I Only Want You to Love Me () is a 1976 West German television movie written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and starring Vitus Zeplichal and Elke Aberle.
Plot Peter Trepper (Vitus Zeplichal) is a young man who is serving ten years in prison for committing an impulsive murder. A psychologist (Erika Runge) interviews him to learn his motive and life history. Peter has a loveless childhood in the home of his innkeeper parents (Alexander Allerson and Erni Mangold). Despite his obedience and good works, he fails to win their acceptance. Hastily, Peter marries his girlfriend Erika (Elke Aberle) and relocates to Munich, where he continues his quixotic efforts to gain approval, especially from his new wife. He pressures himself to work long hours while spending money lavishly, leading to constant stress over debts. When Peter loses his job, he finally snaps, striking and strangling a bartender (Janos Gönczöl) who reminds him of his own father.
Cast : Peter Elke Aberle : Erika Alexander Allerson : Peter's father Erni Mangold : Peter's mother Johanna Hofer : Erika's grandmother Katharina Buchhammer : Ulla Wolfgang Hess : Construction foreman Armin Meier : Construction company manager Erika Runge : Psychologist Ulrich Radke : Erika's father Annemarie Wendl : Erika's mother Janos Gönczöl : Bartender Edith Volkmann : Bartender's wife Robert Naegele : Apartment manager Axel Ganz : Usher Inge Schulz : Mrs. Emmerich Heinz H. Bernstein : Furniture salesman Helga Bender : Saleswoman Adi Gruber : Postal clerk Heide Ackermann : Knitting machine saleswoman Sonja Neudorres : Jeweler Reinhard Brex : Businessman Lilo Pempeit : Elderly woman at post office
Production The film was shot in 25 days between November and December 1975 and broadcast by the ARD television network on March 23, 1976. The movie was commissioned by ARD's affiliate Westdeutsche Rundfunk Köln (WDR) and produced by Bavaria Atelier GmbH, the predecessor of Bavaria Film. The production of I Only Want You to Love Me cost roughly 800,000 Deutsche Marks.
The screenplay is based on a true story from the book Lebenslänglich - Protokolle aus der Haft (English: Life – Transcripts Behind Bars) by Klaus Antes, Christiane Ehrhardt, and Heinrich Hannover (Munich, 1972).
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