Figure 1.-- The shot here is outside a school, one of the areas of course that the murderer frequents in
his attempts to abduct children. The man with the child outside school has taken his daughter to school and kisses her good bye. At the right we see two school boys wearing the typical dress of 1931 Berlin. Notice especially the leather brief cases worn on their backs, the headgear (peaked cap and stocking cap), rather long short pants, and grey or tan long stockings. The girl on the left also wears long stockings.
The German movie ' M ' is a film classic. It was shot by the great German director, Fritz Lang. He began making silent films in Berlin in the 1920s and made his first speaking movie in 1931 with this very influential film, titled simply 'M'. The title comes from a chalk mark on the murderer's overcoat, put there by a citizen who discovers his guilt, the "M" of course standing for murderer, The story concerns a child molester and serial killer (played by Peter Lorre) who is finally trapped, not by the police, but by a group of people from the criminal underworld of a great city (by implication Berlin). The film is always mentioned as being the genesis of what today is referred to as "film noir". There are many street scenes showing the fashions of the early 1930s in Germany. The murder of a little girl occurs early in the action, and the rest of the film shows us the attempts by various groups of interested people to catch him (the police, the business community who think that the scandal he has created in the city is ruinous to their businesses, and the criminal underworld of the Weimar Republic who also want him caught so that the police will leave them alone to pursue their own activities such as the running of brothels, strip shows, and the like). In the end the murderer is confronted, not by the police, but by a gang of semi-criminals who intend to exact vigilante justice. This film is believed to be based on a real child murderer who was stalking the children of Dusseldorf late 1920s early 1930s. The film technique is very imaginative (lots of people smoking and creating a kind of haze of doubt and suspicion) and the building up of suspense as the murderer is pursued but not caught. The costuming is 1931 Germany (apparently Berlin). The shot shown here is outside a school, one of the areas of course that the murderer frequents in his attempts to abduct children. At the right we see two school boys wearing the typical dress of 1931 Berlin. Notice especially the leather brief cases worn on their backs, the headgear (peaked cap and stocking cap), rather long short pants, and grey or tan long stockings. The girl on the left also wears long stockings. Lang because of his opposition to the NAZIs later emigrated to America and became an important Hollywood director.
Filmography
The German movie " M " is a film classic. It was shot by the great German director, Fritz Lang. He began making silent films in Berlin in the 1920s and made his first speaking movie in 1931 with this very influential
film, titled simply "M". The title comes from a chalk mark on the murderer's overcoat, put there by a citizen who discovers his guilt, the "M" of course standing for murderer. Lang because of his Jewish ancestry, wiseky decided to leave Germany a few years later (1934). NAZI Propaganda Minister Goebbels banned his last German film ('The Testament of Dr Mabuse') until returning to Germany after the War. His wife and screen writer, Thea von Harbou, who was not Jewish, became a NAZI supporter and divorced him. Lange went first to Paris and then to the United States where he made several notable films in the Film Noir genre.
Cast
Plot
The story concerns a child molester and serial killer
(played by Peter Lorre) who is finally trapped, not by the police, but by a group of people from the criminal underworld of a great city (by implication Berlin). The film is always mentioned as being the genesis of what today is
referred to as "film noir". The murder of a little girl occurs early in the action, and the rest of the film shows us the attempts by various groups of interested people to catch him (the police, the business community who think that the scandal he has created in the city is ruinous to their businesses, and the criminal underworld of the Weimar Republic who also want him caught so that the police will leave them alone to pursue their own activities such as the running of brothels, strip shows, and the like). In the end the murderer is confronted, not by the police, but by a gang of semi-criminals who intend to exact vigilante justice. This film is believed to be based on a real child murderer who was stalking the children of Dusseldorf late 1920s early 1930s.
Film Technique
The film technique is very imaginative (lots of people smoking and creating a kind of haze of doubt and suspicion) and the building up of suspense as the murderer is pursued but not caught. Goebbels called Lange to his office to tell him that 'The Testament of Dr Mabuse' was being banned. Lange claimed that Goebbels complimented him on his technique and even offered to give him the job of running Ufa. We know that the meeting took place with Goebbels and that Goebbels told him that his film was being banned. Lange's other claims can not be confirmed. It seems unlikely given the fact that Lange was of Jewish discent. A HBC reader writes, "
I have seen this film and the tension is kept at fever pitch throughout the film.
There are many street scenes in 'M' showing the fashions of the early 1930s in Germany. The costuming is 1931 Germany (apparently Berlin). 'M' starts with a group of children playing in a tenement block play ground . It is a counting game. The game seems to be based on counting. The child in the middle point a finger and goes around the group reciting numbers 1 to 10. A player is out if the child is the one pointed at when a certain number is reached. This is where the the family of the missing girl live. The image shows compempory children's fashion. There is a boy in a sailor suit.All wear knee stockings and shoes. The fashions shown are a good reflection of those appearing in the photographic record. The shot shown here is outside a school, one of the areas of course that the murderer frequents in
his attempts to abduct children (figure 1). At the right we see two school boys wearing the typical dress of 1931 Berlin. Notice especially the leather brief cases worn on their backs, the headgear (peaked cap and stocking cap), rather long
short pants, and grey or tan long stockings. The girl on the left also wears long stockings.
