In this Americanization of the 1931 German thriller, both the police and the criminal underworld stalk a mysterious serial killer who preys on little girls.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Photos and Videos
Complete, Cast awaiting verification
| David Wayne | ... |
Martin W. Harrow
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| Howard Da Silva | ... |
Inspector Carney
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| Martin Gabel | ... |
Charlie Marshall
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| Luther Adler | ... |
Dan Langley
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| Steve Brodie | ... |
Police Lt. Becker
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| Raymond Burr | ... |
Pottsy
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| Glenn Anders | ... |
Riggert
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| Norman Lloyd | ... |
Sutro
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| Walter Burke | ... |
MacMahan
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| John Miljan | ... |
Blind Baloon Vendor
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| Roy Engel | ... |
Police Chief Regan
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| Janine Perreau | ... |
The Last Little Girl
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| Leonard Bremen | ... |
Lemke
(as Lennie Bremen)
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| Benny Burt | ... |
Jansen
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Bernard Szold | ... |
Bradbury Bldg. Watchman
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Robin Fletcher | ... |
Elsie Coster
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| Karen Morley | ... |
Mrs. Coster
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| Jim Backus | ... |
The Mayor
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| Jorja Curtright | ... |
Mrs. Stewart
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Frances Karath | ... |
Little Girl in Hallway
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Abdullah Abbas | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Fred Aldrich | ... |
Sam (uncredited)
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| Don Anderson | ... |
Speakeasy Patron (uncredited)
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| Al Bain | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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Benjie Bancroft | ... |
Cab Driver (uncredited)
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| George Barrows | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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Ivan Bell | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Madge Blake | ... |
Police Station Witness (uncredited)
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Willie Bloom | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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Ewing Miles Brown | ... |
Minor Role (uncredited)
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Boyd Cabeen | ... |
Hood (uncredited)
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James J. Casino | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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Michael Cirillo | ... |
Bartender (uncredited)
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Bing Conley | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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Jane Crowley | ... |
Woman in Mob (uncredited)
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Russell Custer | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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| Jimmy Dime | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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Mike Donovan | ... |
Policeman at Bar (uncredited)
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| Virginia Farmer | ... |
Harrow's Landlady (uncredited)
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Charles Ferguson | ... |
Detective (uncredited)
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Sam Finn | ... |
Hood (uncredited)
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| Bess Flowers | ... |
Minor Role (uncredited)
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Raoul Freeman | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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Wesley Gale | ... |
Bootblack (uncredited)
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| Joe Garcio | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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| John George | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Joseph Glick | ... |
Citizen (uncredited)
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Jack Gordon | ... |
Detective (uncredited)
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Bobbie Hale | ... |
Man Watching Broadcast (uncredited)
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| Alvin Hammer | ... |
Father (uncredited)
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Harry Hines | ... |
Dr. Graham's Patient (uncredited)
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| George Hoagland | ... |
Detective (uncredited)
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| John Indrisano | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Sherry Jackson | ... |
Little Girl (uncredited)
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| Michael Jeffers | ... |
Bartender (uncredited)
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| Tiny Jones | ... |
Woman in Mob (uncredited)
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| Kenner G. Kemp | ... |
Detective (uncredited)
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| Tom Kennedy | ... |
Hood (uncredited)
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| Johnny Kern | ... |
Pedestrian (uncredited)
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Donald Kerr | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Anne Kunde | ... |
Woman in Mob (uncredited)
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| Norman Leavitt | ... |
Harry Greer (uncredited)
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| Will Lee | ... |
Man In Mob (uncredited)
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Muriel Maddox | ... |
Minor Role (uncredited)
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| George Magrill | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Hank Mann | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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John Marlin | ... |
Onlooker at Accident (uncredited)
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Buddy Mason | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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| Robert Milasch | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Marjorie Nelson | ... |
Woman (uncredited)
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| William Newell | ... |
Detective Questioning Blonde About License Plate (uncredited)
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| William H. O'Brien | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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| Frank O'Connor | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Gregg Palmer | ... |
Television Broadcaster (uncredited)
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| Bob Perry | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Jack Perry | ... |
Cab Driver (uncredited)
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| Dee Pollock | ... |
Little Boy in Hallway (uncredited)
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| Stanley Prager | ... |
Police Detective (uncredited)
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| Stanley Price | ... |
Man Watching Broadcast (uncredited)
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| Bob Reeves | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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| Dewey Robinson | ... |
Man in Crowd (uncredited)
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Victor Romito | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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Jack Roper | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| William Schallert | ... |
Rorschach Test Subject (uncredited)
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Sammy Shack | ... |
Cab Driver (uncredited)
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| Lester Sharpe | ... |
Man Helping Little Girl on Skates (uncredited)
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| June Smaney | ... |
Singer (uncredited)
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Mabel Smaney | ... |
Mabel Smith (uncredited)
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Cap Somers | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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| Brick Sullivan | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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| Jack Tornek | ... |
Carnival Patron (uncredited)
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Peter Virgo | ... |
Harry Dennis, Jaywalker (uncredited)
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Eleanore Vogel | ... |
Woman in Mob (uncredited)
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Ralph Volkie | ... |
Police Station Witness (uncredited)
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| Ray Walker | ... |
Detective (uncredited)
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| Bill Welsh | ... |
Dr. Graham - Police Psychiatrist (uncredited)
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| Dick Wessel | ... |
Policeman Ticketing Jaywalker (uncredited)
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| Harry Wilson | ... |
Man in Mob (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Joseph Losey | ||
Written by
| Norman Reilly Raine | ... | (screen play by) & |
| Leo Katcher | ... | (screen play by) |
| Waldo Salt | ... | (additional dialogue by) |
| Fritz Lang | ... | (original screenplay) (uncredited) |
| Thea von Harbou | ... | (original screenplay) (uncredited) |
Produced by
| Harold Nebenzal | ... | associate producer |
| Seymour Nebenzal | ... | producer |
Music by
| Michel Michelet | ||
Cinematography by
| Ernest Laszlo | ... | director of photography |
Editing by
| Edward Mann | ||
Art Direction by
| Martin Obzina | ||
Set Decoration by
| Edward R. Robinson | ... | (as Ray Robinson) |
Makeup Department
| Ted Larsen | ... | makeup artist |
Production Management
| Ben Hersh | ... | production supervisor |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Robert Aldrich | ... | assistant director |
| Jack R. Berne | ... | second second assistant director |
Sound Department
| Leon Becker | ... | sound |
| Mac Dalgleish | ... | sound re-recordist |
Music Department
| Bert Shefter | ... | musical director |
Script and Continuity Department
| Don Weis | ... | script supervisor |
Additional Crew
| John Hubley | ... | production layout |
| Robert H. Justman | ... | production assistant |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Columbia Pictures (1951) (United States) (theatrical)
- Columbia Film (1951) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Columbia Film-Verleih (1951) (West Germany) (theatrical)
- Columbia Films S. A. (1951) (Mexico) (theatrical)
- Columbia Pictures Corporation (1951) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Kamerafilm (1951) (Norway) (theatrical)
- Nostalgia Family Video (2015) (United States) (DVD)
- ARTE (2021) (Germany) (tv)
- ARTE (2021) (France) (tv)
- Sinister Cinema (United States) (DVD)
Special Effects
Other Companies
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
A killer is preying on small children in Los Angeles. The police, under pressure from civic authorities, are conducting daily raids on the criminal world. This causes all illegal business to come to a standstill. In order to bring things back to normal, the top crime bosses hold a meeting and decide that as the unknown killer is the reason for the increased police vigilance, they will catch the killer themselves using their city-wide network of informants. If they succeed, not only will it bring them relief from the police raids but public, too, will hail them as good Samaritans. The plan is put into motion. Meanwhile, the police are combing the case files of people with a history of mental illness and commitment to psychiatric institutions in the past. And all this time, the killer is getting restless, getting the urge to kill again. Written by Soumitra |
| Plot Keywords | |
| Taglines | DARING! For the first time, the screen speaks of... 'M' ...the worst crime of all! See more » |
| Genres | |
| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Did You Know?
| Trivia | Before signing Joseph Losey as director, producer Seymour Nebenzal approached fellow German expatriate Douglas Sirk and offered him the job. Sirk said he would do the film only if he could scrap the original story and write a new one about a psychopathic murderer of children. When Nebenzal approached Losey, he also wanted to scrap the original story and do a new one about a child murderer, and Nebenzal told him that the Production Code Administration (PCA) had agreed to allow him to make the film only if the original story and script were kept. The PCA had approved "M" as a remake of an acknowledged classic, but if the story were changed, its approval would be withdrawn. See more » |
| Goofs | When the killer and the little girl are locked in the room, the large shadow of the microphone boom is clearly visible on the wall on the left side of the screen after she sits down on the floor. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Featured in The 3 Faces of M (2022). See more » |
| Quotes |
Police Chief Regan:
To prevent other crimes, your police department has prepared five don'ts. DON'T let your children accept rides from strangers, sometimes these are one-way rides leading to death. The amiable stranger may be a killer. DON'T let your children accept presents from strangers. A bag of popcorn or a candy bar is not worth your child's life. DON'T send children on after-dark errands, the night works in behalf of the killer who preys on our young. If you must have something from the store after sundown, get it yourself. DON'T let your child play unattended in wooded places or empty lots. Though your eyes aren't on them, somebody else's may be watching. DON'T let your children become friendly with Pop, that nice old character in your neighborhood. Most of these men are harmless, but there are exceptions. It's up to you to make sure your child isn't the victim of one of these exceptions. And now for one all important do: If you notice any suspicious characters lurking around schools and playgrounds, DO call at once, your police department: Central 5000, the life you save may be your child's life. See more » |