Hands Up, Or I'll Shoot
| Hands Up or I'll Shoot | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Hans-Joachim Kasprzik |
| Produced by | Erich Albrecht |
| Written by |
Rudi Strahl Hans-Joachim Kasprzik |
| Starring | Rolf Herricht |
| Music by | Günter Hauk |
| Cinematography | Lothar Gerber |
| Edited by | Ursula Rudzki |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Defa-Spektrum Filmverleih |
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Release date
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Running time
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78 minutes |
| Country | German Democratic Republic |
| Language | German |
| Budget | 1,680,000 East German Mark |
Hands Up or I'll Shoot (German: Hände hoch oder ich schieße) is an East German crime comedy film directed by Hans-Joachim Kasprzik, who wrote the script along with Rudi Strahl. Rolf Herricht starred as officer Holms.
The picture was filmed in 1965, but in 1966 censors refused to allow it to be screened, and therefore post-production ceased. Hands Up or I'll Shoot was only completed and distributed in 2009, making it the last East German film to be released.
Lieutenant Holms, a People's Police detective, has always dreamed of solving complicated crimes. However, the German Democratic Republic has one of the world's lowest crime rates, and the sleepy town of Wolkenheim, in which he is stationed, is considered tranquil even by the national standards. Holms spends his days reading crime novels and day dreaming about working for Scotland Yard in the London underworld. He finally has a case when a local resident reports his rabbits were stolen, but he soon reveals they merely escaped to the nearby field. Holms sinks into a depression and begins to visit a psychiatrist. His friend, Pinkas, is a former thief who now works as a doorman in a hotel of the Handelsorganisation. Seeing Holms tormented, he enlists several other reformed criminals he knows from the old days in order to steal the antique statue located in the town's market square, so the policeman would for once have a serious challenge. Holms chases the gang to Leipzig in what becomes a comical pursuit, replete with mistakes and accidents, and is apprehended by the police himself; he also meets the charming Lucie. He eventually manages to arrest the thieves, but the mayor drops the charges as it would ruin Wolkenhim's eligibility to win the Banner for the Most Beautiful City. The detective is not troubled by that, and turns his attention to Lucie instead.
On 8 January 1965, screenwriter Rudi Strahl submitted a treatment under the working title The Luckiest Man ('Der glücklichste Mensch') to the DEFA studio. The comedy presented a police officer who is virtually out of work, whose name was Holms — a reference to Sherlock Holmes. Strahl's proposition would become the third in a series of four films created by him which starred Rolf Herricht, one of the country's most successful comedians, who would receive the role of Holms. The others were Geliebte weiße Maus, Der Reserveheld and Meine Freundin Sybille.
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