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Derrick - Madeira
episode 7
West Germany 1975
produced by Hans Peter Renfranz, Helmut Ringelmann (executive) for Telenova/ZDF
directed by Theodor Grädler
starring Horst Tappert, Fritz Wepper, Curd Jürgens, Elfriede Kuzmany, Inge Birkmann, Susanne Uhlen, Werner Pochath, Paula Denk, Hans Pössenbacher
written by Herbert Reinecker, music by Erich Ferstl, title theme by Les Humphries
TV-series Derrick, Harry Klein
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Mrs Domberg (Elfriede Kuzmany), an elderly single woman, wants to leave
Munich for Madeira to spend the rest of her life in the sun with her
new-found friend Bubach (Curd Jürgens), a man of means by the looks of
it. For that end, she has given up her apartment, sold all her furniture,
and packed all her belongings. It's only her dog that she's worried about
as due to quarantine regulations, he can't be brought to Madeira, but Mrs
Domberg hasn't found a place to leave him yet. When Bubach picks her up to
leave for Madeira, he promises to put him into an animal shelter - but
instead leaves him in some basement then takes her to his house in the
country for a last glass of champagne ... and poisons her, then buries her
body on the premises. It's only that the dog getsout of the basement,
finds his way home, and this way the neighbours (Paula Denk, Werner
Pochath) are alarmed, and from then on it's not long before Mrs Domberg is
reported missing. Inspector Derrick (Horst Tappert) and his assistant
Harry (Fritz Wepper) are on the case for long, as Mrs Domberg's only one
of a handful of women who have disappeared of late after wanting to go to
Madeira with a new-found friend, so multiple homicide is a logical
conclusion. Now Derrick's method to find the killer is an eccentric one,
he takes Mrs Domberg's dog to the café where she spent her afternoons
figuring she might have met her killer there, and it's more than likely
the dog knew her killer - and indeed, Bubach comes to the café before
long, the dog recognizes him ... and from here on, Derrick's sure he's on
the right track. However, Derrick can't prove a thing - also because he
apparently isn't interested in questioning any witnesses in the café. He
just visits Bubach again and again to try to make him crack. But there's
another side to Bubach, too: While he's undeniably a ruthless killer, he
also loves his niece Kläre (Susanne Uhlen) with all his heart, has been
both father and mother to her after her parents died, and now that she's
studying at university, he supports her both mentally and financially more
than could ever be asked from him. And Kläre stands in front of his uncle
like a brick wall, does her best to divert all suspicions - without
knowing the truth of course. Harry pays her repeated visits, but she
doesn't waiver. Until that is she stumbles across uncle Bubach's next
would-be victim Mrs Peters (Inge Birkmann) and sees his murderous plan set
into motion herself. She confronts Bubach and tries to talk him into a
confession, but he chooses to poison himself, just like he poisoned all
his victims. Now Curd Jürgens, still two years away from his
turn as James
Bond villain in The Spy
Who Loved Me, is of course as impressive a baddie as you'd expect
him to be, and the idea to also give him a soft, an even loving side,
might not be new but is certainly inspired. This all also at least partly
glosses over at least some of the episode's leaps of reason, like why
doesn't Derrick question any witnesses, why does Bubach return to the
café he met his last victim where he's sure to be recognized, and maybe
most importantly, why does Bubach try to lure another victim into his trap
with the police being that hot on his trail? And then there's also Herbert
Reinecker's trademark stilted dialogue that doesn't sit super-well with
the otherwise interesting script. But all that said, still a better
episode of the series.
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