Director Wolfgang Staudte who left East Germany in 1953 to make movies in West Germany, takes a few swipes at the West German judicial system in this fairly effective courtroom drama about the murder of a four-month-old baby. Police almost immediately arrest the mother Ingrid who is the mistress of the father, a rich business VIP married to another woman. His position and wealth keep him insulated from suspicion. A hot-shot lawyer has to overcome the unaccountably biased perceptions of the police, the judge, the prosecutor and almost everyone else in the judicial system. The defence lawyer, driven to an extreme, knows he has to find the real killer or his client will be convicted.
as Direktor Werner Rameil
as Rechtsanwalt Dr. Fox
as Ingrid Bernhardy
as Dr. Heinz Stephan
as Gerda Rameil
as Landgerichtsrat Ricker
as Assessorin Ebeling
as Kriminalinspektor Gerhuf
as Kriminalsekretär Wenzel
as Anwalt Dr. Beyer
as Dr. Hollberg
as Frau Bernhardy
as Vorsitzender des Schwurgerichts
as Staatsanwalt Thalmann
as Dr. Heinz Stephans Anwalt
as Gymnastiklehrerin
as Beamter beim Nachlassgericht
as Aufseherin
as Sekretärin
as Portier
