The Man Who Finally Died – 1962 | 85 mins | Drama, Thriller | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Routine mystery-drama set in Germany and based on a1950s TV series. The plot is full of twists and turns but Quentin Lawrence’s direction shows pace and the occasional touch of imagination. Stanley Baker gives the role of a forthright tough-guy some credibility if nothing more, but the best performance is reserved for Eric Portman’s crooked police chief.

In the quite Bavarian town of Konigsbergen, a horse-drawn hearse containing the coffin of Kurt Deutsch creaks across the town square whilst two men anonymously phone London to request the deceased’s long-lost son, jazz musician Joe Newman (Stanley Baker), come to Germany. Newman arrives a week later, he is told that his father had only recently dies, but Joe believed his father died 20 years ago in action during WWII.

Joe is told that his father escaped from the communists and married a young woman, Lisa Deutsch (Mai Zetterling). Newman feels that certain facts are being kept from him, begins to do some investigating. He believes his father is not dead and approaches local police chief Inspector Hofmeister (Eric Portman) to demand the body of his father is disinterred from the grounds of a cemetery. Meanwhile, Joe is approached by Brenner (Niall MacGinnis), who claims to be an insurance investigator researching fraud claims over the death of Kurt Deutsch.