The play was based on the true story of Wilhelm Voigt, a German impostor who masqueraded as a Prussian military officer in 1906 and became famous as the Captain from Köpenick.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Albrecht Becker and Herbert Kirchhoff.

However, he receives a further sentence of 10 years for forging false identity documentation in an attempt to escape his past.

He commandeers a handful of soldiers en route to their barracks and returns to his home district, arresting the mayor and demanding a passport.

Learning that such documents are only issued by higher-level offices, he confiscates the town treasury and leaves.