We’ve talked about BELLE AND BLADE VIDEO before in the Video Risks section. Readers of Einsiders will know that this is a great specialty outlet for war-themed films on video and DVD. Steve Mormando, the Video Guru at Belle and Blade, has a gift for discovering little-known films of this genre. Here are three more great ‘must-have’ titles that Steve has unearthed for war film enthusiasts.

THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT (1957, Directed by Robert Siodmak)

For films fans, particularly of classic films, there are few greater pleasures than discovering a ‘new’ film. I submit that any film, no matter how old, is ‘new’ when it is seen for the first time.

Belle and Blade video, under the discerning eye of Steve Mormando, has done it again. THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT is yet another treasure that most war film fans will be unfamiliar with.

The great German director Robert Siodmak, whose most prolific period in Hollywood was the 1940s, during which he made such classics as THE KILLERS and THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE, directs THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT with assurance. Like many Germans-Jews, Siodmak fled Germany when the Nazis came to power. He understood the dark side of human nature well. As one of the earliest exponents of film noir, Siodmak developed a sure story-telling ability married to a stylistic flair that made his films interesting and highly watchable.

THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT is a film about a serial killer during the last few years of World War II. The killer is a pathetic character, based on an actual murderer, who kills out of that strange compulsion that, mercifully, most of us will never understand. The protagonist of the film is a police inspector, wounded after serving in the army, who, while a loyal German, is not a Nazi.

There is little about the inspector’s journey to adjust back to civilian life and take on this distressing case that is out of the ordinary. The action of the film is played quite matter-of-factly, with the identity of the murderer being no secret to the audience right from the start.

What does make the film utterly compelling and original is the fact that the story unfolds within a culture that is totally absorbed and controlled by fanaticism. The Nazis, as we all know, believed in their superiority over other races and cultures. The Gestapo, the Nazi’s police force, were feared (even by other Germans) for their ruthlessness and efficiency as much for their power. It is fascinating to see a ‘routine’ serial killer story set within the confines and convolutions of an evil regime, which by its very nature must influence and corrupt the pursuit of ‘justice’.

The inherent irony of the fact that while the inspector pursues a serial killer the Nazis themselves were killers of far greater proportion. While not serial killers, they were methodical killers. Sane, thinking, cold-blooded murder is arguably more horrifying than the twisted compulsions of even the worst serial killer.

The most intriguing aspect of the storyline occurs when the inspector proves the identity of the serial killer and obtains a confession—which is summarily ignored by the Gestapo, who insist on executing an innocent man who at first was thought to have been the murderer of the latest victim. The reason? Under a regime as ‘perfect’ as the Fuhrer’s, it would be impossible for a serial killer, who began murdering people in 1933 (ironically the year Hitler came to power), to go undetected for so long without being apprehended!

The ‘reward’ given to the inspector for his honest pursuit of justice will not be given away here. Suffice to say it will have you shaking your head in disbelief.

THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT is not as lurid as the title might suggest. Rather, it is a story told with methodical control. It is the sheer matter-of-fact, daily routine of life under Hitler’s rule that makes the most impact on the story and thus, on the viewer. It is a masterful study of restraint and subtlety in filmmaking. The maturity and taste of the director recall Roman Polanski’s direction of THE PIANIST, which allows horror to speak for itself without the manipulation of the director. There are many filmmakers today who have much to learn from Polanski and Siodmak.

Gratitude is extended to Belle and Blade Video for providing this fine film on DVD as well as video. The print is excellent and the film itself deserves rediscovery. If you can approach a serial killer story without the expectations of excess that have tainted the silver screen in recent years, then you will surely be satisfied with this excellent film.

Jon Ted Wynne