In fact, the jumbled film had multiple directors (Josef von Sternberg (uncredited), William Dieterle (uncredited), William Cameron Menzies (uncredited), Otto Brower (uncredited), Sidney Franklin (uncredited)) and three cinematographers (Lee Garmes, Hal Rosson, and Ray Rennahan).] Another creature was identified: wise old Maurice (Karin Konoval), a smart orange orangutan who had set up a school and was teaching younger apes.(It was a prophetic warning for the Thief - who would soon be flogged for his own criminal activity.) The imprisoned thief had stolen a jeweled ring, and its owner had requested 24 lashes as punishment for the theft." While various documentary-style shots of post-war, divided, fragmented and occupied Vienna (a 'frontier' city dividing East and West - and governed by four Allied forces) are surveyed, an anonymous voice-over (from director Carol Reed) delivers a first-person prologue in the original UK version - suggesting that he had black market connections.