A Bavarian peasant beats Death at cards and lives to regret it.
Brandner Kaspar does not want to die, there is still so much to do and experience on earth. When death appears and wants to get him, Kaspar plays with him for his life - and wins.
Acting
Paul Hörbiger's sardonic, world-weary Death.
Production
Gorgeous Bavarian Alps as liminal space.
Writing
Dialect-rich dialogue with existential bite.
Director
Josef von Báky
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on a 19th-century Bavarian folk tale popularized by Franz von Kobell; the story reflects Catholic peasant attitudes toward death as negotiable rather than absolute.
Director Josef von Báky also made the opulent 'Münchhausen' (1943) in Agfacolor; this black-and-white return to folk material was considered a deliberate artistic retreat from Nazi-era spectacle.
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