Morality tale about state hypocrisy in the form of a thriller

Rating: 10/10 (10 February 2007)

As I read further into AO Scott's recent review of this film, I became aware of its resemblance to another great German film. So I had to see it.
Perhaps, you've seen it too; its theme is strikingly similar to "The Lives of Others." It's called "Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam" (1957). Directed by Robert Siodmak, it stars Hannes Messmer, Claus Holm, and Mario Adorf.
The great thing about this film, and the reason I feel it's so similar to "The Lives of Others" -- at least according to the AO Scott rundown and my own take -- is its morality tale about state hypocrisy in the form of a thriller aspect.
An ordinary German police detective, not a Nazi ideologue (Claus Holm) investigates the sex-crime murder of a young woman in Hamburg during the war. As the killer continues to strike with seeming impunity, Holm is convinced that the killings are the work of one man. The case takes a political turn when the Führer decrees that degenerate capitalist abominations such as "mass murder" and "sex criminals" cannot exist in the morally perfect Reich. Hence the hypocrisy of a mass murdering regime that is loath to permit even the slightest hint of a mass murderer in its midst.
Hannes Messemer, "The Great Escape" (1963) & "Il Generale della Rovere" (1959) is called in to provide SS oversight on Holm's investigation, i.e., to hush the case up. The Nazis, it seems, would rather have the criminal continue to kill and get away with it than have the facts of the investigation leaked to the public. So the SS decides that the best way to vover it up is to find a fall guy and hang him for the crimes.
In the end, the killer is caught by Holm. To prevent his stellar detective work from coming to light, Holm is sent to the Russian front -- presumably never to return.
Made on Siodmak's return to Germany, after his wartime stint in Hollywood, this is not an easy film to catch, but well worth the effort, especially for those viewers who liked "The Lives of Others."