It's a true crime film, based on a post robbery in 1949. So they followed up on the real events pretty quick (within a year). Everything has been shot on location using all the real locations where the original crime took place (Mannheim/Heidelberg in the southwest of Germany). You can get a real glimpse of life of the, in large parts destroyed, post war Germany. It's the only directing job of Otto Wernicke, famous for playing the role of investigating police officer Lohmann in Fritz Langs M and Testament of Dr. Mabuse. He kind of reprises this role here. The acting of the whole cast is very good and the plot moves forward at a good pace. It has a black market angle that seems influenced by Carol Reeds The Third Man. These influences make for a very entertaining feature that seems like a predecessor of the German Krimis that followed the following decades. For fans of that genre it's a must see.
