The Old Fox

Last updated
The Old Fox
The Old Fox.jpg
Der Alte
Starring Siegfried Lowitz
Rolf Schimpf
Walter Kreye
Jan-Gregor Kremp
Country of originGermany
No. of episodes451
Production
Executive producers Helmut Ringelmann (episodes 1-356)
Susanne Porsche (episodes 357-present)
Running time60 minutes
Release
Original network ZDF
Original release11 April 1977 (1977-04-11) 
present

The Old Fox (original German title "Der Alte", lit. "The Old One") is a German crime drama series created by Helmut Ringelmann. It premiered on 11 April 1977 on ZDF. Since 1978 the series is part of the Friday Crime Night of the network.

Contents

It depicts the crime solving activities of four police detectives: until 1985, Chief Inspector Erwin Köster, played by Siegfried Lowitz; from 1977 to 1986, Chief Inspector Leo Kress, played by Rolf Schimpf; from 1986 to 2007, Chief Inspector Rolf Herzog, played by Walter Kreye; from 2008 to 2012 and from 2012, Chief Inspector Richard Voss, played by Jan-Gregor Kremp.

Humble and unassuming in appearance, chief detective Köster is the "Old Fox". By understanding the psychological make-up of his suspect, the "Old Fox" craftily leads the criminal into his own trap, to the great surprise of his often perplexed staff. The "Old Fox" has his own way of working. Wearied by the negative elements he has witnessed so often in society, the "Old Fox" provides a unique insight into human nature.

Armed with the wisdom of age and experience, the "Old Fox" hunts down criminals in Munich, assisted by his colleagues, most notably Gerd Heymann, played by Michael Ande between 1977 and 2016 in 401 episodes. The actors or actresses of other assistant characters over the years include Jan Hendriks, Markus Böttcher, Marlene Morreis, Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss, Ludwig Blochberger and Stephanie Stumph. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series Inspector Morse (1987–2000), in which John Thaw played the character, as well as the (2012–2023) prequel series Endeavour, portrayed by Shaun Evans. The older Morse is a senior Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer with the Thames Valley Police in Oxford in England and, in the prequel, Morse is a young detective constable rising through the ranks with the Oxford City Police and in later series the Thames Valley Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZDF</span> German public-service television broadcaster

ZDF, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany. ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues.

The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as contrasted with other genres that focus on non-police investigators such as private investigators.

<i>Derrick</i> (TV series) German crime television series

Derrick is a German TV crime series produced between 1974 and 1998, starring Horst Tappert as Detective Chief Inspector (Kriminaloberinspektor) Stephan Derrick, and Fritz Wepper as Detective Sergeant (Kriminalhauptmeister) Harry Klein, his loyal assistant. They solve murder cases in Munich and surroundings. It was produced by Telenova Film und Fernsehproduktion in association with ZDF, ORF and SRG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Götz George</span> German actor (1938–2016)

Götz George was a German actor, the son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg detective Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series Tatort.

<i>Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei</i> German television series

Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei is a long-running, popular German television series about a two-man team of highway police (Autobahnpolizei), originally set in Berlin and since 1999 in the area of Cologne. The series has been broadcast in 120 countries worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspector Lewis</span> Fictional character

Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector Robert "Robbie" Lewis is a fictional character in the Inspector Morse crime novels by Colin Dexter. The "sidekick" to Morse, Lewis is a detective sergeant in the Thames Valley Police, and appears in all 13 Morse novels. In the television adaptation, Inspector Morse, he is played by Kevin Whately. Following the conclusion of the series, Whately reprised the role as the lead character in Lewis, in which the character has been promoted to the rank of inspector.

Heinz Schubert was a German actor, drama teacher and photographer, best known for playing the role of Alfred Tetzlaff in the German television sitcom Ein Herz und eine Seele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siegfried Lowitz</span> German actor (1914–1999)

Siegfried Lowitz was a German actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Atzorn</span> German actor

Robert Atzorn is a German television actor. He was born in Bad Polzin, Pomerania, Germany, now Połczyn-Zdrój, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.

Stolberg is a German detective television series which ran from 2006 until 2013 on ZDF, starring Düsseldorf chief inspector Martin Stolberg. The series is more serious and less flashy than other contemporary German detective series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leif G. W. Persson</span> Swedish criminologist and novelist

Leif Gustav Willy Persson is a Swedish criminologist and novelist. Persson has four children, one of whom, Malin Persson Giolito, is also a crime writer.

Stubbe – Von Fall zu Fall is a German crime detective television series starring Wolfgang Stumph as detective Stubbe. It is being broadcast on ZDF, the second German public television channel since 1995.

<i>The Killing</i> (Danish TV series) Danish police procedural TV series

The Killing is a Danish police procedural drama television series created by Søren Sveistrup and produced by DR in co-production with ZDF Enterprises. It premiered on the Danish national television channel DR1 on 7 January 2007, and has since been broadcast in several other countries.

SOKO Wismar is a German police procedural television series that premiered on 6 October 2004 on ZDF. It is the fifth offshoot of SOKO München, launched in 1978 under the name SOKO 5113. "SOKO" is an abbreviation of the German word Sonderkommission, which means "special investigative team".

Die Chefin is a German crime drama television series starring Katharina Böhm as First Police Chief Inspector Vera Lanz, a Munich police detective who has to balance her professional and private life. The show premiered on 24 February 2012 on ZDF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludwig Blochberger</span> German actor

Ludwig Blochberger is a German actor. He is best known for his appearance in the coming of age movie Summer Storm dealing with issues around sexual orientation. He also appeared on German TV drama programmes including The Old Fox, Tatort and Brittany Mystery. Furthermore he portrayed the Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, in the TV documentary drama Helmut Schmidt - Lebensfragen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Kreye</span> German actor

Walter Kreye is a German actor.

Der Pass or Pagan Peak is an Austrian-German television crime drama series which premiered on Sky Deutschland on 25 January 2019. It was inspired by season 1 of the Danish-Swedish series, Broen | Bron. Der Pass was co-created by Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, both of whom also direct and write scripts. Criminal profiler Alexander Horn advised on aspects of police procedures. The action is set largely in the Austria-Germany border area from Traunstein to Salzburg. In the first season of eight episodes, two detectives, German Ellie and Gedeon from Austria, hunt a serial killer, Gregor, who is using a Krampus mask as a disguise. The pilot episode, "Finsternis", had its world premiere on 21 September 2018 at the Tribeca TV Festival, ahead of the full series broadcast. Its Austrian debut was at the Urania Cinema, Vienna, on 15 January 2019, and its German premiere at Gloria-Palast, Munich, on the following day.

References

  1. ""Der Alte" bekommt neue Kollegen". www.t-online.de (in German). 22 January 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2019.