The Devil Strikes at Night
The Lost Years of German Cinema: 1949–1963
November 15 - 23, 2017
One of the films that Robert Siodmak made upon returning to Germany in the mid-1950s, after his successful run in Hollywood, this visually striking Oscar-nominated thriller, based on the true story of Nazi-era serial killer Bruno Ludke, is also a sardonic indictment of political corruption.
Siodmak returned to Germany in the mid-1950s following a long, successful run making influential noirs in Hollywood, and The Devil Strikes at Night is one of the undeniable standouts of his late period. Based on the true story of serial killer Bruno Ludke (played here by Mario Adorf), the film chronicles Ludke’s murderous exploits on the periphery of the Third Reich during World War II and the investigation into his crimes, led by an intrepid detective who encounters no shortage of resistance from the state as he searches for the culprit. The Devil Strikes at Night was West Germany’s nominee for the 1958 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and it is still captivating today as a gripping and visually striking thriller that gives away to a sardonic indictment of political corruption. 35mm print courtesy of the Goethe-Institut.
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