De echo in de put

Summary

In the cellar of the house of the industrialist Rainer there is a well from which from time to time an inexplicable echo emerges, greatly distressing Rainer's recently married daughter, Helene, who, together with her husband George, has come to live in her father's house. Maurer, an old friend of the family who lives next door, is having financial difficulties and decides to ask Rainer for a loan. However, his request for assistance is bluntly refused. At about the same time, George, who is in need of cash to enable him to become a partner in a new business enterprise, asks his father-in-law to lend him a large sum of money. Maurer has discovered that between his house and that of Rainer, there is an underground tunnel leading into the well - which explains the mysterious echo. At night Maurer enters Rainer's house via the tunnel, his intention being to rob the rich industrialist. Rainer catches him in the very act of stealing. In the ensuing struggle, Maurer kills the industrialist and escapes through the tunnel. However, it is George who is suspected of the crime. Helene, believing in her husband's innocence, engages a detective, Eichholz, to investigate. The detective breaks into Maurer's office and there he manages to trick Maurer into confessing that he is the murderer. In the echoing tunnel Maurer is arrested.

Synopsis remarks: The names of the characters used here are those given in the Austrian synopsis. In the original Dutch version of this film the character names were probably quite different.