Starring: Peter Lorre, Gustaf Gründgens, Otto Wernicke
Panic has gripped the streets of an unknown German city as a
child killer (Lorre) is lurking around. With the police desperately trying to
apprehend the murderer, criminal organisations around the city are bearing the
brunt of the disturbances by the police. Wanting an end to the harassment and
having their own disgust at the killer’s deeds, the criminals go on their own
manhunt to find the child killer.
In the early years of cinema, Germany’s influence over the
new art form was one of the greatest in the world and few in Germany ranked as
high a film-maker as Austrian-born director Fritz Lang. However, by 1931,
fortunes had changed for German cinema and for Lang. The economic depression of
1929 meant that Germany (in the process of breaking free from World War I reparation
induced austerity) was again a poor nation and Lang’s career was troubled with
the financial failure of his hugely ambitious previous film, the
science-fiction epic, Metropolis. Fortune has smiled on Lang however in the
long run. His reputation has helped his legacy survive this rough patch and now
both Metropolis and M are ranked amongst Lang’s most famous and beloved films.
They may stand as odd comparisons as films go. Metropolis is
a lavish, gleaming and fantastical escapist film. M is far more subdued, darker
and seemingly lacks the innocence of Metropolis. However, M stands up because
however grim the subject matter is, in both films, Lang (and, in fairness, his
then wife and screenwriter/producer Thea Von Harbou) have ideals that they push
earnestly and for all its darkness, M is a moral tale.
M is also an early adopter of elements that film lovers will
be all too aware of. The killer signals his arrival with a whistled refrain of
Grieg’s “Hall Of The Mountain King” a highly effective early use of musical
leitmotif fitting both a non-chalant innocence and monstrous dread..The lead in
the film is Hungarian actor, Peter Lorre. Lorre is now probably best known for
his later work in the US, with his credits for Casablanca and The Maltese
Falcon. Even those unaware of his name or who haven’t seen his pictures will
probably notice his features (his short and stocky frame, bulging bug eyes and
tickly-accented and rasping voice almost perpetually on the edge of hysteria).
When he got the lead of Hans Beckert in M, Lorre was a comedy actor and M is
clearly no comedy (well, it has a few gags, but its darker themes do away with
any notions of levity) but Lorre’s wild performance stands out brilliantly,
rivalling only Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates in Psycho for best screen
psychopath. Gustaf Gründgens also stands out as a criminal king pin on Lorre’s
tail.
Speaking of Psycho, Lang’s direction has ideas that would
become akin to Alfred Hitchcock in later years. This is little surprise as much
has been made of the influence of German cinema on Hitchcock (who, early in his
career, briefly worked in Germany) but the skilled use of panning, beautiful shot compositions and affecting music
often come with a Hitchcockian air, showing the strength and influence of Lang
as a director.
So, why only four stars and not five? Well, I tousled with
the idea of a five star review, especially given this film’s reputation. I
really like M, but there are a few minor problems, mainly in the pacing. The
film is simple. It has a simple premise, a clear way to begin and end. It’s a
film that would’ve probably been expected to last an hour back in 1931, but it
lasts two. Some of the additional detail works (the criminal gang are
entertaining at times, even if they are bloodthirsty) but it slows up the
tension. Metropolis is even longer, but it had a much grander story to tell
(also, unlike a fair number of people including Lang himself, I just prefer
Metropolis as a film) but with another
viewing there’s every chance I could push this to a five rating.
As a coda to the film, in a story that’s been aired
countless times, M (and Metropolis) were noticed by the Nazis when they rose to
power in 1933, with Josef Goebbels offering Lang a high position with the film
studio, UFA. Lang (who was half-Jewish) fled Germany for America soon after. Is
M a pro-Nazi film? No. My theory has always been that Lang was offered the job
so that the Nazis could keep a close eye on him (tellingly, Lang’s clearly
anti-Nazi film The Testament of Dr. Mabuse was banned by the Nazis, as was M,
eventually) although Thea Von Harbou did support them. Goebbels praised the
film for its lack of humanity, but its overpowering message of tolerance and understanding
as well as vigilance makes any claims of this to be fascist, completely
nonsensical. In fact this is a film profoundly affected by a sense of humanity
and given its dark and even controversial message, that’s the film’s greatest
strength.
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