''The Black Chapel'' (German: ''Geheimaktion schwarze Kapelle'') is a 1959

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Ralph Habib Ralph Habib (Paris, 29 June 1912 – Paris, 27 June 1969) was a French film director of Lebanese origin. He started his film career with Pathé. He later worked as assistant director notably Jean Dréville and Jean-Paul Le Chanois before directin ...

and starring

Dawn Addams Victoria Dawn Addams (21 September 1930 – 7 May 1985) was a British actress, particularly in Hollywood motion pictures of the 1950s and on British television in the 1960s and 1970s. She became a princess in 1954 (until 1971). Early years Ad ...

, Peter van Eyck and Ernst Schröder. It is based on the novel ''Die schwarze Kapelle'' by Olav Herfeldt. It is a co-production between West Germany, Italy (where the film is known as ''I sicari di Hitler'') and France (where it was released with the title ''R.P.Z. appelle Berlin''). It was shot at the

Spandau Studios The Spandau Studios or CCC Studios were film and television studios located in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin. They were established in 1949 following the Second World War by the producer Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. 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 ...

s Otto Erdmann and

Beni Montresor Beni Montresor (31 March 1926 – 11 October 2001) was a versatile Italian artist, opera and film director, set designer, author and children's book illustrator. He won the 1965 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing '' ...

Plot

Europe, in the spring of 1940. After the lightning victory over Poland, Hitler's Wehrmacht drew up plans of attack for the overthrow of Western and Northern Europe. Several high-ranking officers fear that Hitler's excessive policy of conquest will ultimately plunge Germany into the abyss and therefore intend to contact Great Britain through diplomatic channels. After careful consideration, these officers from the management level of the Wehrmacht selected the journalist Robert Golder, who was critical of the regime, in order to establish contacts with the enemy. But also the other side in the form of Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler has not remained inactive and tries to dig the nest of resistance. Due to a warning from the waiter in his favorite pub, Golder barely escaped being arrested by the Gestapo but was subsequently overwhelmed and kidnapped. But it is not Himmler's henchmen who kidnapped Golder. Rather, it is the resistance group behind it who want to use Golder as a messenger. He is supposed to convey Hitler's plans for the upcoming campaign in the West to a person of trust in the Vatican so that countermeasures can be initiated in the affected countries. This is to prevent a further escalation of the war. The plan of the opposing Wehrmacht officers is to be able to hold talks with the British and French after a planned overthrow of Hitler in order to conclude a separate peace. Robert Golder is sent to Rome with the secret plans for the western campaign to a respected member of the Catholic Church. Himmler cannot prevent Golder from leaving the empire for Italy with a forged passport. But he notifies his most loyal representative on-site, the senior SS-Mann Hoffmann. This brawny guy has set up a regime of terror in the Italian capital that is disgusted by the ally in the form of the Roman police prefect Ferrari. While Golder intends to visit his contact, the other side is not idle, because Golder's opponents still have an ace up their sleeve: the equally pretty and dangerous top agent Tilla Turner, who is assigned to the journalist on a secret mission. But opponents eventually become confidants when Golder and Tilla fall in love. Now both are in mortal danger...

Cast

as Tilla Turner * Peter van Eyck as Robert Golder * Ernst Schröder as Julian Hoffmann *

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 ...

as Generaloberst *

Franco Fabrizi Franco Fabrizi (; 15 February 1916 – 18 October 1995) was an Italian actor. Life and career Son of a barber and a cinema cashier, Franco Fabrizi started his career as a model and an actor in fotoromanzi. Fabrizi also starred on several rev ...

as Graf Emanuele Rossi *

Werner Peters Werner Peters (7 July 1918 – 30 March 1971) was a German film actor. He appeared in 102 films between 1947 and 1971. Biography Peters was born in Werlitzsch, Kreis Delitzsch, Prussian Saxony, and died of a heart attack on a promotion tou ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

* Rosy Mazzacurati as Gräfin Dodo Ventura *

Herbert Wilk Herbert Wilk (1905–1977) was a German stage, television and film actor. He emerged as a screen actor during the Nazi era, appearing in war films such as '' U-Boote westwärts'' (1941).Kreimeier p.312 However the bulk of his career came after the ...

as Oberst Horster *

Heinz Giese Heinz Giese (June 5, 1919 – October 19, 2010) was a German film and television actor.Hoefert p.97 He was also a voice actor, dubbing foreign-language films for release in Germany. Selected filmography * '' All Clues Lead to Berlin'' (1952) * ' ...

as Obergruppenführer Eichenberg *

Günter Meisner Günter Meisner (18 April 1926 – 5 December 1994) was a German film and television character actor. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler and for his role as Arthur Slugworth in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate F ...

as 1. Killer * Inken Deter as Elsa *

Rolf Möbius Rolf Moebius (27 July 1915 – 4 June 2004) was a German actor. He starred in the 1939 film ''Shoulder Arms''.Richards p.372 Partial filmography * '' The Dreamer'' (1936) - Minor Role * ''Fanny Elssler'' (1937) - Duke of Reichstadt * '' Urlaub a ...

as Adjutant *

Marco Guglielmi Marco Guglielmi (6 October 1926 – 28 December 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and author. Life and career Born Augusto Guglielmi in Sanremo, he graduated from ragioneria, then he enrolled at the university in the faculty of economi ...

as Pater Orlando *

Maurice Marsac Maurice Marsac (23 March 1915 – 6 May 2007) was a French actor who had a long career, with over 150 appearances in American films and television. He was also a nationally ranked croquet player. Born in La Croix-Valmer, France, he was a memb ...

as Britischer Botschafter *

Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952-1965), and police detective Jules M ...

as Polizeipräfekt Ferrari

References

Bibliography

* Bergfelder, Tim & Bock, Hans-Michael. ''The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopedia of German. Berghahn Books, 2009. * Davidson, John & Hake, Sabine. ''Framing the Fifties: Cinema in a Divided Germany''. Berghahn Books, 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Chapel 1959 films 1950s spy thriller films Italian spy thriller films French spy thriller films German spy thriller films Films directed by Ralph Habib West German films World War II spy films Films about the German Resistance Films set in Rome Films based on German novels Cultural depictions of Heinrich Himmler UFA GmbH films Films shot at Spandau Studios 1960s French films 1960s Italian films 1950s Italian films 1950s French films 1950s German films 1960s German films Films scored by Roman Vlad

Plot

Cast

See also

References

Bibliography

External links