The Devil Strikes at Night Backdrop Blur
The Devil Strikes at Night Poster
7.0 1h 40m

The Devil Strikes at Night

Hamburg, Germany, 1944, during World War II. A serial killer terrorizes the city. When it seems clear that the local police are unable to catch him, forces as dark and terrible as the criminal himself become involved in the case.

Top Cast

  • Claus Holm

    Claus Holm

    Police Commissioner Axel Kersten

  • Mario Adorf

    Mario Adorf

    Bruno Lüdke

  • Hannes Messemer

    Hannes Messemer

    SS-Gruppenführer Rossdorf

  • Peter Carsten

    Peter Carsten

    SS-Standartenführer Mollwitz

  • Carl Lange

    Carl Lange

    Major Thomas Wollenberg

  • Werner Peters

    Werner Peters

    Willi Keun

  • Annemarie Düringer

    Annemarie Düringer

    Helga Hornung

  • Monika John

    Monika John

    Waitress Lucy Hansen

  • Rosel Schäfer

    Rosel Schäfer

    Anna Hohmann

Overview

Hamburg, Germany, 1944, during World War II. A serial killer terrorizes the city. When it seems clear that the local police are unable to catch him, forces as dark and terrible as the criminal himself become involved in the case.

Rating

7.0 / 10
32 Reviews
0 Popular

1 Reviews

  • John Chard
    John Chard
    8 Mar 14, 2016

    Serial Killer - Nazis - Same Thing! Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam is directed by Robert Siodmak and written by Will Berthold (article) and Werner Jörg Lüddecke. It stars Claus Holm, Annemarie Düringer, Mario Adorf, Hannes Messemer, Carl Lange and Werner Peters. Music is by Siegfried Franz and cinematography by Georg Krause. A serial killer is terrorising Hamburg, Germany, during World War II. When the local police struggle to catch him, the Gestapo are brought in to crack the case. The basis for the story is that of real life serial killer Bruno Lüdke, here played by Adorf. Yet this is only a side-bar to the actuality of Siodmak's film, for it's a clinical deconstruction of Nazi Germany at the time, a look at the final throes of that regime. It shows how the corrupt powers would do anything to not make their government look bad, with orders even coming from Adolf himself! It's all very fascinating and potent, and well performed. There's some nice visual touches via the night sequences, though you reasonably expect to have more from Siodmak, a fine purveyor of expressionism and noir chiaroscuro. There's some contrivances and a couple of badly staged action sequences, but this remains a tough political drama with mystery shadings. 8/10

Recommendations

Alone in Berlin

Berlin in June of 1940. While Nazi propaganda celebrates the regime’s victory over France, a kitchen-cum-living room in Prenzlauer Berg is filled with grief. Anna and Otto Quangel’s son has been killed at the front. This working class couple had long believed in the ‘Führer’ and followed him willingly, but now they realise that his promises are nothing but lies and deceit. They begin writing postcards as a form of resistance and in a bid to raise awareness: Stop the war machine! Kill Hitler! Putting their lives at risk, they distribute these cards in the entrances of tenement buildings and in stairwells. But the SS and the Gestapo are soon onto them, and even their neighbours pose a threat.

Alone in Berlin

6.7 2016