M

Chalk M for murder...

Fritz Lang's M (1931) tells the story of a child killer who is terrorising a small German city. The film opens with a group of children playing and singing a nursery rhyme, the lyrics of which tell of a man in black who will take children who are naughty and chop them up. As they play, they bounce a ball against a street lamp, on which there is a Wanted poster, for the killer. The next scene is in a fairground - a man buys a balloon for a small girl while whistling a jaunty tune. Meanwhile, her mother is busy preparing dinner for her return. Soon, the balloon is seen tangled in overhead power-lines - the child is the latest victim of the killer, while, at home, her mother becomes more and more frantic. The latest killing causes outrage - parents are afraid to let their children go to school and even the most innocuous gestures by men towards children lead to suspicion and accusations. The police are under pressure - the city council, the press and the public are screaming for results.

Original movie poster

The police inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) in charge of the investigation is a clever man, and he is methodical in his methods of detection. The killer is Franz Becker (Peter Lorre), who has been sending letters to the press and the police manage to track down his apartment. However, the police are not the only people looking for the killer - the criminal underworld has offered their own reward for his capture. This is not because of philanthropy - the police searches have caused so much interference to their activities, they decide that it is better for them if they catch the killer.

Lang's superb film contrasts the gentle, almost child-like manner of the killer, as he gradually gains the trust of his victims, with the frantic nature of the police and criminal investigations. When Becker attempts to lure another child away, he is patient and meticulous. He is a charming fellow, and he easily seduces his latest target, plying the young girl with cakes and bringing her to a funfair.

The pace of the chase is far more frantic. Though the police quickly discover the identity of the killer, it is the criminals who find the killer first. Becker is betrayed by his trademark tune. He buys a balloon from the same vendor as he had done when he murdered his previous victim. The vendor is blind but remembers the tune (Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite 1 Op. 46, "In the Hall of the Mountain King") and sends a young helper to follow Becker. The boy chalks the letter 'M' on his hand and, walking past the Becker, pats him on the shoulder, leaving the 'M' imprinted on the back of his coat. In a delicious irony, the child with him (his prospective victim) notices the smudge on his coat, and tries to wipe it off. Becker realises that he has been marked, and attempts to escape. He is now in a dilemma - both the police and the criminal underworld hunt him. As night falls, he takes refuge in an office building. The criminals surround the building, seize him and hold their own mock trial.

Lang's movie constantly jolts our expectations - the criminal boss who organises the hunt for the killer is a sharply dressed and well-organised man. In contrast, Lohmann (the police inspector) is sloppily dressed, drinks and smoke too much, and exhibits the characteristics normally associated with a movie villain. He is, however, a clever detective, and his methodical approach, and his ingenious interrogation techniques lead him to both Becker's apartment, and to the office building where the criminals are hunting Becker.

What is most impressive about M is how relevant and modern the film still appears. The depiction of the hard-pressed police, and also Lorre's portrayal of a baby-faced killer have not been surpassed by film-makers since. There isn't a superfluous frame in the movie - Lang cuts between the hunt for the killer, and the killer's own hunt for his next victim to build the tension unbearably towards an exciting and fascinating climax. Several scenes stand out - the mother of a murdered child busying herself preparing her daughter's dinner. Every time a child arrives in the apartment block, she rushes out to see if it is her daughter. Each time, she grows a little more worried. We, the audience, know the child is never coming back, which makes the mother's anxiety even more poignant. Another outstanding scene is when the criminals are hunting for Becker in the office building. The alarm has been sounded, so the criminals have only a limited amount of time in which to search for Becker - of course, Becker does not know this. He cowers like a caged rat, in a storage locker, hoping the criminals will not find him.

Again, Lang skilfully manipulates the audience - we want justice, but do we want it at the hands of the criminals (amongst whom are killers and other undesirables) or at the hands of the upright and resourceful police inspector? His use of music is also skilful - we need only hear the tune to know that the killer is active and another child is in mortal danger. It's hard to believe that this was Lang's first 'talkie' - he was already well known for his silent classic, Metropolis (1926).

Fritz Lang

It is interesting to compare M to movies released in the United States around the same time. Both The Public Enemy (1931) and Little Caesar (1930) featured strong criminal personalities (breakthrough roles for James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson respectively). However, both films were studies of misused power. Though both Cesare 'Little Caesar' Bandello (Robinson) and Tom Powers (Cagney) were both capable of murder and viciousness, they were evil in a conventional sense. Two classic horror movies were also released at that time - Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931). Both movies featured a monster, and scared audiences but in each case, the monster conformed to conventional mythology - it looked terribly scary and had an inhuman conception. The power of M derives from the fact that the monster had a human, almost angelic face, but his crimes were beyond comprehension.

Though most reviews of M describe Lorre as the main star, it is really an ensemble performance. Lorre's performance is outstanding - his portrayal of the truly multidimensional - his inability to see himself as anything other than a victim makes him seem even more evil. His terror at the prospect of receiving summary justice from the criminals is palpable. Lorre seems far heavier, even chubby, in this role than he would for later roles in Hollywood, such as The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Casablanca (1942). It has the effect of making him seem harmless.

Peter Lorre as Franz Becker

The original title for M was The Murderer among Us, but it was changed in case the Nazi party inferred a reference to them. In fact, the story was based on a real-life murderer, but since M featured a dark parody of law and order (when the criminals hold their own 'trial' of Becker) and examined the power of mob-rule, it may have caused discomfort amongst the followers of National Socialism. One could argue, with the benefit of hindsight that the portrayal of 'unspeakable evil with an ordinary face' in M could be seen as an allegory of the Nazis during World War 2, but it is unlikely that Lang intended such a comparison. In fact, Hitler and other high-level members of the Nazi party were fans of Lang's work. They wanted Lang to make propaganda films, but Lang escaped to America, fearing the consequences of having Jewish relations. Lorre, who was Jewish, also left for America during the Thirties.

Directed by Fritz Lang. Made in black and white. In German, with English subtitles.

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