An independent criminal's work is admired by organized crime. He is tortured after he refuses the invitation to join the gang but later relents and becomes a member. He continues to be a pimp and a murderer in this disturbing film that appeared at the Berlin Film Festival in 1969. This feature garnered international recognition for writer/director Rainer Werner Fassbinder who would go on to become one of Germany's most prolific directors of the post-World War II era.~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide