Film Review: M (1931)

Fritz Lang is one of the most influential film makers of the 20th Century. This has a lot to do with his versatility and ability to exploit creative potential of Weimar Germany. In 1927 his silent spectacle Metropolis has set the standards of what proper science fiction film should look like. Four years later M, his first sound film, did the same for crime films and especially for those using the motive of serial killer.

The plot is set in 1930 Berlin, which is terrorised by vile pervert who lures young girls in order to kill them. Elsie Beckmann (played by Inge Landgut) is the schoolgirl who suffers the same fate, making mothers afraid for their children and public increasingly anxious and frustrated by killer continuing to roam the city streets. The government is under intense pressure and demands quick apprehension of the killer by the police, which, in turn, spares no effort and increases its presence on Berlin street. That begins to affect Berlin’s criminal underworld whose unofficial boss “Der Schränker” (“Safecracker”, played by Gustaf Gründgens) concludes that the only way to get police off their backs is to catch the killer themselves, using network of street beggars for surveillance. In the meantime, police Inspector Karl Lohmann (played by Otto Wernicke) methodically narrows down potential suspects to Hans Beckert (played by Peter Lorre), but he is not at home and instead wanders the streets in search of next victim. He is spotted by beggars who alert gangsters that begin to follow Beckert who tries to hide in large office building. Criminals decide to break into the building and use their equipment and experience to track down and apprehend Beckert, who is to be brought to mock trial.

While many early sound films were using music and dialogue as their main (and often the only) attractions, Lang took different approach. M is edited and directed in the same way someone would have edit and direct a silent film. There are few scenes where there isn’t any sound at all and the entire film doesn’t feature any music, with exception of Edward Grieg’s composition “In the Hall of the Mountain King”, which is whistled by Beckert and serves as an effective and chilling leitmotif for the character and his evil intention. Lang uses dialogue, but very sparingly, relying more on suggestive editing and shot composition that underlines great care about details and socio-political commentary. In many ways, many of the elements we are accustomed to see in films about serial killers can be traced to M - seemingly unstoppable murderer, media frenzy, public in panic and the police under political pressure. Lang adds to this somewhat unusual motive of organised crime doing the work of police and judiciary, but in the social, economic and political chaos of the last years of Weimar Republic this made perfect sense. German society, disappointed by the government’s failure, desperately needed someone to provide law and order and was willing to accept alternatives in form of various shady characters and organisations – gangsters in this film and Nazis in real life. Lang even blurred the difference between organised crime and government in brilliantly edited scene when gang bosses and high ranking police official discuss their strategies at the same time in two different smoke-filled rooms. Lang went a little bit too far in that direction near the ending, which features a little bit too melodrama and preachiness and somewhat ambiguous epilogue doesn’t help either.

On the other hand, nobody could accuse M for lacking authenticity. Lang and his then-wife and scriptwriter Thea von Harbou have spent long time extensively researching serial killers. It is often claimed that character of Beckert was inspired by Peter Kürten a.k.a. “Vampire of Düsseldorf”, notorious killer whose trial and execution coincided with the release of the film. Lang denied it, claiming Beckert was inspired by number of other killers, including Fritz Haarmann and Carl Grossman whose names are actually mentioned in the film. Lang has visited psychiatric hospitals in order to study patients sent there after violent crimes. During production he sought assistance from the both sides of the law. He contacted “Ringvereine”, Berlin’s criminal associations and used some of their members as extras (with around twenty of them being arrested during the shoot). The spectacular break-in the second part of the film was based on 1929 robbery of Disconto Bank in Berlin. The character of Inspector Lohmann was based on Ernst Gennat, legendary chief homicide detective of Berlin Police, also known as the first person to use term “serial killer”.

But for most people today M isn’t famous for its insight in late Weimar Republic. Instead, the film is nowadays best known for brilliant performance by Peter Lorre, popular stage actor who until that time was known mostly for comedies. His role of vile, perverted and ultimately pathetic Hans Beckert is one of the most memorable in the history of cinema. Lorre who, like Lang, soon had to flee Germany because of his Jewish background, used it to build international career and later become one of the most iconic actors of Classic Hollywood. M was at the same time reason why he became typecast and usually played villains until the end of his life. Lang fared much better, being recognised for his versatility and influence, especially by fans of Alfred Hitchcocks whose thrillers and masterful techniques of creating suspense owed great deal to M. Despite Lang trying to use that very same techniques to tone down the violence (which almost always happens off screen), the subject of child killer itself was enough for M being to be subjected to bans and censorship as “too disturbing”. There were many cuts and, like many classic films from the period, M was restored to something close to original version only decades later. Nevertheless, it was very popular film. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Lang’s next film (and the last made in Germany before Nazi takeover) was sort of semi-sequel to M, since Inspector Lohmann reappears as one of the characters. M itself was remade in 1951 USA under direction of Joseph Losey and in 2019 as Austro-German miniseries M – A City Seeks a Murderer.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

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