Teufel im Nacken (1957): Besetzung, Handlung & Streaming

Released in 1957, Teufel im Nacken is a drama film directed by André de Toth, running about 94 minutes. “SHOCK by SHOCK...It Jabs Like a Hopped-Up Needle!” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. The painfully true story of welterweight boxing champion Barney Ross is detailed in Monkey on My Back. Cameron Mitchell stars as Ross, whose meteoric ring career is interrupted when he joins the Marines at the outset of WWII. A highly decorated hero, Ross contracts malaria oversees and is given morphine to assuage the pain. By the time he returns to the states, Ross is a confirmed drug addict. Before he can rise to the top again, he must hit rock bottom and his descent into the hell of narcotics dependency is graphically illustrated (so much so that the film was almost denied a Production Code seal). Though a cured Barney Ross served as technical advisor for Monkey on My Back, he ended up suing the producers for defamation of character -- and lost.

Who’s in it. Teufel im Nacken stars Cameron Mitchell as Barney Ross, Dianne Foster as Cathy Holland, Paul Richards as Rico, Drug Pusher (as Paul E. Richards) and Jack Albertson as Sam Pian, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.8/10, Teufel im Nacken has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In USA you can stream it on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video with Ads. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Teufel im Nacken page.

If you liked it. Fans of Teufel im Nacken tend to enjoy Die Verurteilten, Der Pate, Schindlers Liste and Der Pate - Teil II.