IMDb >
M (1931)
Watch It
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
at Internet Archive

Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsM (1931) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (See all 28 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 3) |
Overview
User Rating:
Your Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
31 August 1931 (Sweden)
See more »
Plot:
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
Police
|
Criminal
|
Killer
|
Organized Crime
|
Investigation
See more »
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
This Week on DVD: Daybreakers, Edge of Darkness, Legion
(From FilmJunk. 11 May 2010, 9:19 AM, PDT)
DVD Details: 'Avatar' Triple-Dip? Details on Blu-ray 3D and Criterion Titles for May
(From Rope Of Silicon. 19 February 2010, 4:15 PM, PST)
The Criterion Column: May 2010 Releases, Out of Print Titles
(From Twitch. 13 February 2010, 1:51 PM, PST)
(From FilmJunk. 11 May 2010, 9:19 AM, PDT)
DVD Details: 'Avatar' Triple-Dip? Details on Blu-ray 3D and Criterion Titles for May
(From Rope Of Silicon. 19 February 2010, 4:15 PM, PST)
The Criterion Column: May 2010 Releases, Out of Print Titles
(From Twitch. 13 February 2010, 1:51 PM, PST)
User Reviews:
Moments of menace..
See more (213 total) »
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Peter Lorre | ... | Hans Beckert | |
| Ellen Widmann | ... | Frau Beckmann | |
| Inge Landgut | ... | Elsie Beckmann | |
| Otto Wernicke | ... | Inspector Karl Lohmann | |
| Theodor Loos | ... | Inspector Groeber | |
| Gustaf Gründgens | ... | Schränker | |
| Friedrich Gnaß | ... | Franz, the burglar | |
| Fritz Odemar | ... | The cheater | |
| Paul Kemp | ... | Pickpocket with six watches | |
| Theo Lingen | ... | Bauernfänger | |
| Rudolf Blümner | ... | Beckert's defender | |
| Georg John | ... | Blind panhandler | |
| Franz Stein | ... | Minister | |
| Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur | ... | Police chief | |
| Gerhard Bienert | ... | Criminal secretary |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
See more »
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
117 min | 110 min (2004 Criterion DVD edition) | France:118 min | Germany:105 min (2000 restored version) | Germany:108 min (re-release) | USA:99 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.20 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-12 (1995) | Finland:K-16 (1960) | Germany:(Banned) (1933-1945) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Germany:12 (re-rating 2006) | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 (bw) (nf) | Germany:16 (video rating) | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Netherlands:18 (re-rating) (1959) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1931) | Netherlands:12 (2006) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1933) | Portugal:17 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Not Rated | Norway:15 (1995) | Portugal:M/12 (re-rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
MGM studio head Irving Thalberg assembled his writers and directors for a private screening of this film, telling them that they needed to be making films of this power and caliber. He also admitted that if anyone had brought a story of a child killer to him, he would have rejected it.See more »
Quotes:
Inspector Karl Lohmann:Good God! The window sill!See more »
Soundtrack:
Le Halle du Roi de la MontagneSee more »
FAQ
Is this movie based on a real person?Is it true that there is a comic book based on "M"?
See more »
See more (213 total) »
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for M (1931)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Favorite scene | rustynail925 |
| Crotch Shot | ddlyrisotto |
| Was this ever dubbed in English? | mrmuggles |
| Casting Peter Lorre | jyotij |
| Dada symbols | roblaceyleeds |
| Smoking in that movie | rossf72 |
Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| M | The Night of the Hunter | Sophie Scholl: The Final Days | The Spider Returns | I Confess |
|
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb top 250 movies | IMDb Crime section |
| IMDb Germany section | Add this title to MyMovies |




















The economy, austerity and directness of the films of Fritz Lang made him one of the most profound, and precise filmmakers...
Lang, a master of the German expressionist film, shot his first talkie, a crime drama considered a landmark in the story of suspense movies... It was a shocking idea for its time, based on the real-life killer Peter Kurten, headlined as the Vampire of Düsseldorf...
'M' is about a terrorized city, and a plump little man with wide eyes (often chewing candy) who is a pathological child-killer, unable to control his urge for killing...
The film embodies several Lang themes: the duality between justice and revenge, mob hysteria, the menacing anticipation of watching a helplessly trapped individual trying fruitlessly to escape as greater forces move inexorably in, and, for probably the first time in the cinema, it adds a new dimension to suspense: pity... For the killer is clearly mentally sick... He cannot overcome the overwhelming compulsion of his murderous disease, and yet, we see him hunted down and almost lynched as a criminal, rather than treated as a sick man...
Early in the film, the killer is heard whistling the Grieg theme from 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'. This theme inexorably becomes imbued with menace... And when we see no more than a girl looking in a shop window, the melody on the sound-track told us chillingly that the murderer is there, just out of sight...
The Murderer is played by Peter Lorre in a virtuoso performance that has barely been matched in all the thrillers he has made since 'Casablanca,' 'The Maltese Falcon,' and 'The Mask of Dimitrios.' When the photographs of his victims, all little girls, are shown to him, he jumps back and twitches with horror...
With powerful visuals, Lang's motion picture is Lorre's first film... His performance as the corpulent, hunted psychopath is a masterpiece of mime and suggestion... Lorre is the archetypal outsider-outside the law and society because of his compulsive crimes, outside the balancing society of the underworld because he is not a professional criminal... He had only twelve lines of dialog...
In the most famous of all about a pathological killer - Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' - Anthony Perkins lacked not only the threat of the tortured Peter Lorre, but also the dimension of invoking our incredulous sympathy...
'Psycho' reeked with blood and horror, whereas the suspense of 'M' is subtle... A child's balloon without an owner, a rolling ball, are enough to tell us that another murder had been committed... The audience, trapped in its seats, torn by ambivalent feelings towards the killer, watched him trapped as the net is pulled tight...