4 Schlüssel

4 Schlüssel (English: The Four Keys) is a West German crime film directed by Jürgen Roland. It was released in 1965.^[1]^[2]

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4 Schlüssel

Directed by	Jürgen Roland
Written by	Max Pierre Schaeffer (novel)
Starring	Walter Rilla Günther Ungeheuer (de) Monika Peitsch (de) Hanns Lothar Hellmut Lange Joseph Offenbach Heinz Engelmann
Release date	1965 (1965)
Country	West Germany
Language	German

Background

The film was shot in black and white and is based on a novel by Max Pierre Schaeffer.^[1] Schaeffer was inspired by a real incident that occurred in Switzerland, where it was common for bank vaults to require four separate keys held by trusted individuals.^[3] In the real case, a gang in Zurich forced a banker to summon all keyholders to his home. One of them grew suspicious and arrived with a detective, causing the gang to flee. During their escape, they shot and killed the banker.

Schaeffer’s story explores how the crime might have unfolded if the perpetrators had acted more intelligently. The film also examines how people react when threatened at gunpoint.

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Cast

Günther Ungeheuer (de) as Alexander Ford
Walter Rilla as Bankdirektor Eduard Rose
Monika Peitsch (de) as Silvia Rose
Hanns Lothar as Richard Hiss
Hellmut Lange as Thilo
Joseph Offenbach as Herr Wohlers
Ida Krottendorf as Margarete Wohlers
Paul Edwin Roth as Konrad von Brenken
Ellen Schwiers as Irene Quinn
Jürgen Draeger (de) as Jensen
Horst Michael Neutze (de) as Charlie
Heinz Engelmann as Kriminalkommissar^[1]

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Background

Cast

References

External links

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