Educational Media Reviews Online

Throughout history scientists have tried to identify physical features that signal criminal tendencies. Most cultures hold stereotypical ideas about what a criminal looks like, based on the natural human fear of the “other.” Since the 19th century scientists and criminal investigators have attempted to classify facial and bodily characteristics typical of the deviant personality.

The Face of Evil traces the evolution of these efforts in Europe, from early proponents of physiognomics (comparison of human and animal features) and phrenology (examination of cranial shape and bumps on the head) through the use of photography to identify criminals and the rise of criminal anthropology. Attempts to find correlations between facial features and antisocial behavior are tied to the eugenics movement which gained popularity in the late 19th century. Eugenicists believed the human race could be improved through selective breeding among people with “normal” or superior physical and mental characteristics.

The insidious potential of physiognomics and eugenics is illustrated by a case study. Bruno Lüdke was accused of fifty-one murders in Germany during the 1940s. Targeted by Nazi investigators, Lüdke was studied and extensively photographed as a physical example of an identifiable criminal type. Nazi officials planned to use Lüdke to promote their interest in eugenics, arguing that his telltale physical features resulted from careless reproduction (Lüdke was forcibly sterilized). Mentally disabled and known by his neighbors as “Dumb Bruno,” Lüdke may have been innocent, but is still widely remembered as a notorious serial killer.

Expert commentary is provided by photographer Ando Gilardi, sociologists Susanne Regener and Robert J. Lilly, historian Marc Renneville, and true-crime writer Jan A. Blaauw. They are filmed in their working environments among historical collections of plaster casts, official documents, drawings and photographs. Along with archival films these numerous examples are a visually dramatic survey of “otherness” in Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and how the concept of the “other” developed over time. Photographs of the Bruno Lüdke investigation are also featured along with clips from the award-winning 1957 feature film based on the case.

The Face of Evil is highly recommended as an absorbing and intelligent survey of a now largely discredited scientific movement, its evolution, and its connection to modern-day eugenics. Viewers should note that the photographic examples show male and female nudity.