This forgotten gem once won the Golden Globe as best foreign film of the year. It is the second cinematic adaption of Gerhard Hauptmann's naturalistic drama "Vor Sonnenuntergang" (1931) not to be confused with his more important play "Vor Sonnenaufgang" (still lacking cinematic treatment). (The first adaption was Veit Harlan's "Der Herrscher" from 1937 which, unfortunately, had changed the original ending to fit the ideology of the Nazis.)
Hans Albers plays the 70 years old company owner Clausen who after a disagreement with the way Klamroth (Martin Held), his son in law, is running his companies now is called an "old man" and asked to finally "step back". However, after meeting the young girl Inken he finds a new meaning of life and decides to marry her much to the disapproval both of his family and company members who will soon try to get him into an asylum.
Hans Alber's performance is heartbreaking from the start until the end and it is clearly one of his best serious performances ever. Annemarie Düringer as Inken could be better but still does a good job especially during her first dialog sequence. Equally good is Claus Biederstaedt as the seemingly "spoiled sun" who in the end turns out to be his father's only loyal supporter.
The best thing about the film are probably Erich Schellow (the Macheath from Lotte Lenya's "Threepenny opera"-production), Wolfgang "Dr. Mabuse" Preiss and, most of all: the incomparable Martin Held. Although the original play is set in the early thirties, they fully succeed in portraying the darker side and the "efficient" economic coldness of Western Germany in the 50ies, an era which by now has become known as the German "Wirtschaftswunder" (the "miracle of economy"). Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" from 1949 covers some of the same issues. What isn't needed any longer is thrown away things, people and most of all: a disagreeable past (which is perhaps the only issue that falls surprisingly flat in this otherwise brilliant German after-war-film).
If this film is almost forgotten today, it is perhaps because the cinematography is "adequate" rather than "excellent". The original music is good and adds a lot of atmosphere. However, direction and cinematography, though brilliant sometimes, too often convey the feeling of filmed theater.

Als dem alteingesessenen Familienunternehmen der Konkurs droht, kehrt der ehemalige Leiter des Kaufhauskonzerns seinem Alterssitz den Rücken und versucht, den Betrieb wieder auf Vordermann zu bringen. Gemeinsam mit drei ebenfalls pensionierten Freunden, allesamt Fachleute auf ihren Gebieten, sagt er den Banken, Spekulanten und einer Supermarkt-Kette den Kampf an.

　　该电视剧改编自德国作家阿尔弗雷德•德布林的同名小说，故事发生在1920年代末的德国柏林。 　　因杀死与自己同居的妓女艾达，强壮、暴力、酗酒的弗朗兹•毕伯科夫（Günter Lamprecht ）被判入狱四年，刑满释放后，他立誓要做一个正直的好人，可是因为不知从何做起，他终日在亚历山大广场附近游荡。不久，他拥有了出狱后的第一个女人，并为了她开始尝试各种体力活，但很快便被生活愚弄，这令性格里有一面相当单纯的他非常受打击，离开了原来的生活圈子。 　　和形形色色的人打过交道后，弗朗兹重回原来的生活环境，并在常去的小酒馆结识伦霍尔德（Peter Kollek）。伦霍尔德虽然说话结结巴巴，弗朗兹仍觉得他魅力非凡，开始对他盲目信任和依赖，甚至与他制定秘密的游戏协议，答应接手他玩腻的女人。游戏进行当中，弗朗兹展现出多情的一面，为了一个女人单方将协议撕毁，令伦霍尔德对他记恨在心，不久，伦霍尔德利用他对自己的信任，将他拉入小偷集团，害他失去一条胳膊。但截肢后，弗朗兹并没有报复的欲望。 　　弗朗兹的保护人兼旧女友爱娃（Hanna Schygulla）介绍单纯、美丽的女孩米兹（Karin Baal）与他认识，弗朗兹与之相爱并走出绝望，不过因为失去劳动能力，他只能靠米兹卖身养活。伦霍尔德无法忍受弗朗兹的幸福生活，生出无动机的邪念，再次利用弗朗兹对他“无动机的纯粹的爱（法斯宾德语）”，将弗朗兹又一次拉入小偷集团，并开始想方设法勾引米兹，试图将弗朗兹的生活彻底推上绝路。