M (1931)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Thea von Harbou (script) and
Fritz Lang (script)

Release Date:

31 August 1931 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Plot:

When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Criminal | Killer | Investigation | Serial Killer

Cast

Peter Lorre	...	Hans Beckert
Ellen Widmann	...	Frau Beckmann
Inge Landgut	...	Elsie Beckmann
Otto Wernicke	...	Inspector Karl Lohmann
Theodor Loos	...	Inspector Groeber
Gustaf Gründgens	...	Schränker
Friedrich Gnaß	...	Franz, the burglar
Fritz Odemar	...	The cheater
Paul Kemp	...	Pickpocket with six watches
Theo Lingen	...	Bauernfänger
Rudolf Blümner	...	Beckert's defender
Georg John	...	Blind panhandler
Franz Stein	...	Minister
Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur	...	Police chief
Gerhard Bienert	...	Criminal secretary

Also Known As:

Fritz Lang's M (Australia)
M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (Germany) (alternative title)
M - Mörder unter uns (Germany) (working title)
Murderers Among Us

Runtime:

117 min | 110 min (2004 Criterion DVD edition) | France:118 min | Germany:105 min (2000 restored version) | Germany:108 min (re-release) | USA:99 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1995) | Finland:K-16 (1960) | Germany:(Banned) (1933-1945) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Germany:12 (re-rating 2006) | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 (bw) (nf) | Germany:16 (video rating) | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1933) | Portugal:17 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Not Rated | Norway:15 (1995) | Portugal:M/12 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Staaken, Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Nero-Film AG

Trivia:

M is supposedly based on the real-life case of serial killer Peter Kürten, the "Vampire of Düsseldorf", whose crimes took place in the 1920s, but Fritz Lang expressly denied that he drew any inspiration from the case.

Quotes:

Man in Pub: Hey, it's fatty Lohmann!
Everyone in Pub: [Chanting] Lohmann, Lohmann, Lohmann!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Thousand Clowns (1965)

Soundtrack:

Le Halle du Roi de la Montagne

You'll Remember This One Forever

This is one of those movies that will stay with you for the rest of your life. The characters are ugly and disturbing, there is nothing "cute" in this movie.

There are constant parallelisms drawn between the police and the underworld and the common way in which they operate.

We also get to journey into the mind of the madman. If you enjoyed "Silence of the Lambs", you should see this also.

Of course you must be patient enough to deal with subtitles, and the fact that this is a very old movie - one of the first "talkies". But most viewers will get something out of the dialogue even without knowing the German language.