M (1951) *** (out of 4)A child killer is stalking the streets and soon the police are everywhere trying to catch him. This means that the police are stalking the low-life criminals and the crime bosses grow tired of it because it's costing them business. In order to get their business back, the crime bosses set out to catch the killer.Fritz Lang's 1931 film M is without question one of the greatest and most disturbing movies ever made. This 1951 remake from Joseph Losey went decades without being seen but a recent restoration has it available for fans to finally catch. Is it a worthy remake? It absolutely is a winning gem. Some people have called it a film noir but I really don't agree with that. The film is very much like the original in that it has you who the real monsters are out in the world.This film really shocked me on a couple levels. For starters, this was made in 1951 and I was shocked at how suggestive the material was. The early scenes show the killer stalking various little girls of all ages and race. The film certainly puts it in your face that this is a pervert and it doesn't shy away from this guy being attracted to them. Unlike the first film this one tries to explain why the killer is this way and of course it's the hatred of his mother.The cinematography is a major plus and there's no question that Losey has great control of everything going on. There's a very long sequence inside a shopping center where the criminals are searching for the killer and the way this sequence is edited was just flawlessly done. Another major plus were the performances with everyone from a large role to a small one doing a great job. David Wayne plays the killer and brings a certain coldness to the role as well as a creepy undertone.M has been forgotten over the years due to it being unavailable but now that it's making the rounds I can't help but think that it's reputation is going to improve. It's certainly not on the same level as the Lang film but it's still quite impressive.

I had wanted to see this American remake of the classic 1931 Fritz Lang movie for some time, but apparently legal issues had caused the movie to be withdrawn until recently. Having seen the movie, was it worth the wait? Well, yes and no. Of course, like almost all remakes, this particular one isn't as good as the original. It does have some significant faults. There are some slow spots, for one thing. Also, the movie doubts the intelligence of the audience at times, spoon-feeding it blatant explanations for decisions various characters in the movie make. Speaking of the characters, some important characters (the mob boss, the chief police investigators, and even the child murderer himself) were not explored in enough depth to my taste.But all the same, the movie has some strengths. It's very good looking, for one thing. The photography is very good, some shots are very well composed, and you get to see some really interesting Los Angeles locations, such as the famed Bradbury building. There are some interesting themes explored here, like Gestapo-like actions from the police to manipulation of the press (by both the police and the city's criminal element.) And while the murderer's character was not in my opinion explored enough, he does come across as a creepy character because of both the direction of his scenes and David Wayne's very good performance. When you weigh the good stuff against the not so good stuff, the scale makes this to be an okay movie. Certainly not up to the original version, but not one deserving of all the critical slams it got when it was first released. The two movies would make an interesting double bill, but just make sure the original movie is the first of the pair that you see.

Remake of the Fritz Lang classic about the hunt for a child murderer is a good little film in its own right. To be certain the film is not the equal of the original, however it is a solid film in its own right. The film plays like a "daylight" film noir (since kids are only really out during the day it has to be set during the day) mixed a bit with a procedural ala Dragnet, though the people we follow most are actually the crooks of the city who view the killer as a hindrance to their own ends. One of the films strong points is how we see the madness of the mob as regular citizens and even the "bad guys" try to get the right man, and aren't always successful. If there is any trouble with the film its that David Wayne as the killer is not the presence of Peter Lorre. Wayne is probably closer to a real sociopath in that he is a little nothing of a man which is terrifying thought since he could be anyone, but its not exciting on the screen because he is such a nobody. Worth tracking down.

I commemorated the 25th anniversary from the death of director Joseph Losey (which occurred on 22nd June 1984) by watching his two best (and, ironically, rarest) Hollywood movies, both noirs made in 1951 – THE PROWLER and M. Fritz Lang's original 1931 version of the latter is not only generally considered to be its director's masterpiece but, on a personal note, is also included in my all-time Top 20 movies. Therefore, I had always been particularly interested in seeing how Losey (another director I admire a great deal) had tackled the daunting task of remaking – and relocating to L.A. – such an iconic German movie. Boasting the original's own producer, Seymour Nebenzal, the 1951 remake has been almost impossible to see and, actually, I only managed to track down a mediocre-looking print a few months ago; even so, I am certainly grateful to have been given the opportunity to catch up with it…especially in view of the fact that Sony's long-rumored Joseph Losey box set on R1 did not materialize after all! Perhaps inevitably, the film's initial stages (the murder of little Elsie) closely resemble those of Lang's film – even down to the choice of camera set-ups: the high angle shot down an eerily desolate flight of stairs, the close-up of the vacant breakfast table, the tell-tale shots of a solitary flying balloon and a rolling ball – but Losey nevertheless manages to gradually make the film his own, culminating in a trademark hysterical finale that highlights a new character not featured in the original: Luther Adler's alcoholic attorney who is, ill-advisedly, moved to turn against his boss Martin Gabel after the baby-killer's confession. David Wayne – best-known until then for playing lightly comic roles – is quite good in his own right (especially during the aforementioned trial sequence) if, understandably, falling short of Peter Lorre's unforgettable original characterization; similarly (and effectively) cast against type, Howard Da Silva makes for a fine Chief of Police, while the sterling supporting cast includes Raymond Burr (also atypically amusing as a raspy-voiced, leading underworld thug), Steve Brodie (as a sadistic cop), Glenn Anders and Jim Backus (as the mayor)! Interestingly enough, two directors-to-be were employed in minor capacities on this film: assistant director Robert Aldrich and script supervisor Don Weis. Allegedly, Fritz Lang balked at Nebenzal's offer to direct the remake himself and never forgave Losey for daring to touch his magnum opus…he must have conveniently forgotten the fact that he had himself remade in Hollywood two Jean Renoir classics – LA CHIENNE (1931) and LA BETE HUMAINE (1938) – as SCARLET STREET (1945) and HUMAN DESIRE (1954) respectively!