THE JUDGE AND HIS HANGMAN

In translation from the German (Durrenmatt is Swiss) this last case of aging, ailing Police Commissioner Barisch who Knows that he has not long to live manages not only some sombre suspense but jugglen with the abstractions of good and evil, crime and punishment. Barlach, a criminologist of brilliance, whose methods are abrupt and arbitrary, asks for the assistance of a younger man- Tschanz- to pick up the details in the murder of one of his lieutenants, Schmied, even though he has already made an intuitive identification of the killer. Through Tachanz he is able to conclude his long pursuit of an international criminal- Gastmann- who while not guilty of this crime has been guilty of many others. But he leaves Schmied's murderer free to face a higher judgment...Laconic and effective.