M (1931)

Fritz Lang, famed German director of the science fiction epic Metropolis, brings to the silver screen his first talkie with the original drama/thriller M. After multiple silent successes and being regarded as one of Germany's finest artists of the cinema Lang enters the world of the talking picture with a powerful, original story about local terror and social upheaval brought on by a serial killer that preys on a city's children. A story inspired by true events, a fact though denied by both Lang and his wife/co-writer, M would be his last great German film he would produce before leaving his home land due to the rise of the Nazi party.

The picture plays out in three parts and is very well compiled to keep the audience enthralled in the story of it's main character. Pater Lorre plays Hans Beckert, an unassuming man that is in fact a serial killer, and an implied pedophile, luring children in with candy and gifts before taking them in and killing them. The first section of the film depicts the town taken over by the terror of this mysterious murderer who prays on the city's (most likely Berlin) children. A frantic public becomes overly cautious as they chastise their neighbors for being too close to each others children. This leads to the meaty second part of the picture where all are in search of this killer that has everyone on edge. The public is beyond scared, the police perform daily raids, and the criminal underground is sick of hiding from the overly alert authorities and decide to take the law into their own hands, looking for the child killer themselves. Employing the beggars of the city to be their eyes and ears, the criminal bosses track down Hans cornering him in a building and dragging him out. The third act of the movie is a mock court setting where the angry criminals judge the frightened Hans as he pleads for his life, delivering a heart felt monolauge stating he can't help his actions and wishes he can control himself. Just before the angry mob of parents and criminals are about to beat Hans to death for terrorizing their world the proper authorities enter and bring Hans to a real court where it is implied that Hans will not be put to death, but rather be kept alive and committed to an asylum, as feared by the parents of the lost children, leaving us the audience with the message that we must watch after our own children.

Lang's paints a curious picture of social justice. In it Lang plays with the idea of what is good and bad, taking villains and making them heroes and making taking heroes and making them villains. We see characters complain about the uselessness of police and how careful they must act to do their job right, while at the same time see how quick actions can be unjust and hurtful. At one point the criminals hunting Hans are the heroes and we root for them to break into an office building, harming it's watchmen, to get to the villain Hans inside. Yet in the end Hans pleads his case and can be seen as a mentally sick being that wants to be cured of these disgusting acts he performs. We can want justice, but what is the proper justice? The blood thirsty mob or the court that will have his mental health examined. In the end we are left with moral that the parents must raise their children right and watch out for them. In other words, it is like what we see everyday on the evening news, a story that frightens parents of the horrors of that which could be lurking out on the streets as a rather normal man preys on the innocent children. After all this was surely inspired by a news story Lang probably saw in his own newspaper. The film shows how terror can take hold of the public.

Now for the filmmaking... Fritz Lang once again complies an excellent array of visuals to tell a story. He uses some unconventional angles not normally seen, such as shooting from between a man's legs from under a desk while he talks on the phone, or even dialogue where a man talks directly into camera. This could be attributed to the fact that this was his first talking picture and he was feeling his way through how to shoot dialogue. Lang does use sound very creatively to suit the story, giving Hans a habit of whistling a tune throughout his day. This is used to tell the audience that he is near even though we do not see him on screen. In fact this is the attribute that eventually has his discovered by the street beggars working for the crime bosses. Lang would use imagery in his unique, creative way including the wide use of reflections. Hans is tempted by the sight of his prey in reflections while at the same time be warned of his impending doom by seeing those tracking him in reflection. Lang once again shows us how he is a wonderful director now with his audio as well with his masterful skill of visuals.

The film would be another success for Lang, one that would be hailed as one of his greatest productions. Peter Lorre up to this point was an actor that performed mainly comedic roles in Europe due to Hungarian actor's short stature and odd look, but this picture would bring him a new life in his first starring role. He would go on to perform mainly as villains and would become a major success after landing a role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much where he would learn the English language. Shortly after he would move to Hollywood where he would become known for his own unique brand of acting.

The film would spawn a Hollywood remake in 1951 directed by Joseph Losey taking the whole storyline from Berlin to Los Angeles, but it wouldn't be as well known as the origina,l for Lang's film would be hailed as one of the greatest foreign films of all time. And it deservingly should be.