De spookschrijver

Portrait of the successful lyricist Jacques van Tol (1897-1969). Before and during World War II, Van Tol was one of the most prolific lyricists in the Netherlands. He wrote countless songs for e.g. Louis Davids, Fien de la Mar, Corry Brokken and Tom Manders. The artistes often put their own names to the texts, so the real writer was hardly known. With the anti-Semitic Sunday afternoon cabaret by Paulus de Ruiter Van Tol made a fatal mistake. The error was to cost him dearly. After liberation, he spent several years in camps for traitors. Twenty-five years after the death of Jacques van Tol, director Guus van Waveren tries to unravel the many mysteries surrounding the anonymous writer of hits.