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Ratings

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IMDb rating Visit page
IMDb rating 8.3
Critic rating Average critic rating
Critic rating 10

Reviews

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Kasper Løvborg
rated 9

Brilliant. My favorite movie from the '30s.

3 years ago
Critic David Parkinson
rated 10

...an unqualified masterpiece.

Read full review at Empire
Critic Peter Bradshaw
rated 10

Paranoia and a feverish atmosphere surround the hunt for a child-killer in this re-release of the chilling 1931 drama.

Read full review at The Guardian
Anders Korsgaard Pedersen
rated 7

Classic but with flaws herr and there

2 years ago
Critic Marc Savlov
rated 10

...this unnerving tale of deranged child-killer Hans Beckert (Lorre) stalking the dingy alleys and shadowy playscapes of Berlin is as riveting a piece of filmmaking as you're ever likely to see.

Read full review at The Austin Chronicle

Cast & Crew

Fritz Lang
Director
Fritz Lang
Writer
Theo Lingen
As Bauernfänger
Peter Lorre
As Hans Beckert
Gerhard Bienert
As Criminal Secretary
Fritz Odemar
As The Cheater

Frequently Asked Questions

What is M about? Toggle content

M (1931) is a German thriller film directed by Fritz Lang that tells the story of a serial killer who preys on children in Berlin. The film follows the investigation led by Inspector Karl Lohmann, who uses new techniques such as fingerprinting and handwriting analysis to track down the killer. The film was inspired by a real-life serial killer, Peter Kürten, and it was Lang's first sound film. It is considered a pioneering work in the genre of serial killer films and has been an influence on many other films and filmmakers. The film begins with a group of children playing an elimination game in a courtyard, chanting a rhyme about a child murderer. A wanted poster warns of the killer, and anxious parents wait outside a school for their children. Little Elsie Beckmann leaves school and is approached by Hans Beckert, who offers to buy her a balloon and walks with her. Her disappearance leads to anxiety among the public, and Beckert sends an anonymous letter to the newspapers taking credit for the child murders and promising to commit more. The police work around the clock to find the killer, using new techniques such as fingerprinting and handwriting analysis. They stage frequent raids to question known criminals, disrupting organized crime so badly that Der Schränker (The Safecracker) summons the crime bosses of Berlin's Ringvereine to a conference. They decide to organize their own manhunt using beggars to watch children. Meanwhile, police search Beckert's rented rooms, find evidence that he wrote there, and lie in wait for him. Beckert sees a young girl in reflection of shop window & begins following her but stops when she meets her mother; he encounters another girl & befriends her but panics when another suspicious man approaches them & flees . He takes shelter at home , where Lohmann arrives , recognizes his whistling motif from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg , played during his interactions with victims .He attempts t o flee b ut i s caught .In custody , h e confesses t o numerous m urders but c laims t o have n o m emory f them du e t o his alleged "compulsion". H e i s later tried , found guilty & sentenced t o death .As h e i s led away f rom courtroom , h e sings Grieg 's " In th e Hall Of Th e Mountain King ".

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What movies are similar to M? Toggle content

Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as M include Scarface, The Petrified Forest, Blackmail, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Missing Girls, While the City Sleeps.