Duped Till Doomsday

East Germany's contribution to the 1957 Cannes Film Festival was the wartime melodrama Betrogen bis zum Juengsten Tag. Had the film been released in the U.S., the title would probably have translated to Duped Till the Last. The film condemns the Nazi mindset by concentrating on a particularly odious cover-up. When his son is involved in the accidental killing of a girl, a Gestapo general pulls strings to save the boy from prosecution. The general manages to pin the blame for the killing on a group of Russians, whereupon he gives the men under his command carte blanche to round up and execute as many innocent Russians as they wish. This act of brutality is contrasted with the pangs of guilt suffered by the son and his co-conspirators.

Cast

Rudolf Ulrich Corporal Wagner Karl

Wolfgang Kieling Private Lick

Erich Brauer Hauptfeldwebel

Hans-Joachim Martens Upper gunner Paulun Thomas

Walther Suessenguth captain von der Saale

Renate Küster Angelika, his daughter

Peter Kiwitt General of the Waffen-SS Lick

Hermann Dieckhoff Division commander

Kurt Ulrich lieutenant

Hannes Fischer Kitchen sergeant

Helga Raumer Innkeeper daughter

Paul Pfingst SS man

Metadata from the source database.