Ladislao Vajda directed *Es geschan am hellichten Tag* (It Happened in Broad Daylight), with a screenplay by Vajda, Hans Jacoby and Friedrich Durrenmatt based on the novel *The Promise*. The film features Heinz Ruhmann, Sigfrit Steiner, Siegfried Lowitz, Michel Simon and Gert Frobe. Bruno Canfora composed the music, while Ernst Bolliger and Heinrich Gartner handled the cinematography. After a young child is discovered murdered in the forest, Oberleutnant Matthai (Ruhmann) pledges to the parents that he will find the person responsible. This commitment becomes a significant burden for him, pushing him to abandon logical thought processes as he attempts to draw out the killer. The underlying story has been adapted for film several times, most recently with a major Hollywood production directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson (*The Pledge*, 2001). Numerous themes are explored within the narrative, all handled exceptionally well. Fundamentally, it’s a criminal investigation driven by fixation, but questions of ethics and vigilante justice also feature prominently. A strong sense of mystery pervades the film's atmosphere, alongside several tense moments as the child killer appears and demonstrates his disturbing behavior. The scenes depicting him at home—where he seems like an ordinary man with a shrewish wife—are filled with foreboding, and the performances are excellent. The psychological examinations of the main characters have considerable value, consistently engaging the audience and maintaining their interest until the very end. With unsettling elements (the hand puppet sequences, for example, are genuinely frightening), expressionistic style and a film noir perspective on humanity’s failings, this is a movie that warrants a larger and more appreciative viewership. I find Durrenmatt's revised ending—*Das Versprechen* (which the author felt was unsatisfactory in *Es geschan am hellichten Tag*)—to be superior, and it’s the conclusion Penn chose for *The Pledge*. While not on par with Fritz Lang’s “M,” it certainly deserves to stand alongside that film, which is high praise indeed. 8/10

Source on TMDB