Official submission of West Germany for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 30th Academy Awards in 1958.
The real Bruno Lüdke's sisters attempted to file an injunction against the film in February 1958. It was rejected by the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court, on the grounds that Lüdke had confessed to the murders.
The real Bruno Lüdke confessed to 84 murders between 1924 and 1943, 53 of which police believed he may have actually committed. How many, if any, of the killings Lüdke was responsible for remains contentious. While the film suggests that Lüdke was indeed responsible, it's been suggested that Lüdke was simply a mentally-ill person who made false confessions under duress.
The film is based on a series of articles by journalist Stefan Amberg (under the alias Will Berthold), first published in the magazine Münchner Illustrierte in 1956. The veracity of the articles, namely the accusations that Lüdke was a prolific serial killer and the investigation was deliberately hampered by the Nazi Party due to fears of a scandal, have since come into question.
West German censorship visa # 15261 delivered on 10-9-1957.