) was a German-born film actress. Uhlig made her film debut in 1937, and went on to appear in a number of leading roles in Germany cinema during the Nazi era. She was also one of a number of ...

as Senora de la Serna *

Andrews Engelmann Andrews Engelmann (23 March 1901 – 25 February 1992) was a Russian-born German actor. He worked primarily in Germany, where he specialised in playing Russian roles, but also appeared in a number of British films during his career. He was born as ...

as Jan Puchalla *

Hilde Hildebrand Emma Minna Hilde Hildebrand (10 September 1897 – 12 May 1976) was a German actress born in Hanover, Germany on 10 September 1897. She died at the age of 78 in Grunewald, Berlin, on 27 May 1976. Selected filmography * ''Die Scheidungsehe'' ( ...

as Meta Puchalla *

Harald Paulsen Harald Paulsen (26 August 1895 – 4 August 1954) was a German stage and film actor and director. He appeared in 125 films between 1920 and 1954. Career Paulsen first appeared on stage at age sixteen. He then studied under from Leopold Jessner, ...

as Korfiz *

Elisabeth Markus Elisabeth Markus (15 December 1895 – 19 January 1970) was an Austrian stage, film and radio actress. Selected filmography * '' A Star Fell from Heaven'' (1934) * ''Maria Ilona'' (1939) * '' A Mother's Love'' (1939) * '' Beloved World'' (1942) * ...

as Frau Hamborn *

Herbert Hübner Herbert Hübner (6 February 1889 – 27 January 1972) was a German stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1921 and 1966. He was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) and died in Munich, Germany. Selected fil ...

as Gröner *

Hans Stiebner Hans Stiebner (19 November 1898 – 27 March 1958) was a German actor. Steibner was born in Vetschau, Germany as Hans Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Paul Stiebner. He died in 1958 in Baden-Baden, West Germany. Selected filmography * ''The Grand Duke ...

as Wituschek *

Walter Janssen Walter Janssen (7 February 1887 – 1 January 1976) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1917 and 1970. Selected filmography * '' The Dancer'' (1919) * ''Destiny'' (1921) * ''Wandering Souls'' (1 ...

Karl Hannemann Karl Hannemann (4 March 1895 – 13 November 1953) was a German film actor. Born in Freiberg, Saxony, Germany, he died at the age of 55 in Berlin. Selected filmography * ''The Graveyard of the Living'' (1921) * ''And Yet Luck Came'' (1923) * ''Un ...

Walter Werner Walter Gotthard Werner (11 April 1883 – 8 January 1956) was a German actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1921 to 1956. Selected filmography References External links * 1883 births 1956 deaths German male film actor ...

* Siegfried Niemann *

Anneliese von Eschstruth Anneliese (, ) is a female given name of either German, Dutch or Nordic origin. It is a compound form of "Anna" and "Liese", a short form of " Elisabeth". It may refer to: * Anneliese Bauer, East German slalom canoer who competed in the late 195 ...

Werner Pledath Werner Pledath (26 April 1898 – 6 December 1965) was a German actor who appeared in many films during a lengthy career. He generally played supporting roles such as in '' Five from the Jazz Band'' (1932).Youngkin p.465 Pledath specialized in pla ...

References

Bibliography

* Davidson, John & Hake, Sabine. ''Framing the Fifties: Cinema in a Divided Germany''. Berghahn Books, 2007.

External links

* 1949 films 1949 mystery films German mystery films East German films West German films 1940s German-language films Films directed by Karl Anton Tobis Film films German black-and-white films 1940s German films {{1940s-Germany-film-stub

Synopsis

Cast

See also

References

Bibliography

External links