IMDb >
Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam (1957)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsNachts, wenn der Teufel kam (1957) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 1 | slideshow) |
Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
19 September 1957 (West Germany) morePlot:
A serial killer terrorizes Hamburg, Germany, during World War II. When the local police can't seem to catch him, the SS is brought into the case. | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins moreUser Comments:
The "serial-killer movie" is not an American invention moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Claus Holm | ... | Kriminalkommissar Axel Kersten | |
| Annemarie Düringer | ... | Helga Hornung | |
| Mario Adorf | ... | Bruno Luedke | |
| Hannes Messemer | ... | SS-Gruppenfuehrer Rossdorf | |
| Carl Lange | ... | Major Thomas Wollenberg | |
| Werner Peters | ... | Willi Keun | |
| Walter Janssen | ... | Kriminalrat Boehm | |
| Peter Carsten | ... | Mollwitz | |
| Wilmut Borell | ... | SS-Sturmfuehrer Heinrich, Rossdorf's aide | |
| Monika John | ... | Lucy Hansen, Kellnerin | |
| Rose Schäfer | ... | Anna Hohmann | |
| Lukas Ammann | ... | Pflichtverteidiger von Keun | |
| Karl-Heinz Peters | ... | Hauswart | |
| Heinz Beck | |||
| Christa Nielsen | ... | Schlampilein |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Nachts wenn der Teufel kam (West Germany) (alternative spelling)Nights, When the Devil Came (International: English title) (literal title)
The Devil Came at Night (informal English alternative title)
The Devil Strikes at Night (USA)
more
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
Germany:105 min | USA:97 minCountry:
West GermanyLanguage:
GermanColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Klangfilm Eurocord)FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam (1957)Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| M | Borderline | Dahmer | The Odessa File | Malevolent |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Crime section | IMDb West Germany section | Add this title to MyMovies |



There is a strange continuity in German movies: about every 20 years someone makes a film about a serial-killer. Apart from "Es geschah am hellichten Tag" (recently remade by Sean Penn) I'm thinking of the following works:
* M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931)
* Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam (1957)
* Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe (1973)
* Der Totmacher (1995)
While three of these films are more or less loosely based on the case of Fritz Haarmann who killed more than 24 young men in the 20s, "Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam" is about Bruno Luebke who murdered several people in Hamburg during WWII (also a true case). In contrast to the picture that many American movies (e.g. "Hannibal") paint of a serial-killer as an evil being who kills for pleasure, these German movies show men who are helpless victims of their urge to kill, to which they succumb not when they want to, but when they 'have' to. Mario Adorf plays Bruno as such a man and his performance is of the same rank as Peter Lorre's in "M" or Götz George's in "Totmacher" IMO.
Even better is Hannes Messemer as an SS-Officer, who, for 'political' reasons, wants another man executed against better judgement. The main forte of the film however, is the depiction of everyday-life in the last years of the third Reich. In the scene where the ugly harvest helpers get their reward from a sweating hanger-on Robert Siodmak perfectly captured the moral corruption (thinly veiled by empty propaganda phrases) within Nazi-Germany. In view of mass-murder of an entirely different caliber (i.e. genocide), the question if the right man is sentenced for a killing series becomes secondary in the end.