''Nasser Asphalt'' (''Wet Asphalt'') is a 1958 West-German thriller starring

Horst Buchholz Horst Werner Buchholz (4 December 1933 – 3 March 2003) was a German actor who appeared in more than 60 feature films from 1951 to 2002. During his youth, he was sometimes called "the German James Dean". He is perhaps best known in English- ...

and featuring

Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was best known in English-speaking countries for his work as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Oper ...

, written by

Will Tremper Will Tremper (19 September 1928 – 14 December 1998) was a German journalist and filmmaker (writer, director, producer). He wrote twelve screenplays between 1956 and 1988. The young and then unknown actor Horst Buchholz starred in his firs ...

and directed by

Frank Wisbar Frank Wisbar (born Franz Wysbar 9 December 1899 – 17 March 1967) was a German film director and screenwriter. Born in Lithuania, Wisbar directed more than 20 films between 1932 and 1967 in Germany and the United States, as well as amassin ...

Plot

The young journalist Bachmann (Horst Buchholz) is released from prison by the intervention of Cesar Boyd (Martin Held), a respected and prosperous journalist who hires him as his assistant. Bachmann had been in jail for his attempt to interview war criminals at

Spandau prison Spandau Prison was located in the borough of Spandau in West Berlin. It was originally a military prison, built in 1876, but became a proto-concentration camp under the Nazis. After the war, it held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nurem ...

. Bachmann works for Boyd who acts as his mentor, however, Bachmann’s stories are published under Boyd’s name. Bettina (Maria Perschy), the daughter of a friend comes to study in

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 ...

and will stay at Boyd. Both Bachmann who picks her up at the airport and Boyd develop an interest in the young woman. In the commotion, a story that has to go out to a Paris newspaper is not prepared, and Boyd, after listening to a tale from his chauffeur Jupp (Gert Fröbe), in the last minute makes up a story of five German soldiers who have lived in a supply bunker in Poland for six years where they had gotten trapped when it was exploded at the end of the war. There is one survivor, now blind, who was brought to a hospital. The story becomes an international sensation and people want to know more. Journalists are sent to Poland to investigate. The Russians suspect the story to be a ruse to send spies. Pressure is put on the Polish government to release the blind soldier. In Germany, widows believe the blind soldier may be their missing husband. Bachmann who initially thought that Boyd had reliable sources for his story, soon recognizes that it is all a big lie. He breaks with his mentor, and tries to warn the public about the hoax. He convinces Bettina of Boyd’s lies, and both of them leave him to start a new beginning.

Cast

as Greg Bachmann *

Martin Held Martin Held (1908–1992) was a German television and film actor. Partial filmography * '' Dark Eyes'' (1951) - Alexander Grabner * ''Homesick for You'' (1952) - Direktor Petermann * ''Canaris Master Spy'' (1954) - Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich * ...

as Cesar Boyd *

Maria Perschy Herta-Maria Perschy (23 September 1938 – 3 December 2004) was an Austrian actress whose career included performances on screen with actor Rock Hudson and on American television in both daytime and prime time. Early life Perschy was born in E ...

as Bettina *

as Jupp *

Heinz Reincke Karl-Heinz Reincke (28 May 1925 – 13 July 2011) was a German-born actor, long-based in Vienna. Selected filmography Films *'' A Heart Returns Home'' (1956) - Besselmann *''Confessions of Felix Krull'' (1957) - Stanko *''Tolle Nacht'' (1957) ...

as Der Blinde *

Inge Meysel Inge Meysel (; 30 May 1910 – 10 July 2004) was a German actress. From the early 1960s until her death, Meysel was one of Germany's most popular actresses. She had a successful stage career and played more than 100 roles in film and on televisio ...

as Gustl *

Peter Capell Peter Capell (3 September 1912 – 3 March 1986) was a German actor who was active on screen from 1945 until 1985. Apart from a lengthy film career, he appeared in many television series and mini-series. He appeared in many old time radio pr ...

as Donnagan * Renate Schacht as Wanda * Richard Münch as Dr. Wolf

Comments

The black-and-white movie features Horst Buchholz who was already a star at this time and dubbed the German

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

. Gert Fröbe has a supporting role. It also brought wider attention to Maria Perschy, and all three actors would soon move on to go to a Hollywood career before they would return to Europe. In contrast Frank Wisbar had come from

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

and ''Nasser Asphalt'' was one of several films he made in post-war Germany to deal with the lessons of the war and Germany's recent history. The film is set in war-scarred Berlin. While the DVD version of the film is marketed as a

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

, it lacks the characteristic of the film noir genre.John Sinnott: Review
/ref> In the English-dubbed version the site of the exploded bunker is given implausibly as

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

as a place near Danzig (Gdansk) in Poland; the German version has it as Gdingen (Gdynia).

Awards

*1958 ''Film Award in Silver'' for "Outstanding Individual Achievement: Music", awarded to Hans-Martin Majewski.

References

External links

* {{Frank Wisbar German black-and-white films 1958 films West German films Films set in Berlin Films directed by Frank Wisbar Films about journalists