WOW !!What a movie...While being a thrilling serial killer manhunt story, this one looks into the modern society where parent-child relationships are getting distant, the two sides of the law, police and underworld, insanity, the legal system, justice and right to live- even of a child killer.One of Fritz Lang's best works. Cinematography is amazing. Performances are brilliant, specially from Peter Lorre.It's a landmark in psychological thriller genre, A Masterpiece.9+/10

. . . but M is carefully crafted to show that there's even less Virtue to be found among police and government officials. Director Fritz Lang's provocative thesis is that all it takes is one evil man--say a failed painter or an Emmy-losing game show host--to corrupt and curse an entire nation. Lang's M presents Peter Lorre as a crazed child killer who elicits the intrusive Big Brother German Fascist Efficiency that would soon send Gestapo thugs fanning out across Europe for building-to-building Terroristic searches resulting in Anne Frank and millions of other moms, pops, and kiddies being tattooed, recorded in ledger books, stripped, gassed, and burned. All basic Human Rights are suspended in the face of M, as happened in Real Life within a few years of its premier. As Mark Twain's historical tome SAINT JOAN best illustrates, the "Maid of Orlean's" top general turned out to be a notorious child killer just like M, cursing France to be conquered at least a dozen times by England, Russia, Germany, Algeria, and Vietnam. Most people know that the Chicago Police Hob-Nobbed with the infamous child killer John Wayne Gacy as a prelude to the Troubles facing the U.S. Today. Every American, therefore, should view M ASAP.

There is a child murderer about, and because the police can't catch him, and because it is hurting their business, organized criminals take it upon themselves to do so instead. The murderer is identified by a signature whistle, before being pursued into the attic of a large building. Once caught, the criminals then hold him to their own "trial" in the basement of an abandoned building, where he attempts to present a case that he himself shouldn't be killed.It is well shot, and for the first two-thirds, well acted. The editing is without excess, meaning it moves along efficiently. But although the plot has some intrigue, it is quite thin, very predictable, and never manages high tension. At first it is simply an expose of how the investigations are to be carried out, while the chase sequence to capture the criminal is all too simple. We also suffer from lack of identification with characters. In the first half we get scenes from the perspective of many different characters, but no single character or group emerges as the "lead", curtailing any emotional response we might have otherwise had - and noir lighting alone, quality as it may be, is not enough to establish a compelling mood.The thrill of suspense films usually lies in seeing how the good guys will escape the bad, but as this film gives little screen time to anyone likable, there is no attachment, and very little suspense. The film may attempt to leverage some social/political gravitas at the end by sympathising with the murderer and debating whether he deserves to be killed by the mob (aka capital punishment), or given a reprieve due to mental health issues, but instead of any intended depth, it simply descends into ham-fisted melodrama. At the end of the day, this film cannot be called entertainment - it amounts to no more than weak fearmongering.

Oddly enough, the only reason I watched this movie as fast as I did was because I found its short title to be eye catching while looking for different films to watch. I also like crime dramas, so I decided to watch this movie as I was expecting something Hitchcock-esque. However, I liked it all of Hitchcock's films that I've seen as it's not just a well-made crime drama, but a smart one.A child murderer named Hans Beckert has just killed his third victim, Elsie Beckmann. With little evidence, the police decide to raid and question psychiatric patients with a history of violence towards children. In fear of the police ruining business, an underground boss named Schranker decided to assemble a group of crime lords to start their own manhunt.On the surface, this movie seems like a simple, well-made crime drama. However, the movie has a deeper meaning concerning people fighting against a corrupt environment. The police force in the film were flawed as they staged raids with little to no evidence. They were the reason why the gang lords organized their own manhunt. That manhunt came with its own law force. However, that's not to say that what they did was moral, because they also created an unfair kangaroo court to try Hans Beckert. They were more concerned with killing him themselves rather than turning him over to the police. Despite this, however, the fact that the citizens were more successful than the police in catching the child murderer shows how faulty the actual police force was. Essentially, this film is about a corrupt "law force" forming in the midst of another one.As many other critics have pointed out, Peter Lorre gave a magnificent performance. The reason his performance was so unsettling was how his character turned from a heartless killer to someone terrified by the thought of being killed. The final act where he begged for his life was chilling as we got to see another side of Beckert that we hadn't witnessed before. I don't believe that many other actors would've been able to make that scene work as well as he did. Even though Lorre didn't become truly spectacular until the 2nd half, I wouldn't describe his performance as bland, because he still sent chills down my spine when he would talk to the kids he planned on killing. Also, even his whistling was slightly unsettling. On top of Lorre's great performance, the final act was also powerful as Beckert's monologue for why he kills people is both haunting and thought provoking. The scene also shows the flaws with the court system the criminals established, showing that they aren't any better than the police force in the film.This movie has one of the best openings I've ever seen in recent years. It does a great job putting us right in the middle of the action. It starts off with several kids chanting about a murderer in a courtyard, a scene which shows us how many of the children are oblivious to how dangerous the killer really is. The scene then shows one of the girls coming home when she comes across a wanted poster for the murderer. Suddenly, we witness one of the most unsettling and remarkable character introductions of all time as Beckert's shadow moves in front of the poster. It's a clever way of introducing us to the killer not just because of its creativity, but also because the film doesn't show Beckert's face right away. There are also a couple unsettling shots in the opening that work due to their subtlety such as Elsie's ball rolling out of the bushes and her balloon getting lost in a set of telephone wires.The sound in this film was both impressive and revolutionary. Quite a few scenes stuck out due to their use of sound. An example can be found in the opening shot as we heard a girl talking before the film revealed its first shot. The technique of showing dialogue or sound before a film starts off is still used in movies today such as "Hunger", "The Tree of Life", and "Whiplash". However, a truly suspenseful moment was when Beckert pursued a young girl in the streets. The camera was only focused on her, but we heard Beckert's whistling in the background getting louder and louder. There were other instances in the film which made the camera feel alive. An example of this was how we heard the sounds of different objects before they would come into view. This can be seen in the car horns as we heard them before they entered the shot. It felt like the movie was actually taking place in real time. While this may seem like nothing today, it was really innovative back then. The sound design in the film was way ahead of its time.In conclusion, this movie was a remarkable film. It's both a deep and well-made crime drama which impressed me for a number of reasons. It has a deeper meaning, great acting, a haunting 2nd half, and innovative sound design. A few people criticized the movie for trying to get you to sympathize with a child murderer. However, I don't think the movie is asking for sympathy as much as it is asking for understanding. Regardless, it's one of the best crime films I've ever seen.