''The Copper'' also translated as ''The Grasper'' (german: Der Greifer) is a 1958 West German crime film directed by Eugen York and starring Hans Albers,

Hansjörg Felmy Hansjörg Felmy (born Hans-Jörg Hellmuth Felmy; 31 January 1931 – 24 August 2007) was a German actor. He appeared in 50 films and television shows between 1957 and 1995. Films like ''Der Stern von Afrika'' and ''Wir Wunderkinder'' made hi ...

and Susanne Cramer. It is a remake of the 1930 film '' The Copper'' which Albers had also starred in.Hake p.228 It was shot at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial bac ...

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

as well as on location in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and Essen. The film's sets were designed by the art directors

Gabriel Pellon Gabriel Pellon (1900–1975) was a German painter and art director.Shandley p.212 Pellon was born in Metz, which was then part of the German Empire having been annexed from France at the end of the Franco-Prussian War. When Metz was later annex ...

and Theo Zwierski.

Synopsis

Otto Friedrich Dennert a veteran of the Essen police force is known as "The Grabber" for his unconventional methods. While investigating a series of killings of women he reaches retirement age. The case is taken over by a new team, including Dennert's son Harry. Convinced that they have arrested the wrong person, Dennert begins investigating by himself with assistance from the criminal underworld.

Cast

* Hans Albers as Otto Friedrich Dennert *

as Harry Dennert * Susanne Cramer as Ursula Brandt *

Ernst Stankovski Ernst Stankovski (16 June 1928 – 26 January 2022) was an Austrian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films since 1949. Stankovski died in Klosterneuburg on 26 January 2022, at the age of 93. Selected filmography Television Series ...

as Willy Goede *

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 ...

as Mücke *

Mady Rahl Mady Rahl (3 January 1915 – 29 August 2009) was a German stage and film actress. Born Edith Gertrud Meta Raschke in Neukölln, now part of Berlin, Rahl trained as an actress and dancer. In 1935 she made her stage debut in Leipzig under the di ...

as Toni * Baerbel Wycisk as Evchen *

Horst Frank Horst Frank (28 May 1929 – 25 May 1999) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1955 and 1999. He was born in Lübeck, Germany and died in Heidelberg, Germany. Selected filmography * ''Der Stern von Afrika'' (19 ...

as Josef Schmitz *

Agnes Windeck Agnes Windeck (; 27 March 1888 – 28 September 1975) was a German theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1939 and 1973. She was born in Hamburg and started her career at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in 1904. S ...

as Mutter Schmitz *

Siegfried Lowitz Siegfried Lowitz (22 September 1914 – 27 June 1999) was a German actor. Born in Berlin, he played the Hauptkommissar ''Erwin Köster'' in the German television drama '' Der Alte''. Prior to his tenure as Hauptkommissar, he played a killer ...

as Dr. Schreiber * Fritz Wagner as Emil *

Reinhard Kolldehoff Reinhard Kolldehoff (29 April 1914 – 18 November 1995) was a German film actor. He appeared in 140 films between 1941 and 1988. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Gasman'' (1941) - Polizeibeamter (uncr ...

as Willy *

Karl Hellmer Karl Hellmer (11 March 1896 – 18 May 1974) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 92 films between 1932 and 1969. He was born in Vienna, Austria and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * ''I by Day, You by Night'' (1932) * ...

as Karl Mertens *

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 Polizeipräsident *

Lia Eibenschütz Lia Eibenschütz (1899–1985) was a German actress. She was married to the actor Kurt Vespermann with whom she had a son Gerd Vespermann who also became an actor. Selected filmography * '' The War of the Oxen'' (1920) * '' The Legend of Holy S ...

as Frau Mertens * Panos Papadopulos as Heini - der Taschendieb * Joachim Röcker as Tankwart

References

Bibliography

* Hake, Sabine. ''Popular Cinema of the Third Reich''. University of Texas Press, 2001.

External links

* 1958 films West German films German crime films 1958 crime films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Eugen York Films set in West Germany Remakes of German films Police detective films 1950s German films Films shot at Tempelhof Studios {{1950s-crime-film-stub