Graf Yoster
Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre (French title: Le comte Yoster a bien l'honneur) – which translates to English as Count Yoster has the Honour – was a television series produced between 1967 and 1976. Starring Lukas Ammann and Wolfgang Völz, the series followed the adventures of the title's aristocratic gentleman detective and his working-class butler. It was a success in particular in Germany and in France. Originally the show was a German production in black-and-white but it evolved into a European co-production in colour.
| Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre Le Comte Yoster a bien l'honneur | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Starring | Lukas Ammann Wolfgang Völz Béatrice Romand |
| Composer(s) | Eugen Thomass Peter Fischer |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Original language(s) | German |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 62 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ulrich Berns |
| Camera setup | Hermann Gruber Gernot Roll Charly Steinberger Kurt Hasse Manfred Ensinger Reginald Naumann Joseph Vilsmaier |
| Running time | 25 (season 4: 50) |
| Production company(s) | Bavaria Film |
| Release | |
| Original network | ARD ORTF |
| Original release | September 15, 1967 – February 7, 1977 |
Main character
Lukas Ammann plays Graf (Count) Yoster, who is presented as an impeccable gentleman. He used to wear a traditional suit, a bowler hat and an umbrella just like John Steed in the TV series The Avengers and the fictional English solicitor Reginald Prewster who had to accompany Percy Stuart during his missions on TV. Although he lived in a castle in Bavaria (where especially in the beginning a great deal of the show was shot) he wouldn't have the slightest Bavarian accent and his appearance was as British as his Rolls Royce.
Sidekick
Wolfgang Völz played Ioan (or in German: Johann), the count's butler. The idea a butler could make a hero was for German audiences already established by Butler Parker. Ioan would sometimes engage in investigations and then bring the count up to speed as well literally while he drove the count's Rolls Royce. Moreover, he would instantly transform into the count's bodyguard whenever somebody indulged himself to endanger the count's well-being by trying to approach him in any kind of inappropriate manner. He used to apply his highly efficient close-combat techniques in a very businesslike way which was completely different from any Hollywood boxing or Hong Kong manners and would rather resemble the way British soldiers are taught to dissolve comparable issues. He was portrayed as a man of modest origin and it was repeatedly implied that he had even been entangled in criminal activities before entering the count's employ.
Genre
Graf Yoster was very much an amateur detective in the tradition of Dorothy Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey. His cases were accordingly whodunits although in the end Ioan would frequently have to give him a hand disarming the detected offenders.
Directors
Among the directors was Imo Moszkowicz, who had also directed a German TV series starring Josef Meinrad as Father Brown.
Guest stars (Selection)
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