This 100 minute movie from almost 65 years ago is mostly known for one fact: It is the only movie from Peter Lorre as director and writer. He is the only director here, but got help from a trio of other writers. And he plays the lead part as well. The character fits Lorre very nicely again. His history of playing characters who fight their inner demons turned him into one of the most famous actors of his generation ("M"). And his reputation has probably even risen with time. It is a black-and-white movie, which is not a given for 1951. Lorre looks like a mix of Peter Falk and Bruno Ganz here. The rest of the cast is not known. Or I should probably say not known anymore, unless you have a really deep interest in German movies in the 1930, 1940s and 1950s.
This film was made shortly after the division of Germany into East and West. There are constant references on murder and suicide in this film, but it's all fairly difficult to understand. You can never be sure if Lorre plays a cold-blooded killer or just a victim of unlucky circumstances as the camera frequently blends out in the most crucial moments. The only real killing we see is the one near the end involving Lorre's assistant who he tells the story to. I personally felt this film becomes more and more difficult to understand the longer it goes. So, after the one-hour-mark, the entire action and plot was basically completely blurry to me. It is probably easier to understand if you read the summary before watching this movie, but this cannot be a requirement to understand and enjoy this movie. Also, the plot mentioned here about betraying secrets was totally non-existent for me, probably just a minor part. Forgettable movie. Not recommended.
This film was made shortly after the division of Germany into East and West. There are constant references on murder and suicide in this film, but it's all fairly difficult to understand. You can never be sure if Lorre plays a cold-blooded killer or just a victim of unlucky circumstances as the camera frequently blends out in the most crucial moments. The only real killing we see is the one near the end involving Lorre's assistant who he tells the story to. I personally felt this film becomes more and more difficult to understand the longer it goes. So, after the one-hour-mark, the entire action and plot was basically completely blurry to me. It is probably easier to understand if you read the summary before watching this movie, but this cannot be a requirement to understand and enjoy this movie. Also, the plot mentioned here about betraying secrets was totally non-existent for me, probably just a minor part. Forgettable movie. Not recommended.