Directed by:
Rainer Werner FassbinderScreenplay:
Rainer Werner FassbinderCinematography:
Michael BallhausCast:
Margit Carstensen, Karlheinz Böhm, Barbara Valentin, Peter Chatel, Adrian Hoven, Günter Lamprecht, Peter Berling, Ingrid Caven, Kurt Raab, El Hedi ben Salem (more)Plots(1)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's MARTHA presents a case study in abuse, terror, and victimhood in the form of its main character, the aging spinster Martha (Margit Carstensen). Suffering a constant stream of verbal abuse and domination of her life by both by her father and mother, Martha feels little remorse when her father dies suddenly while on vacation in Rome. Upon her return home, Martha chooses to escape from her mother by marrying Helmuth (Karlheinz Bohm). She soon finds, however, that Helmuth provides not rescue, but a further descent into terror. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Margit Carstensen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/277/277805_b1d382.jpg)
Margit Carstensen
German Empire
Best movies:
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Satan's Brew (1976)
![Karlheinz Böhm](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/642/161642411_47a0b4.jpg)
Karlheinz Böhm
German Empire
Best movies:
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Fist-Right of Freedom (1975)
Effi Briest (1974)
![Barbara Valentin](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/396/396109_6e40e4.jpg)
Barbara Valentin
German Empire
Best movies:
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
![Peter Chatel](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/427/159427230_6632bf.jpg)
Peter Chatel
German Empire
Best movies:
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Satan's Brew (1976)
Fist-Right of Freedom (1975)
![Adrian Hoven](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/127/186/127186508_2d141f.jpg)
Adrian Hoven
Austria
Best movies:
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Satan's Brew (1976)
![Günter Lamprecht](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/318/159318141_6e871a.jpg)
Günter Lamprecht
German Empire
Best movies:
The Boat (1981)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Comedian Harmonists (1997)
![Peter Berling](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/336/158336070_72757c.jpg)
Peter Berling
German Empire
Best movies:
Satantango (1994)
The Name of the Rose (1986)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
![Ingrid Caven](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272270_88b84a.jpg)
Ingrid Caven
German Empire
Best movies:
Narcissus and Psyche (1980)
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
![Kurt Raab](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/277/277919_a3c515.jpg)
Kurt Raab
German Empire
Best movies:
Der Zauberberg (1982)
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
The Stationmaster's Wife (1977) (TV movie)
![El Hedi ben Salem](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/277/277920_ff35bb.jpg)
El Hedi ben Salem
Morocco
Best movies:
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Jail Bait (1973) (TV movie)
Gisela Fackeldey
German Empire
Best movies:
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Banović Strahinja (1981)
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)
![Lilo Pempeit](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/405/159405968_fe2dd6.jpg)
Lilo Pempeit
Best movies:
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
The Stationmaster's Wife (1977) (TV movie)
![Elma Karlowa](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/966/157966813_b609bf.jpg)
Elma Karlowa
Yugoslavia
Best movies:
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
The Stationmaster's Wife (1977) (TV movie)
Karl Scheydt
Best movies:
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
The Stationmaster's Wife (1977) (TV movie)
Rudolf Waldemar Brem
Germany
Best movies:
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Jail Bait (1973) (TV movie)
![Heide Simon](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/440/160440506_9088dd.jpg)
Heide Simon
Germany
Best movies:
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971)
Three (2010)
![Rudolf Lenz](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/272/161272395_b83889.jpg)
Rudolf Lenz
Austria
Best movies:
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Fist-Right of Freedom (1975)
Effi Briest (1974)
![Ortrud Beginnen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/759/162759485_2ca02b.jpg)
Ortrud Beginnen
German Empire
Best movies:
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Pappa ante Portas (1991)
Einer von uns beiden (1974)
Wolfgang Schenck
Best movies:
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (series)
Martha (1974) (TV movie)
Effi Briest (1974)
Ann Hasekamp
Netherlands
Best movies:
Martha (1974) (TV movie)