The Devil Came at Night
Encyclopedia
The Devil Came at Night is a 1957 West German film directed by Robert Siodmak
. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
and is based on the true story of Bruno Lüdke
.
It is the story of a serial killer who murders women during the last year or two of World War II
. In one of the crimes a man is arrested who is obviously innocent. An investigator who starts to get a thread which leads to the real killer is frustrated by Nazi authorities who feel that revealing the truth will undermine the people's faith in their supposedly infallible system. The detective story
gradually becomes a story about the evils of political propaganda
and corruption
.
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak was a German born American film director. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for the series of Hollywood film noirs he made in the 1940s.-Early life:...
. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and is based on the true story of Bruno Lüdke
Bruno Lüdke
Bruno Lüdke was an alleged German serial killer. Nazi police officials connected him to at least 51 murder victims, mainly women, killed in a 15-year period, which began in 1928 and ended with his arrest in 1943....
.
It is the story of a serial killer who murders women during the last year or two of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In one of the crimes a man is arrested who is obviously innocent. An investigator who starts to get a thread which leads to the real killer is frustrated by Nazi authorities who feel that revealing the truth will undermine the people's faith in their supposedly infallible system. The detective story
Detective Story
Detective Story is a film noir which tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. It features Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Cathy O'Donnell, Lee Grant, among others. The movie was adapted by Robert Wyler and Philip Yordan...
gradually becomes a story about the evils of political propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
.
Cast
- Claus HolmClaus HolmClaus Holm was a German film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1943 and 1979.He was born in Bochum, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Winter in the Woods...
as Kriminalkommissar Axel Kersten - Annemarie DüringerAnnemarie DüringerAnnemarie Düringer is a Swiss actress. She graduated from the Cours Simon in Paris in 1946, and from the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna in 1947. She is the daughter of a Swiss industrialist...
as Helga Hornung - Mario AdorfMario AdorfMario Adorf is a German film and stage actor, best known for his lead role in the 1978 film The Tin Drum.-Biography:...
as Bruno Luedke - Hannes MessemerHannes MessemerHannes Messemer was a German actor best known for his role as the commandant in The Great Escape . The movie had a star-studded cast, but it was the relatively unknown Messemer who uttered the film's most famous line Hannes Messemer (May 19, 1924 – November 2, 1991) was a German actor best...
as SS-Gruppenfuehrer Rossdorf - Carl LangeCarl LangeCarl Georg Lange was a Danish physician and psychologist. He and William James independently developed the James-Lange theory of emotion, which posits that all emotions are developed from, and can be reduced to, physiological reactions to stimuli. Unlike James, Lange specifically stated that...
as Major Thomas Wollenberg - Werner PetersWerner PetersWerner Peters was a German film actor. He appeared in 102 films between 1947 and 1971.Peters was born in Werlitzsch, Kreis Delitzsch, Prussian Saxony, and died of a heart attack on a promotion tour for his latest film in Wiesbaden, Germany.His film career started with the lead in Wolfgang...
as Willi Keun - Walter JanssenWalter JanssenWalter Janssen was a German film actor. He appeared in over 160 films between 1917 and 1970.-Selected filmography:* Destiny * The Flute Concert of Sans-Souci * Two Hearts in Waltz Time...
as Kriminalrat Boehm - Peter CarstenPeter CarstenPeter Carsten is a German actor and film producer. He appeared in 90 films between 1953 and 1999.-Selected filmography:* Sand, Love and Salt * Under Ten Flags * Time of the Innocent...
as Mollwitz - Wilmut Borell as SS-Sturmfuehrer Heinrich, Rossdorf's aide
- Monika John as Lucy Hansen, Kellnerin
- Rose Schäfer as Anna Hohmann
- Lukas Ammann as Pflichtverteidiger von Keun
- Karl-Heinz PetersKarl-Heinz Peters-Selected filmography:* Mein Leben für Irland * Bismarck * Emilia Galotti * Tatort Berlin * Der rote Kreis * Hurrah, the School Is Burning * Birdie * Ludwig...
as Hauswart
See also
- List of submissions to the 30th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film