Friedrich Dürrenmatt (5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophical crime novels, and macabre satire. Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten, a group of left-wing Swiss writers who convened regularly at a restaurant in the city of Olten. Dürrenmatt was born in Konolfingen, canton of Bern, the son of a Protestant pastor. His grandfather, Ulrich Dürrenmatt, was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began studies in philosophy, German philology, and German literature at the University of Zürich in 1941, but moved to the University of Bern after one semester where he also studied natural science. In 1943, he decided to become an author and dramatist and dropped his academic career. In 1945–46, he wrote his first play It Is Written. On 11 October 1946, he married the actress Lotti Geissler. Dürrenmatt traveled in 1969 to the United States, in 1974 to Israel, and in 1990 to Auschwitz in Poland. In 1975 he played himself in the film End of the Game. Dürrenmatt also enjoyed painting. Some of his own works and his drawings were exhibited in Neuchâtel in 1976 and 1985, as well as in Zürich in 1978. His wife Lotti Geissler died on 16 January 1983. Dürrenmatt married another actress, Charlotte Kerr, in 1984. In 1990, he gave two famous speeches, one in honour of Václav Havel ("Die Schweiz, ein Gefängnis?/Switzerland a Prison?"), upon discovering he had been spied on for five decades, along with 800,000 of his left-leaning fellow citizens, by the Swiss secret service; the other in honour of Mikhail Gorbachev ("Kants Hoffnung/Kant's Hope"). Dürrenmatt often compared the three Abrahamic religions and Marxism, which he also saw as a religion. Dürrenmatt died from heart failure on 14 December 1990 in Neuchâtel. Since 2000, his works are exhibited in Centre Dürrenmatt, a part of the Swiss National Library. Like Bertolt Brecht, Dürrenmatt explored the dramatic possibilities of epic theatre. Next to Brecht, he has been called its "most original theorist". When he was 26, his first play, It Is Written, premiered to great controversy. The story of the play revolves around a battle between a sensation-craving cynic and a religious fanatic who takes scripture literally, all of this taking place while the city they live in is under siege. The play's opening night in April 1947, caused fights and protests in the audience. Between 1948 and 1949, Dürrenmatt wrote several segments and sketches for the anti-Nazi Cabaret Cornichon in Zürich; among these, the single-act grotesque short play Der Gerettete (The Rescued). ... Source: Article "Friedrich Dürrenmatt" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 5, 1921
- December 14, 1990 (aged 69)
- Konolfingen, Bern, Switzerland
- Writer, also actor
- 8 on MovieCove · 48 credits in all
What are Friedrich Dürrenmatt's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 5
Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 6
A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 4
Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 6
Steady 1 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 5
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 6
A split, not a type: Resolved 1 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 5
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Friedrich Dürrenmatt's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Friedrich Dürrenmatt's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
48 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
La visite de la vieille dame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
The Visit of the Old Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Majority (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
A visita do rancor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Der Tunnel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
The Visit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Visit of an Old Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Wizyta starszej pani (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Pledge(2001)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all filmsOrtel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Návštěva staré dámy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
It Happened in Broad Daylight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
The Cold Light of Day(1996)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all filmsPlay Strindberg (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Justice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Hyenas(1992)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all filmsRomulus Veľký (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Twilight(1990)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
The Visit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Achterloo IV (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Physicists (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
White Murder Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
The Deadly Game (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
A nagy Romulus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Night Conversation With a Despised Person (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Sa'aoud Bila Domouo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
La promessa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
The Visit of the Old Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
The Accident (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Авария (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
End of the Game(1975)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Commissioner Berlach's Last Case (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Silence! The Court Is in Session (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Meteor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
A bíró és a hóhér (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Frank V. - Die Oper einer Privatbank (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Once a Greek (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Thirty-Minute Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Die Physiker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
The Visit(1964)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Theatre 625 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Operazione Vega (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Der Besuch der alten Dame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Der Richter und sein Henker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Die Panne (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Career shape
A full career of 48 titles from 1957 to 2026.
Biggest box office
The Pledge (2001)
Highest rated
It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958)
Most popular right now
The Pledge (2001)
Film career
- 1975Screen debut· End of the Game
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Friedrich Dürrenmatt's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 85th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 8 titles divides audiences: 4 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 62/100 and the plot and story 58/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Friedrich Dürrenmatt work with?
People who share at least 2 of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's MovieCove titles; Claude Dauphin shares the most, 2.
- Claude DauphinShared titles: The Most Wonderful Evening of My Life (1972), The Visit (1964)See all 2 shared titles with Claude Dauphin
- Michel SimonShared titles: The Most Wonderful Evening of My Life (1972), It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958)See all 2 shared titles with Michel Simon
