The Man Who Finally Died

This b/w movie from 1963 is quite an intriguing, if occasionally confusing (deliberately so, one assumes) thriller taking place in the fictitious Bavarian town of Königsbaden. The plot concerns a German expat residing in the UK since the outbreak of WW2 who finds himself returning to his native home town after receiving a strange phone call…

'British' jazz pianist and German evacuee Joe Newman (christened Joachim Deutsch) receives a phone call purporting to be from his father Kurt – a man who he has believed to be dead for the past twenty years and yet, Kurt summons his son to said town. We know the call was made by one of two men from an Inn either in Königsbaden or… Stuttgart. Shortly afterwards a hearse passes the Inn where the men in question are drinking beer, with the presumed corpse of Kurt Deutsch in the coffin!

Next we see Joe Newman aka Joachim Deutsch in a coach travelling to Bavaria. Booking into a guesthouse he informs the concierge that he is looking for Kurt Deutsch and is told the man died a few days ago. This seems a little odd in view of the phone call Joe received from his alleged father, initially thought to have died twenty years ago! A female hotel employee called Helga (Mela White) informs him that he can find the widow Deutsch in a country house (good old Oakley Court) some three kilometres outside town. This widow is by the way not Joe's mother who has been dead for years. Joe therefore assumes his father must have remarried and at first mistakes the old housekeeper Martha (Barbara Everest) for her. Introducing himself as Kurt’s son they recognise each other after all these years. Martha informs him that his father, a high-ranking German Officer, was not killed during the war but was captured by the invading Russian Army and later escaped from what is known as the Iron Curtain. Frau Deutsch (Mai Zetterling) then appears with Dr. von Brecht (Peter Cushing) who, it transpires, is the actual owner of the house and had been allowing the Deutsch's to stay there permanently. After inviting Joe to dinner they are as confused as he is (or appear to be so) - in their case as to why Joe has turned up at all. They are nevertheless very surprised when Joe tells them he received a call from his ‘dead’ father. Perhaps not surprisingly, Joe is convinced that von Brecht is hiding something and he’s not the only one, seeing how a mysterious man called Brenner (Niall MacGinnis), apparently an insurance agent, seems to follow his every move and has done so from the moment Joe arrived at the guesthouse.

The more Joe tries to find out the more he encounters silence and lies, including Police Inspector Hofmeister (Eric Portman) who isn’t at all happy when Joe demands the fresh grave of his father (who now apparently died shortly before Joe arrived in Germany) should be dug up. To add to the confusion the cemetery warden (Brian Wilde) informs Joe about the burial was given a Catholic ceremony whereas Kurt Deutsch was Protestant! Later he is told to return home by the pushy Hofmeister and heavyweight Sergeant Hirsch (Nigel Green) who informs Joe that the second Frau Deutsch is in fact the daughter of housekeeper Martha but wait – Joe also discovers by chance that Frau Deutsch didn’t even attend the funeral of her late husband who, it emerges, was buried in Stuttgart and not in Königsbaden! Shortly after, the plot thickens when, back in the hotel, Helga informs Joe that Brenner occupies the room next to his. Joe then decides to rifle Brenner's room, finding some documents of vital importance when he is unexpectedly interrupted by Brenner arriving… who doesn’t hesitate to wield a gun. Now, what exactly is his agenda and what does he know? Hopefully you are following so far. There are twists and turns everywhere - you're concentration is needed. Who are the goodies and who are the baddies?

The denouement is not exactly what you may expect. Pause after watching about ¾ of the film and see if you can find a solution? Stanley Baker never failed to give an intense yet understated performance. He's in pretty good form here as well and is ably supported by a cast of stalwart Brit actors.
The German cemetery sequences were shot in London’s Highgate cemetery while pick up shots around some idyllic German countryside provided that authentic Bavarian feel. Director Quentin Laurence maintains the suspense throughout. The rather intricate plot was penned by the versatile Lewis Griefer, who co-scripted it with Louis Marks. Last but not least, Phillip Green provided the feverish score.

This newly restored Blu-ray release includes some fabulous Special Features such as Image Gallery, Limited Edition booklet, brand-new interview with actor Danny Grover and the rarely seen Stanley Baker play A FEAR OF STRANGERS from 1964, with Baker as a racist Police Inspector who tries to coerce a black saxophonist and small time crook (played by Earl Cameron) into confessing to a murder he didn’t commit – a scenario which was poignant then as it is now.