Abwärts (lit. "downwards", also known as "Out of Order") is a German film directed by Carl Schenkel. It was released in 1984. Plot Gössmann, a bookkeeper who has just robbed his employer of a large sum of money gets stuck in an elevator of an office tower together with Jörg, his lover Marion and the young Pit. Because it is Friday evening and an engineer working on the elevators made a mistake, the alarm system is not working and nobody can hear them call for help. Jörg and Pit antagonize each other from the beginning based on their different age and world views. Gössmann remains quiet in a corner of the cabin, while Marion socializes with Pit and continues her ongoing quarrels with Jörg. After finding a hatch in the ceiling of the cabin, both Jörg and Pit who are the only ones physically fit enough, climb onto the roof of the elevator and attempt to reach elevator doors, but fail. When Jörg returns the roof a second time alone, he starts to climb and almost falls to death. Meanwhile, Pit and Marion start flirting heavily, and Jörg becomes aware of it when he returns. After suddenly discovering a hidden compartment with a rope in it, Jörg and Pit continue to work together despite of the increased tension between them. When Pit is lowered through the elevator shaft on the rope and accidentally slips, he openly accuses Jörg of trying to kill him. Pit starts a fight on the elevator roof, but he slips and falls. Soon Jörg is suspected of having murdered Pit. Then finally the malfunction in the alarm system is discovered. Engineers start to rescue the passengers, eventually by lifting them with a rope through the shaft, after they fail to move the cabin with failsafe motors. Pit suddenly reappears after climbing up on a rope which wrapped around his feet before he fell and is rescued first, heavily wounded. Marion and Gössmann are rescued, both without injuries. Jörg, who has minor injuries is rescued last, just as the last of the steel cables fails and the cabin crashes down. Because he would not let go of Gössmann's money, only grasping the rope with one hand, he falls to his death. Cast Götz George as Jörg Hannes Jaenicke as Pit Renée Soutendijk as Marion Wolfgang Kieling as Gössmann Themes The main theme of the movie is the