The Spessart Inn
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Das Wirtshaus im Spessart The Spessart Inn |
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Film poster showing Liselotte Pulver and Carlos Thompson.
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| Directed by | Kurt Hoffmann |
| Produced by | Georg Witt |
| Written by |
Luiselotte Enderle Curt Hanno Gutbrod Heinz Pauck based on a novella by Wilhelm Hauff |
| Starring | Liselotte Pulver |
| Music by | Franz Grothe |
| Cinematography | Richard Angst |
| Edited by | Claus von Boro |
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Production
company |
Georg Witt-Film GmbH
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| Distributed by | Constantin Film |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | German |
The Spessart Inn (German: Das Wirtshaus im Spessart) is a 1958 West German musical comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann. It starred Liselotte Pulver and Carlos Thompson.
In the late years of the 18th century, Felix and Peter, two journeymen, are travelling across the Spessart hills to Würzburg. Scared of the bandits that plague these parts, especially after a brief encounter with them, the two are glad to find an inn in the middle of the forest. However, it turns out that they have wandered into a den of thieves. The owners are in league with the bandits, who this very night plan to abduct Franziska, the Comtesse von Sandau, who is travelling through the forest with a group including her fiancé, Baron Sperling. Their coach is waylaid by a trap and the bandits direct them to the nearby inn. The waitress warns the journeymen of impending danger and they pass on the warning to the nobles. During the night, the brigands arrive. To escape, the Comtesse switches places with Felix and, in a man's clothes, escapes with Peter. Felix (as Comtesse), Franziska's maid and the pastor are taken to the bandits' lair. The bandits send Baron Sperling on his way to carry the demand for 20,000 Gulden to Graf Sandau, Franziska's father.
When Franziska arrives at her father's castle, he refuses to pay the ransom for the commoner who has taken his daughter's place. Instead, Graf Sandau decides to send the military against the bandits. Franziska thus rides to the bandits' lair and pretends to be a highwayman herself. The bandit leader accepts her as a henchman, but makes her sleep in his hut. In the morning he discovers her true identity but keeps this information from his men.
When Graf Sandau finds out that the Comtesse has gone to the bandits he sends Baron Sperling to the inn with the ransom money. The soldiers shadow him but the plan to follow the bandits back to their lair fails. Meanwhile, at the bandits' lair, their corporal finds out that the "Comtesse" they have imprisoned is a man. Franziska, on the pretense that she wants to find out the truth about the prisoner, switches back places with Felix, which saves his life but makes her a prisoner. The corporal wants to kill her and a confrontation ensues. The leader sides with the prisoners and during the fight, the parson escapes. The soldiers find the bandits' lair, but the leader snatches the Comtesse and rides off.
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