Movie review – “M” (1931) ****

What a good movie! A classic that really holds up and deserves its reputation. Its about a child killer terrorising a city – but the real gimmick is the investigation is mostly done by the underworld, upset the investigating are disrupting their business. Peter Lorre is wonderful as the killer – he actually doesn’t get that much screen time, only seen sporadically at first, but comes in about an hour in as he’s spotted and chased (a scene that goes on a bit too long) – and at the end he greats a great moment when he’s on trial. Few actors could combine menace and sympathy like Lorre – you know he should be captured but you feel sorry for him at the same time. Considering it was 1931 the smoothness of shot composition, documentary like realism (though the criminals union is a bit “fiction”), and skill are remarkable. The acting is extremely good, too, not a dud performance – no love subplot, great faces. Note how the leader of the criminals is a classic Nazi type, all close cropped bald head and ferociousness. The film also gives you something to mull over, too, about capital punishment.