“Coulda woulda” is always a fun and sad game to play. “Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam” (At night, when the devil came) is one of the most “coulda woulda” things in film history.
On the surface it’s decent enough, maybe even intriguing considering its history. It’s one of the movies that Robert Siodmak directed when he returned to Germany after the war. In Hollywood he directed some of the definitive Noirs. Siodmak brought that sensibility to a story of wartime Germany: call it Nazi Noir if you really have to.
It’s a serial killer story allegedly based on real events: Bruno Lüdke, a truck driver, strangles various women in Germany. Inspector Kersten (fresh off the Ostfront) has to investigate the case. Pretty soon he runs against the SS. Meanwhile there is still an innocent blamed for one of Lüdke’s crimes in prison, about to be executed. Kersten is working very hard to free him.
So it’s a tale of Nazi bureaucracy, hidden horrors and integrity. There are some things that ring hollow – a short scene featuring a Jewish woman in hiding for example – and the protagonist Kersten is dangerously close to be presented as a „guter Nazi“. But it is certainly a worthwhile attempt to tell an honest story that points to larger things without overdoing it.
Except: that whole Lüdke thing is a lie. It’s almost certain he didn’t commit those murders, that he was framed because the SS wanted a scapegoat to convince the public there are certain elements that just need be, well, got rid off. The whole thing came to life again when a young journalist published a couple of articles about Lüdke in the 50s and in the process made up whole files.
That’s of course a REAL story, including the final question: well, who killed those women then? And it’s a story that’s much more worthy of Siodmak’s talent. He does a lot with the script – which isn’t even a bad script. And Mario Adorf in an early role as Lüdke is miles away from a „mannered maniac“. So it’s not a bad movie. Just another case of coulda woulda.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KjYoaFP3xQ