Outstanding German expressionist film from Fritz Lang that follows first the police, then the underworld, as they search for a child killer in Berlin. The cinematography is moody and dramatic as the story moves through the poorer sections of the great city and the acting, while of a more melodramatic style than is currently popular, is very good*. Peter Lorre is outstanding as the killer who taunts the police as the noose slowly tightens around him. To some extent the film is an early 'procedural drama' as the police use (then) modern forensic techniques such as finger printing and graphology to try and find the killer. Tired of the increased police surveillance, the city's criminal element begins their own search, mobilising the numerous beggars to be 'eyes on the street'. The film touches on a number of issues that are as relevant now as in the 1930s including mob mentality (men are accused of being the killer simply for talking to a child), rights of the accused, the 'end justifies the means' use of torture, and the ever thorny issue of mental health and culpability. One of the great pre-WWII German films. *I watched a subtitled version on TCM.
Review of M
