NACHTS, WENN DER TEUFEL KAM / THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT (1957)
Direction: Robert Siodmak
Cast: Claus Holm, Annemarie Düringer, Mario Adorf, Hannes Messemer, Carl Lange, Werner Peters
Screenplay: Werner Jörg Lüddecke; from an article by Will Berthold
Mario Adorf in The Devil Strikes at Night
After more than a decade in Hollywood, German-born director Robert Siodmak (nominated for an Academy Award for The Killers in 1946) resumed his European career in the mid-1950s. In 1957, he directed Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam / The Devil Strikes at Night, an intriguing, well-crafted crime drama about the pursuit of a serial killer — and its political consequences — during the last months of the mass-murderous Nazi regime.
Inspired by real events, The Devil Strikes at Night begins as war-scarred Hamburg is deeply shaken by the horrific murder of a waitress. Through the Homicide Bureau, inspector Axel Kersten (Claus Holm) begins an investigation on the case that leads him to a mentally retarded laborer, Bruno Lüdke (Mario Adorf), who confesses to having committed that crime and many others.
The criminal has been caught, but Gestapo officer Rossdorf (Hannes Messemer) points out that there are a couple of major problems with the case: another man has already been convicted of the Hamburg murder — and the German Justice System never makes any mistakes; also, the Nazi Party would have to explain to the German people that they have left a serial killer on the loose for more than a decade. In other words, Bruno cannot really exist and his arrest cannot be publicized. (The real-life Bruno Lüdke [1908-1944] confessed to having committed dozens of murders, though questions remain whether Lüdke was actually responsible for all those crimes.)
Despite its grimly ironic plot, Siodmak's second German film of the 1950s has few stylistic similarities to his expressionistic Hollywood thrillers. Such difference in style may be explained by the fact that The Devil Strikes at Night is really less of a suspense thriller than a straightforward political drama. Even though the film begins with a harrowing murder sequence that takes place during an air raid, the story quickly veers toward the increasingly intimate relationship between investigator Kersten and a young clerk, Helga (Annemarie Düringer), and toward the dangerous consequences of unearthing inconvenient sociopolitical truths.
Despite a couple of unexplained "coincidences" (which, admittedly, may have been caused by gaps in the English-language subtitles), Werner Jörg Lüddecke's script weaves a generally gripping tale while providing a fascinating look into the moribund Third Reich. For the most part, Siodmak handles the proceedings with a sure hand, only missing out on a poorly staged fight between Alex and serial killer Bruno. Another minus is the film's melodramatic tone during some of the more emotionally charged sequences; a more sober, detached approach would have been infinitely more effective.
As a plus, Claus Holm is a solid, convincing hero, while Mario Adorf is an outstanding psychopathic villain. Instead of a caricature of a mentally ill murderer, Adorf's Bruno is particularly horrifying because he is so pathetically real.
Yet, Bruno's importance to the plot is actually secondary, for the focus of The Devil Strikes at Night is its portrayal of governments and politicians who will do their utmost to both perpetuate and extend their grip on power. A theme as relevant today as it was during Bruno's time.