Tähdet kertovat, komisario Palmu

Tähdet kertovat, komisario Palmu
Directed by Matti Kassila
Produced by Mauno Mäkelä
Written by Mika Waltari (novel)
Matti Kassila (writer)
Kaarlo Nuorvala
Starring Joel Rinne
Matti Ranin
Leo Jokela
Helge Herala
Esko Salminen
Music by Osmo Lindeman
Cinematography Esko Töyri
Edited by Juho Gartz
Production
company
Fennada-Filmi
Distributed by Adams Filmi
Release dates
  • 7 September 1962 (1962-09-07)
Running time
95 minutes
Country Finland
Language Finnish

Tähdet kertovat, komisario Palmu ("The Stars Will Tell, Inspector Palmu") (1962) is a Finnish crime movie directed by Matti Kassila. It is the third film in the Inspector Palmu series and the second one produced by Fennada. The novel was written by Waltari through the explicit request by director Kassila. It is also the last film in the series to be shot in black and white. The fourth film was made without Waltari's involvement.

Plot

A body is found in the Observatory Hill (Tähtitorninmäki) park in Helsinki. The police are called in, believing him to be a dead vagrant. However, journalist Nopsanen happens by the scene, leading to the death being publisized in the papers that same afternoon. The victim is eventually identified as accountant and astrologist Fredrik Nordberg.

While Virta tries to keep the press at bay, Palmu discovers that Nordberg's niece Saara lived with him and that Nordberg financially supported her and her boyfriend Ville. Ville is a greaser and later found to be in the possession of Nordberg's telescope, which the police first suspect has been stolen. Though Ville is arrested, it soon becomes evident that Nordberg's fortune came from black-mail and that he was killed because he witnessed a murder while using his telescope on the Observatory Hill which gives a wide view to the city.

Characters

The Murderer

The murderer turns out to be Major Vadenblick. He murdered Fredrik Nordberg when he began black-mailing Vadenblick, having accidentally witnessed him push his wife off the balcony of their luxurious apartment. It was thought Vadenblick's wife committed suicide. Virta and Kokki witness Vadenblick almost push her current wife off the lake-side cliff when a shot from his son's air-rifle distracts him. When Palmu, Virta and Kokki make it clear they know he murdered Nordberg, Vadenblick tries to shoot them but misses and instead hits his own son who was listening through the door crack.

He tries to escape the mansion grounds firing his rifle at Virta and Kokki. He is stopped by journalist Nopsanen who shoots him in the leg from a tree branch where he has been spying on Palmu and his crew, despite their warning not to follow up on the murder investigation. Nopsanen served under Vandenblick during the Continuation War and revealed to Palmu and company that Vandenblick had sent a soldier to die on one occasion on a pointless assault.

Vadenblick's guilt is made almost immediately evident by his harsh manner, his strong views on why Finland lost in the Continuation War and the extremely demeaning tone in which he speaks to his wife. In addition his appearance is clearly modelled after Adolf Hitler (and his manners possibly after Charlie Chaplin's portrayal of Hitler in The Great Dictator) which even leads Nopsanen to write him up in his notes as "a crazy nazi".

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