AllMovie

Carnival of Crime was based on Ernest Klein's novel Die Dam Mat Dem Tigerfall (The Woman with the Tigerskin), which was also the film's original German release title. When a tiger-skin coat is left unclaimed at a fancy nightspot, the story is deemed worthy of a newspaper headline. This is because the police are investigating an unsolved murder, in which a woman wearing a similar coat was reportedly involved. The detectives trace the coat to a nobleman, who says only that it belonged to his lady companion of the previous evening. Upon ascertaining the "mystery woman's" identity, the cops are about to put the cuffs on her when she offers to explain herself. It is this explanation, related in flashback, that occupies most of the film's running time.