Always on Duty

Zu jeder Stunde is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Heinz Thiel. It was released in 1960.

Plot

soldier Martin arrives in a village on the Inner German border. He falls in love with a local girl, Renate. Her father is opposed to their relationship, having promised her to the son of farmer Grabow. When Grabow plans to leave to the West with the aid of corrupt officer Zimmer, Martin discovers their plans and informs his superiors, although Zimmer has been his friend.

Cast

Rolf Stövesand as Martin Kraft
Erika Radtke as Renate Wedel
Hans-Peter Minetti as Hermann Höhne
Roman Silberstein as Heinz Tröger
Manfred Borgesas Schlegel
Erich Franz as Otto Grabow
Otmar Richter as Felix Grabow
Rolf Ripperger as Fred Wedel
Hans Finohr as Arthur Wedel
Fritz Diez as Father Kraft, the priest
Werner Lierck as Köhler
Josef Stauder as Schröder
Horst Kube as Erich Willembrot
Harry Hindemith as Marian Klein

Production

The DEFA Commission reviewed 58 scripts proposed for filming in the years 1959/60. Four of those were considered "aesthetic films", and were all centered on portraying Christians as backward and reactionary. The one script eventually authorized by State Secretary of Cinema Erich Wendt evolved into Always on Duty. However, the improvement in church and state relations in East Germany during 1960 prompted several changes in the plot, and the antagonists were not presented as devout Catholics.

Reception

Miera and Antonin Liehm cited Zu Jeder Stunde as one of DEFA's "contemporary socialist films." The Der Monat journal's critic wrote that while viewing the film, "the public could be impressed by the alertness of the Border Troops." The German Film Lexicon regarded it as "unassuming, propagandistic, unpersuasive and artistically weak, as well as full of stereotypes."