Fritz Lang’s 1931 mystery/criminal thriller is among the final films he directed before leaving his wife, screenwriter Thea von Harbou, who became a member of the Nazi party in 1932, and emigrating to the U.S. It’s also one of his first talking films.
Thea von Harbou goes in history as one of the most important screenwriters in German film. Though she continued writing after the war, she never gained the same success she had in these earlier days. It should also be mentioned that it does not appear von Harbou had any pro-Nazi or propaganda works, and during the post-war questioning, she claimed she joined the party to have a better position to help Indian immigrants.
One of the stars, Peter Lorre, also left the country as the Nazis came to power. Lorre was born in an area now in Slovakia. This was his first major role. Later, he was seen in films such as Casablanca, The Man who Knew Too Much, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, among many others.
Georg John, a Polish Jew, was a successful actor in this time, having also been in both parts of Die Nibelungen, Metropolis, and many other films dating back to 1916, but after 1933, he couldn’t find work in film under the Nazi rule. In 1941, the Germans eliminated the theatre club he was in (specifically for German Jews) and sent him to the Łódź ghetto, where he died that same year.
This film shows the problems of mob mentality in the wake of crime and would be fitting in a film history course as well.