
There have been a rash of child abductions and murders in Berlin. The murderer lures the children into his confidence by candy and other such child friendly items. Everyone is on edge because the murderer has not been caught. The most substantial pieces of evidence the police have are hand written letters by the murderer which he sent to the newspaper for publication. Unknown even to himself, a blind beggar, who sold the murderer a balloon for one of the child victims, may ha... (Full plot summary below)
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There have been a rash of child abductions and murders in Berlin. The murderer lures the children into his confidence by candy and other such child friendly items. Everyone is on edge because the murderer has not been caught. The most substantial pieces of evidence the police have are hand written letters by the murderer which he sent to the newspaper for publication. Unknown even to himself, a blind beggar, who sold the murderer a balloon for one of the child victims, may have key information as to the murderer's identity. The murder squad's work is made even more difficult with the large number of tips they receive from the paranoid public, who are quick to accuse anyone of suspicious activity solely for their own piece of mind that someone - anyone - is apprehended for the heinous crimes. Conversely, many want to take the case into their own hands, including the town's leading criminals since the increased police presence has placed a strain on their ability to conduct criminal activity. Although they both have the same end goal of capturing the murderer, the police and the criminals seem to be working at cross purposes, which may provide an edge to the murderer in getting away.
Leave your thoughts about M.
| Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyLang's movie is that rare thing, a nail-biting soul-searcher. While M steers clear of analyzing deviance, it is startling in its musings on which punishment fits an inhuman crime. |
| Cinemaphile.orgDavid KeyesThe movie looms over our cinema like a hand of consequence, haunting us with its austerity and power long after others have faded from the mind. |
| Movie MetropolisChristopher LongM is responsible for some of the most memorable images and sequences in cinema history |
| Time OutJoshua RothkopfThis is a movie that dares to sympathize with a sick person, that risks making the monster real and us (in an era when Germany's cinema was still shellacked in canted angles and fanciful shadows). |
| Observer (UK)Philip FrenchFritz Lang entered the sound era with a bold expressionist thriller that captured the ugly mood of the years before the Third Reich. |
| Time OutDerek AdamsA subversive film, or more simply a movie brimming over with the ferment of Lang's imagination at its height? You choose. |
| Creative LoafingMatt BrunsonIt's clear that Lang was ahead of most of his peers in grasping the promise of the motion picture form. |
| Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovArguably Fritz Lang's greatest cinematic achievement, this unnerving tale of deranged child-killer Hans Beckert (Lorre) stalking the dingy alleys and shadowy playscapes of Berlin is as riveting a piece of filmmaking as you're ever likely to see. |
| New York TimesMordaunt Hall[An] important film which rightly deserves its success. |
| Little White LiesDavid JenkinsYou'll never look at a novelty balloon in the same way again. |