Car-napping (original) (raw)

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1980 German crime comedy film

Car-napping
Film poster
Directed by Wigbert Wicker
Written by Hans Drawe, Günter Peis
Produced by Lothar H. Krischer
Starring Bernd Stephan Anny Duperey Adrian Hoven
Cinematography Gernot Roll
Music by Sam Spence
Productioncompanies Terra-Filmkunst Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion Hessischer Rundfunk (HR)
Release date 1980 (1980)
Running time 85 minutes
Country Germany
Language German

Car-napping is a German comedy about international car thieves from 1980 with Bernd Stephan and Anny Duperey.

On returning from an extended vacation, designer Robert Mehring learns to his complete surprise that the company he used to work for does not exist anymore. The owner of the business, Benninger, has secretly liquidated it and fled abroad with Mehrings drafts. Mehring locates Benninger on the Côte d'Azur and confronts him – without any success.

Later Mehring realizes that his Porsche 911 was stolen, including all his papers. The local police chief makes it clear that Mehring can't expect any help from the authorities. A short time later Mehring discovers his car in traffic and confronts the thieves, two Italians named Carlo and Mario, as they want to sell the 911 to a dealer. In return for not being reported to the police, the car thieves offer their cooperation. At first Mehring declines, but after learning that his former boss Benninger owns a car dealership in Paris with 40 Porsches, Mehring accepts the offer of Carlo and Mario. With the help of other chums, they steal all 40 cars in a single night and sell them.

Mehring becomes the head of the "Carnappers" stealing luxury vehicles on order. The crew includes the printer Herrmann Aichinger who was also a victim of Benninger and now makes falsificated documents. The "business" runs well until Mehring gets blackmailed and falls in love with Claudia Klessing, a lawyer. He wants to cop out, but after the final coup in Salzburg he is caught by the police. Thanks to the help of Claudia and Herrmann, Mehring can escape from pretrial detention.