M

Our subject today stars a man born in Hungary named Laszlo Lowenstein, who grew up in Austria. A player of the stage he began acting in an improvisational theater where he learned to hone his craft. Given a stage name by Jacob Moreno, which harkened to a German character named “Struwwelpeter” he moved to Berlin at the age of twenty. Acting under Bertholt Brecht he became famous for his role in the play of “Engineers in Ingolstadt”. Rave reviews caught the attention of Fritz Lang who cast the unknown as the villain of his new film, M. This would see the birth of an actor who would become legendary. So what was Laszlo’s stage name? He would be known as Peter Lorre and M is his debut to celluloid.

So if you’re like me and you enjoy film and the impact and emotions they convey, then grab a glass of your preferred liquid and join me for the next little while. For me, that’s a glass of scotch from our friends at Glenn Scotia. So sit back, relax, and let’s talk about the love of film. Welcome to Glazed Cinema. I’m excited to delve into today’s subject. M is among my favorite films by one of my favorite directors, Fritz Lang. If you are a fan of movies and just starting to dip your toes into the waters of film, Fritz should certainly be among the top directors to discover. Among his filmography are legendary works like the Dr Mabuse films, The Big Heat, and Metropolis to name a few. M is his first attempt at filmmaking post silent era and is a direct 180 turn from his previous effort of Woman in the Moon.

All of Lang's films deal with social evils, pointing a finger at something that needed attention or change and M is no different. By 1931, Lang was looking to get away from the big budget features like that he had grown tired of. He instead wanted to make a film about individual people and a singe crime. The opportunity would arise when a producer named Seymour Nebenzal approached him about doing another film. Wary of producers, Lang demanded that Nebenzal have no input on the screenplay, the editing, or the casting. After agreement was reach Lang began working on setting his new film in motion.

M is a film that depicts Berlin, frozen in fear, held hostage by a child murderer. Already claiming the lives of several children, desperation has reach a fever pitch as the manhunt has reached its eight week. With the general public rife with suspicion and tension there are many false accusations made, leading to police roundups, angry mobs, and crackdowns. With early curfews and other measures in place the entire city has a watchful eye on the children, making sure they are safe ad watching out for any suspicious activity. A $10,000 reward is also out for the capture of the culprit, making the number of those who seek to apprehend the maniac multiply. This business has taken its toll on the police as they languish over long hours and no sleep. With underground activities and bars being randomly searched organized crime is also desperate to catch the murderer so they can get back to normal business. this includes a group of beggars and street performers who ban together to bring him to justice. Switching between several different points of view we get a sense of how the townspeople, police, and the murderer himself are dealing with this moment of their lives.

As mentioned before, Lang liked to make films depicting social evils and how we overcome them. He also like to have messages within them as well. We can see examples of this in movies made before and after this picture. With M however he wanted to make a film about a crime, a heinous crime at that. In talking with his wife and co-writer, Thea von Harbou, Lang decided that there is nothing worse than a child murderer and landed on that as the crime of the film.

While discussing actors Fritz wanted to find someone to play the role that was fairly unassuming. Someone that nobody would ever think would be capable of such a crime. In his search he found Peter Lorre who he deemed fit the bill perfectly. We now know Peter Lorre as the man of many faces and someone who was known for playing villains, like in his role as Abbott in Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much". At the time of 1931 however he was unknown to many outside of the theatre circuit of Germany.

One thing I’ve found out in researching this film is that Fritz was a peculiar man. Seemingly amused at playing with press and journalists he developed a reputation as not telling the whole truth. Due to this it’s hard to tell what is true fact and what is exaggeration when coming from the man himself. However, there are enough accounts of the film that we can discern what is lore and what is not. One thing is for certain however and it's worth talking about as it impacted the director's view during filming.

There are things that we can't truly ignore, things that seep into our consciousness through osmosis. Things like our environment, society, cultural changes, and political events. At the time of 1931 Germany was a country in relative turmoil. The economy was in shatters after losing World War One and the spirit of the population was low. In the political realm the Nazi party was picking up steam as shades of what was to come were beginning to emerge. Street propaganda seemed to scream the outlook of the culture with posters like a woman dancing with a skeleton and a caption of, "Berlin, your dancer is death". With all of this happening one can only imagine what a creative like Lang must have been feeling and thinking. The film he made directly after M was much less subtle in depicting his feelings toward current events, but I'll save that for later on.

With M we also get the sense of these same mindsets. At the beginning of the film we see and hear children playing, mothers watching over them ensuring their safety in a troubled time. There are clothes on a line outside with windows open on a beautiful day. One mother, Mrs. Bechmann is doing chores and cooking with the windows open to let the fresh air permeate her dwelling. Soon after another crime is committed however and after this we are plunged headfirst into a totally different world. A world of people panicked, streets and figures shrouded in darkness on dirty, ill lit streets and smoke filled dens where illegal activity and planning is taking place.

There are three main characters who we follow through the events of M, all with different motives, backgrounds, and professions. There is of course the child murderer, Franz Becker. Until the middle of the film he is known to us by a shadow voice, and whistle, adding to the facelessness of fear and the ambiguity of guilt. We also follow a homicide Inspector, Karl Lohmann. He is the man in charge of finding the person terrorizing his jurisdiction. Then there’s Schranker or Safe cracker, a crime kingpin, out to clean his streets of the person responsible for ruining his businesses’ reputation and lightening his pockets. The two factions trying to catch the terror of Berlin have the same goal, but very different methods of getting there. I love the juxtaposition of how each go about planning their attack and next move. For Lohmann and the police force this involves analyzing finger prints using a projector and archived prints, interviewing people with likeminded rap sheets, and studying the psychology of the murderer by interpreting his calligraphy.

As methodical as the police are, organized crime is just as methodical, though their tactics are different. I love the scenes involving how these two factions plan how they will find the murderer. With Cigar and pipe smoke, alcohol, theories, and maps, it’s a sequence to behold. For the police this means scouring their networks or prisons, mental institutions, and reformeries to find any body who fits the murderer's persona. For the underground this involves using their vast networkof contacts to coordinate their efforts and communication in their plan to identify and catch the killer. Heavenly in their brilliance and simplicity we get the feeling that each plan might just work. Schranker might be my favorite character in the film. I enjoy his presence, his shiny black trench coat, and shady disposition.

Lang didn't like to show violence and in M nothing is shown either. Lang believed that the audience were collaborators of the film and didn't want to show anything he wouldn't want to see. Hitchcock did a lot of the same things in which makes their films so impactful in my view. We as the audience imagine what is happening in scenes we don't see and that is more often than not worse than seeing the actual event as we tend to imagine the worst and collaborate on the experience.

There are many great scenes in this film, but one of my favorites details an overhead camera shot. There’s a moment in M in which the killer is running from would be capturers and enters an alley and building plaza. The camera is high, looking down on the action as people run by and coordinate efforts. It’s a great shot and one I’ve only recently learned how it was done. If you think of high angle shots you probably think of modern techniques like using cranes, drones, or helicopters. With this scene however Lang used a very different and more simplistic approach. Being 1931 and with the scene being filmed in a studio they used a very long ladder and scaffold to film the shot. From looking at a picture of their setup it seems like a thirty foot ladder with a camera, cinematographer, and director tightly grouped together on a platform to capture the action.

M is a movie that contains a couple firsts in cinema. It's the first movie depicting a serial killer in cinematic history and has influenced this genre ever since. It also is the first to show a sympathetic antagonist. Someone who has done bad things, but for whom we sympathize with. From Psycho to Silence of the Lambs, the reverberation felt by M’s presence is hard to ignore. With its different camera angles, shots, detective sequences, and shadow work through lighting, a movement would come about just ten years later. Influenced by M and other German Expressionist films, a movement would come about just ten years later that would become something of legend and coin a term, synonymous with crime movies. Featuring detectives, organized crime, and the underbelly of society, it arrived in the 40s and shades of M can be seen throughout its lifespan. It would be coined Film Noir and several legendary films would arrive with it's wave of activity.

After M was released Lang began work on another film. A sequel to his silent picture, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, which he titled Dr. Mabuse's testament. For those who are not familiar with the Dr. Mabuse character. Mabuse is an evil figure who inhabits the bodies of those with power and influence, forcing them to do his bidding. With his sequel, released in 1933 we get a glimpse of Lang's thoughts toward his country once again. Unlike M however, he is far less subtle here. Lang detested Nazism and languished the fact that his country allowed the rise of such a movement. There's also a part in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse in which Lang mocks the Reich as a book titled "Herr Schaft des Verbrechens" or Empire of Crime. A man reading the texts states:

"Humanity's soul must be shaken to its very depths, frightened by unfathomable and seemingly senseless crimes. Crimes that benefit no one, whose only objective is to inspire fear and terror." At this point Mabuse begins whispering, "Because the ultimate purpose of crime is to establish the endless empire of crime. A state of complete insecurity and anarchy, founded upon the tainted ideals of a world doomed to annihilation. When humanity, subjugated by the terror of crime, has been driven insane by terror and horror, and when chaos becomes supreme law, then the time will have come for the empire of crime."

A rebellious act in an uncertain time, Lang fled the county after it was banned and landed in America where his Hollywood career took off. There is a story, according to Lang in which when the movie was banned Goebbels offered him to take control of Germany's film industry under the Reich. Lang instead fled the country, not wanting to join and fearing for his safety. As great of a story it is, especially when heard from the man himself, we can't be certain that this is the full truth of the matter.

I can't tire of M, it's a film which always resides in my Top Ten favorite films. After watching M I started watching some other films of his like Destiny, Die Nibelungen, and Ministry of Fear. The first time I saw M I was floored by what I had seen, especially the scenes near the end, which I will not spoil for you as they are gripping in their own way. It's a movie in which nothing is excessive and everything is necessary. It inspired me to learn more about film and the art of filmmaking and quenched my thirst for more. There is a direct message to the audience in the final line of the film. A way of again, collaborating with the audience, and touching on the story that is fading to black. A simple, yet poignant message to parents everywhere.

I can't say enough great things about this film, its absolutely fantastic. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend giving it a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If you'd like to watch M for yourself you can find it on a variety of streaming services. At the time f this recording you can find it on the Criterion Channel. The Criterion Channel is a service with tremendous value from our friends at the Criterion Collection, which offers pricing options of either $9.99 per month or $99 per year, which is what I chose to do.

You can also find it on other services like Prime Video, Vudu, and Apple TV for $2.99 to rent or on HBO Max if you subscribe to that service.

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