''Town Without Pity'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Stadt ohne Mitleid'') is a 1961 American/Swiss/West German

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companies ...

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

Gottfried Reinhardt Gottfried Reinhardt (20 March 1913 – 19 July 1994) was an Austrian-born American film director and producer. Biography Reinhardt was born in Berlin, the son of the Austrian theater director Max Reinhardt (until 1904: Max Goldmann), manage ...

. Produced by The Mirisch Corporation, the film stars

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

Barbara Rütting Barbara Rütting (21 November 1927 – 28 March 2020)Christine Kaufmann Christine Maria Kaufmann (; 11 January 1945 – 28 March 2017) was a German-Austrian actress, author, and businesswoman. The daughter of a German father and a French mother, she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress f ...

, and

E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...

. The film was based on the 1960 novel ''Das Urteil'' (''The Verdict'') by German writer Gregor Dorfmeister, who wrote under the pen name Manfred Gregor. At Kirk Douglas' suggestion, the film was rewritten without credit by

Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), ''Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) ...

.p. 136 Mirisch, Walter ''I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History'' University of Wisconsin Press, 2008

Plot

occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

in 1960, four somewhat drunk American soldiers leave Florida Bar, where "Town Without Pity" is playing on the

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

, and head to a river in the nearby countryside. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old local

Fräulein ''Fräulein'' ( , ) is the German language honorific for unmarried women, comparable to Miss in English and Mademoiselle in French. Description ''Fräulein'' is the diminutive form of ''Frau'', which was previously reserved only for marrie ...

Karin Steinhof (

Christine Kaufmann Christine Maria Kaufmann (; 11 January 1945 – 28 March 2017) was a German-Austrian actress, author, and businesswoman. The daughter of a German father and a French mother, she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress f ...

) has a quarrel with her 19-year-old boyfriend, Frank Borgmann (Gerhart Lippert), on the banks of the same river. She swims back to her starting point, lights up a cigarette and strips out of her wet

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

when she is confronted by Sergeant Chuck Snyder (

Frank Sutton Frank Spencer Sutton (October 23, 1923 – June 28, 1974) was an American actor best remembered for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter on the CBS television series ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''. Early life Born in Clarksville, Tennessee ...

) and gang-raped by him, Corporal Birdwell Scott (

Richard Jaeckel Richard Hanley Jaeckel (October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominatio ...

), Private Joey Haines (Mal Sondock), and Corporal Jim Larkin (

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

). (A blatant production error can be seen in the film during the rape scene when a body double substitutes for Kaufmann; the "victim" has short, fluffy dry hair in contrast to Kaufmann's long, straight, wet hair.) Borgmann hears her screams for help and swims across the river to help her, but he is knocked out by Snyder. After three of the men start to leave the scene, the guilt-ridden Larkin lingers behind; he covers Steinhof with his shirt before he finally flees with the other three men. The men are quickly apprehended. To appease the anger and outrage of the Germans, Major General Stafford, the division commanding general, orders that their

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

be held in public in the local high school gymnasium. The prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel Jerome Pakenham (

), seeks the death penalty. Major Steve Garrett (

) is assigned to defend the accused rapists. After interviewing his clients, Garrett tries to

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

for long sentences at hard labor, but Pakenham feels he has a strong case. Garrett starts investigating, questioning the residents. He is followed by Inge Koerner (

Barbara Rütting Barbara Rütting (21 November 1927 – 28 March 2020)Hans Nielsen), to withdraw her from the trial before it is too late, stating that he will have to break her down on the stand to save his clients. He advises Herr Steinhof to take his family and leave town, but Steinhof refuses. As the lead defense counsel, Garrett has no choice but to show that Karin is not as innocent as she first appeared, nor is she well liked. He also destroys the credibility of Steinhof and Borgmann by catching them in pointless little lies. As Garrett continues his cross-examination of Karin, she eventually collapses under the strain. Her father withdraws her from the trial; this action ensures that the defendants cannot be executed. The four men are convicted of rape. Three are sentenced to long terms at hard labor, and Larkin is given a shorter sentence of six years. The damage has been done, however, and the townsfolk turn against Karin. Though Frank Borgmann attacks him with a whip, Garrett tells him to take Karin and leave town forever. The young man takes his advice, but to raise money, he forges his mother's signature on a check. Determined to keep her son under her control, she sends the police after the couple. While Borgmann argues with the policemen, Karin runs away. Koerner, the reporter, later informs Garrett that Karin drowned herself in the river near where she had been violated. The last line of the title song is, "It isn't very pretty what a town without pity can do."

Cast

as Major Garrett *

as Karin Steinhof *

as Lieutenant Colonel Pakenham * Hans Nielsen as Karl Steinhof *

Ingrid van Bergen Ingrid van Bergen (; born 15 June 1931) is a German film actress. She has appeared in 100 films since 1954. She was born in Free City of Danzig, today Gdańsk, Poland. Career Since 1954, Ingrid van Bergen appeared in more than 170 film and tele ...

as Trude, a prostitute who provides Garrett with information *

as Corporal Jim Larkin *

as Corporal Birdwell Scott *

as Staff Sergeant Chuck Snyder * Mal Sondock as Private Joey Haines *

Karin Hardt Karin Hardt Meta Therese (28 April 1910 in Altona, Hamburg – 5 March 1992 in Berlin) was a German actress. Life A merchant's daughter, Hardt first took private acting lessons with Alex Otto and received theatrical engagements in Mönch ...

as Frau Steinhof, Karin's mother * Gerhart Lippert as Frank Borgmann *

Alan Gifford Alan Gifford (born John Lennox; March 11, 1911 – March 20, 1989) was an American-born actor from Taunton, Massachusetts, who worked mainly in the UK, where he died in Blairgowrie, Scotland at age 78. Known best for his role in '' 2001: A ...

as Major General Stafford *

Max Haufler Max Haufler (4 June 1910 – 25 June 1965) was a Swiss actor and film director. Partial filmography * ''Le règne de l'esprit malin'' (1938) - Criblet * ''Farinet ou l'or dans la montagne'' (1939) - Gendarm * ''Steibruch'' (1942) - Näppi * '' ...

as Doctor Urban, called to testify about Larkin * Rose Renée Roth as Frau Kulig, a town gossip * Eleonore von Hoogstraten as Frau Borgmann, Frank's mother *

Egon von Jordan Egon von Jordan (19 March 1902 – 27 December 1978) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1974. Selected filmography * '' The Ghost of Morton's Castle'' (1922) * '' Young Medardus'' (1923) * ''Lace' ...

as Bürgermeister * Philo Hauser as Herr Schmidt

Production

The film's score is by

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City ...

. Tiomkin also wrote the music for the song "

Town Without Pity ''Town Without Pity'' (German: ''Stadt ohne Mitleid'') is a 1961 American/Swiss/West German international co-production drama film directed by Gottfried Reinhardt. Produced by The Mirisch Corporation, the film stars Kirk Douglas, Barbara Rü ...

", with lyrics by

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

. It was performed by

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

. The song became an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominee and Pitney's first top 40 single. Filming took place in the towns of Bamberg and Forchheim in Bavaria, Germany, with some scenes shot at the

Sievering Studios Sievering Studios were film production studios located in Sievering, a suburb of the Austrian capital Vienna. The studios were established in 1916 by the film pioneer Alexander Kolowrat for use by his Sascha-Film. After the First World War they f ...

in the

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 ...

n capital

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. 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 ...

Rolf Zehetbauer Rolf Zehetbauer (13 February 1929 – 23 January 2022) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. Zehetbauer won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''Cabaret''. He died on 23 January 2022, a ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Town Without Pity 1961 films 1961 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films American legal drama films English-language German films English-language Swiss films Films about capital punishment Films based on German novels Films directed by Gottfried Reinhardt Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin Films set in West Germany Films shot in Bavaria Films shot in Vienna 1960s German-language films Military courtroom films Films about rape German drama films Swiss drama films West German films Gloria Film films United Artists films Films shot at Sievering Studios 1960s American films 1960s German films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links