Peter F. Müller

Peter F. Müller turns his attention to the Carnival stronghold on the Rhine, which remains a focal point of criminal investigations to this day. The former figures of Cologne’s demimonde from the city’s recent history willingly share their stories and have moving accounts to tell in many respects. A particular strength of the film is its ability to maintain a non-judgmental stance. This is no easy feat, as neither the crimes are trivial nor are the perpetrators unsympathetic.

We were the milieu! Dummse Tünn, Schäfers Nas and Beckers Schmal, Abels Män, Frischse Pitter and the Lange Tünn ... Names that still have a ring to them in Cologne. Men who came to fame and fortune through their activities in Cologne's underworld and whose stories are brutal and evil, ice-cold and hard-boiled, but also naive, quirky and above all authentic. In the 1960s and 1970s, Cologne was dubbed "Chicago on the Rhine" by the tabloid press.