The Tenderness of Wolves, is a 1973

1973 in film

The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....

 West German film

Cinema of Germany

Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...

, produced by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...

, directed by Ulli Lommel

Ulli Lommel

Ulli Lommel , is a German actor and director, noted for his many horror films, and for his career as an actor on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films.-Career:...

 and based on the crimes of German serial killer

Serial killer

A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...

 and cannibal

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

 Fritz Haarmann

Fritz Haarmann

Friedrich Heinrich Karl "Fritz" Haarmann , also known as the Butcher of Hanover and the Vampire of Hanover was a German serial killer who is believed to have been responsible for the murder of 27 boys and young men between 1918 and 1924...

. It was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival

23rd Berlin International Film Festival

The 23rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 22 to July 3, 1973.-Jury:* David Robinson * Freddy Buache* Hiram Garcia Borja* Eberhard Hauff* Harish Khanna* Paul Moor* Walter Müller-Bringmann* René Thévenet...

.

Plot summary

Fritz Haarmann (Kurt Raab

Kurt Raab

Kurt Raab was a West German stage and film actor, as well as a screenwriter and playwright. Raab is best remembered for his work with cult German film director, Rainer Werner Fassbinder with whom he collaborated on 31 film projects.-Biography:Raab was born in Bergreichenstein, Sudetenland, what is...

, who also wrote the film) uses his position as a government inspector to rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 and murder young boys in war-torn Germany. After killing his victims, he shares the meat with his circle of cannibal friends.

Cast

• Kurt Raab
  Kurt Raab
  Kurt Raab was a West German stage and film actor, as well as a screenwriter and playwright. Raab is best remembered for his work with cult German film director, Rainer Werner Fassbinder with whom he collaborated on 31 film projects.-Biography:Raab was born in Bergreichenstein, Sudetenland, what is...
  
   - Insp. Fritz Haarmann
• Jeff Roden - Hans Grans
• Margit Carstensen
  Margit Carstensen
  Margit Carstensen is a German theatre and film actress, best known outside Germany for roles in the works of film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.-Theater career:...
  
   - Frau Lindner
• Ingrid Caven
  Ingrid Caven
  Ingrid Caven is a German film actress and singer. Her younger sister Trudeliese Schmidt was an opera singer and also an actress.Caven has appeared in over 50 films since her film debut in 1969 in the short film...
  
   - Dora
• Wolfgang Schenck
  Wolfgang Schenck
  Wolfgang Schenck was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves during World War II. He was born in Windhoek in German West Africa...
  
   - Kommissar Braun
• Brigitte Mira
  Brigitte Mira
  Brigitte Mira was a German actress. She worked in both theater and film, often with Rainer Werner Fassbinder....
  
   - Louise Engel
• Rainer Hauer - Kommissar Müller
• Barbara Bertram - Elli
• Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
  
   - Wittowski
• Heinrich Giskes - Lungis
• Friedrich Karl Praetorius - Kurt Fromm
• Karl von Liebezeit - Herr Engel
• Walter Kaltheuner - Schuhmacher
• El Hedi ben Salem
  El Hedi ben Salem
  El Hedi ben Salem , was a Moroccan actor best known for his work with German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.-Biography:...
  
   - Französischer Soldat
• Rainer Will - Opfer (as Reiner Will)