Wedneydays Film Review - M 1931

M

"M"is a German thriller directed by Fritz Lang, and written by Lang a his wife Thea von Harbou. 

It takes place in Berlin, in what appears to be the late 20s. 

Main Cast:

The murderer Hans Beckert: Peter Lorre

Inspector Karl Lohmann: Otto Wernicke   

Der Schränker: Gustaf Gründgens

Mrs. Beckmann: Ellen Widmann  

Elsie Beckmann: Inge Landgut

Inspector Groeber: Theodor Loos

Georg John: Blind ballon salesman

Franz: Friedrich Gnaß

In the beginning we see a group of children standing in a circle. One of the girls leads the other in a song about a child murderer - to much discontent for the parents, as there recently has been a number of murders of little girs. Mrs. Beckmann is waiting for her daughter, Elsie, to come home from school. As Mrs. Beckmann is preparing dinner, we see little Elsie leaving the school. In her hands she has her beloved red ball, which she bounces against a poster pole with a poster about the murders. Suddenly, we hear a voice coming from behind Elsie. A man greats the girl, and politely speaks with him. Suspecting nothing she lets him take her by the hand, and leves with him. Meanwhile, Mrs. Beckmann is getting more and more nervous and calls for Elsie through the window. She eventually goes out to look for her. 

Elsie and the man (whose face we have not yet seen) are walking down the street. They stop by an old blind man selling ballons, and the man buys Elsie a ballon. As they walk on, he begins to whistle "In the hall of the mountainking" by Edvard Grieg. In the next shot we see Elsies ball rolling through grass and the ballon flying away. 

Inspector Lohmann gets a call from his superior urging him to catch this murder, who has been terrorising Berlin. Karl Lohmann organises a nightly raids in the criminal parts of the city, to great anger of the criminals (burglars, prostitutes, robbers, theirs bosses ect.), who are forced to show their papers and have their business made imposible. The police uses fingerprinting and handwriting analysis in order to try to catch the murderer. Meanwhile, the criminals decide that they cannot just sit around waiting for the police to catch him as the raids are costing them money. And as an innkeeper remarks to the police, they would surely kill him themmselves if they saw him, because even the toughest criminals have a soft spot for children. The criminals decide to cath him themselves, inlisting the beggars to watch every street in the city. 

As the police follows the idea that the murderer may have a record in the psykiatric hospitals and seach for him in the archieves, the question remains: Who will catch the killer?    

This film is the stuff legens are made of. If you are in any way interrested in crime, vintage or thrillers, you simply MUST see this. This is Peter Lorres first major film, and the popularity of it made  his career, Especially the monoloque he has at the end upon the reasons for the killings is simply breath taking. Even though the film is old and techniques so far from the modern, it still takes you in. There's not much to say, butt well done to all involved! It is the first of it's kind. This is a masterpiece. Period.