It Happened In Broad Daylight

The first, gripping incarnation of the widely-adapted story about the search for a child killer in Switzerland, and a film that became an important source of inspiration for Pedro Almodóvar. The Spanish director considered It Happened in Broad Daylight – which features innocent children tempted by a monster – a variation on Little Red Riding Hood. Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s script focuses on the character of a detective (Heinz Rühmann) who relies on a drawing found on one of the victims in his attempts to hunt down the perpetrator. The European co-production features prominent actors of the 1950s, led by Michel Simon and Heinz Rühmann. The real highlight, however, is the performance of Gert Fröbe, who would gain worldwide fame six years later with the title role in Goldfinger (also featured in the festival’s programme). In Vajda’s work, Fröbe – a giant in a black coat – is an unnerving and enigmatic presence: an unassuming man who perhaps harbours a murderous side.

Sebastian Smoliński

Ladislao Vajda (1906–1965) was a Hungarian filmmaker who worked in six European countries, mainly in Spain, but also in Hungary and Italy. He made his directorial debut with the British film Where Is This Lady? in 1932, but his greatest artistic accomplishments wouldn’t come until the late ’50s, when his work showed the influence of Fritz Lang. It was during that period that he made his best-known film, It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958).

4K restoration from 2016.