M (1931)
98%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: NA
A landmark psychological thriller with arresting images, deep thoughts on modern society, and Peter Lorre in his finest performance.
This flick is a total mind-bender! It’s got some seriously trippy visuals, and it’ll make you think about the world we live in. Plus, Peter Lorre absolutely kills it in this one. He’s at the top of his game, and you won’t be able to take your eyes off him. If you’re in the mood for a movie that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat and make you ponder the meaning of life, this is the one for you.
Production Company(ies)
Nero-Film AG,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Staaken, Spandau, Berlin, Germany
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1931
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.20 : 1
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Runtime:1h 39m
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Language(s):German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 2, 1933 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 14, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama/Crime
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $35,566
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $857,740
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,631
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 93,538
US/Canada gross: $35,566
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $857,740
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,225
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,123
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $147,667
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,786
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ellen Widmann – Madame Beckmann
Inge Landgut – Elsie Beckmann
Otto Wernicke – Insp. Karl Lohmann
Gustaf Gründgens – Schränker
Theodor Loos – Police Commissioner Groeber
Director(s)
Fritz Lang
Writer(s)
Egon Jacobson, Fritz Lang
Producer(s)
Seymour Nebenzal
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (61) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (61)
Not only is the film brilliantly directed, with a vast amount of that inspired type-casting at which the Germans are so good, but Peter Lorre acts the part of the insane murderer with great insight and inspired skill.
February 18, 2022
Bruce Blevin
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Be afraid. Be properly afraid. The greatest creation of Fritz Lang’s career remains one of the most disturbing movies of his, or any, film-making era.
June 30, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Lang’s movie is that rare thing, a nail-biting soul-searcher. While M steers clear of analyzing deviance, it is startling in its musings on which punishment fits an inhuman crime.
May 2, 2016 | Rating: 4/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Our identification with [Lorre] as a psychopath is so complete it’s hard to believe that while appearing before Fritz Lang’s cameras in the daytime, he was, at night, acting as a comedian in a farce.
April 7, 2016
Pauline Kael
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Lang’s razor-sharp dissection of crime and punishment never puts a foot wrong.
September 7, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It is a cousin to the early Hitchcock of The Lodger, and I have always found something even something faintly Ealingesque about its cynicism and satire.
September 4, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Lang’s film, although deeply unpleasant, is one that deserves to be seen and talked about. [Full review in Spanish]
May 14, 2021
Miguel de Zárraga
Cine-Mundial
There are many strong performances in the film but it is Peter Lorre’s movie.
March 24, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
Technically, It is presented with the objective conviction of a news reel. It is a horrible and as convincing as if a cameraman had been witness to the Leopold and Loeb murder, for example. The story moves with breath-taking, ominous suspense.
August 1, 2020
Eagle Staff
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Famously, Lang uses lights and shadows to designate a film noir atmosphere to pair with his German Expressionism topics.
July 27, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
[This] is a film that hasn’t aged a day, and that is actually more innovative than most films currently playing.
July 1, 2020
CJ Sheu
Review Film Review
Beautifully constructed, mounting from climax to climax with terrific suspense. Flawless performances, and social meaning.
April 21, 2020
Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)
Esquire Magazine…
Plot
There have been a rash of child abductions and murders in Berlin. The murderer lures the children into his confidence by candy and other such child friendly items. Everyone is on edge because the murderer has not been caught. The most substantial pieces of evidence the police have are hand written letters by the murderer which he sent to the newspaper for publication. Unknown even to himself, a blind beggar, who sold the murderer a balloon for one of the child victims, may have key information as to the murderer’s identity. The murder squad’s work is made even more difficult with the large number of tips they receive from the paranoid public, who are quick to accuse anyone of suspicious activity solely for their own piece of mind that someone – anyone – is apprehended for the heinous crimes. Conversely, many want to take the case into their own hands, including the town’s leading criminals since the increased police presence has placed a strain on their ability to conduct criminal activity. Although they both have the same end goal of capturing the murderer, the police and the criminals seem to be working at cross purposes, which may provide an edge to the murderer in getting away.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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