Titel Kino 2/2001(2 Alternativ) - German Films
Titel Kino 2/2001(2 Alternativ) - German Films
Titel Kino 2/2001(2 Alternativ) - German Films
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M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder<br />
M – A TOWN IS LOOKING FOR A MURDERER<br />
Scene from ”M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder“ (photo © Filmmuseum Berlin/Deutsche Kinemathek)<br />
A serial killer is keeping Berlin on pins and needles. The police commit everything they have to finding him, but<br />
to no avail. Even the great amounts offered as reward money do not help, but only lead to more panic and<br />
accusations. Not only the police, but also the underworld is interested in finding the killer, as the constant police<br />
raids are ”disturbing“ their work and, since the killer is an outsider, he is ruining their reputation too. The police<br />
are convinced that it can only be a pathologically ill person and investigate all such registered candidates. The<br />
underworld organizes the city’s beggars to keep a look out. As the killer attempts to approach the next child, he<br />
is seen by one of the beggars who calls one of his commissioners. The killer is followed into an office building,<br />
circled in on and caught. The gangsters hold trial in the cellar of the building and even give the killer a defence<br />
lawyer. The court and jury plea for the death penalty, but after the killer admits his guilt, the defence lawyer<br />
warns that a psychologically ill person cannot be held responsible for his acts. In the meantime, the police have<br />
found out where the killer is and just as the lynch mob is about to execute its sentence, the police storm in and<br />
”save“ the killer with the line ”in the name of the law, you are arrested!“<br />
Genre Thriller Category Feature Film Cinema<br />
Year of Production 1931 Director Fritz Lang<br />
Screenplay Thea von Harbou Director of<br />
Photography Fritz Arno Wagner Editor Paul<br />
Falkenberg Music motif from ”Peer Gynt“ from<br />
Edvard Grieg Production Design Emil Hasler, Karl<br />
Vollbrecht Producer Seymour Nebenzahl<br />
Production Company Nero-Film, Berlin<br />
Principal Cast Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge<br />
Landgut, Gustaf Gründgens, Friedrich Gnaß, Fritz<br />
Odemar, Paul Kemp, Theo Lingen, Ernst Stahl<br />
Nachbaur, Fritz Stein, Otto Wernicke, Theodor Loos,<br />
Georg John, Rudolf Blümmer, Karl Platen Length<br />
117 min, 3208 m Format 35 mm, b&w, 1:1.37<br />
Original Version <strong>German</strong> Dubbed Versions<br />
French, Italian Subtitled Version English<br />
<strong>German</strong> Distributor Filmverleih Die Lupe,<br />
Göttingen<br />
World Sales:<br />
Atlantic-Film S.A. · Martin Hellstern<br />
Münchhaldenstr. 10 · CH-8034 Zurich<br />
phone +41-1-4 22 38 32 · fax +41-1-4 22 37 93<br />
www.praesens.com · email: info@praesens.com<br />
Fritz Lang was born in 1890 in Vienna and died in 1976 in<br />
Beverly Hills. He studied Architecture in Vienna and Painting in<br />
Munich and wrote his first screenplay in 1916 for Joe May. Lang<br />
was more than just a great director; he was a man who staged<br />
himself and his life, who created the legend of his person, who<br />
wanted his private life to remain invisible in order to further<br />
launch his desired public image. He celebrated his first success<br />
during the Weimar Republic, reacting to the massive political and<br />
social changes and integrating them into his work. He left<br />
<strong>German</strong>y in 1933, emigrating via France to the United States in<br />
1934, where he continued to tie political aspects into his work.<br />
His films include: Die Spinnen (1919), Die Pest in<br />
Florenz (1919), Harakiri (1919), Das wandernde Bild<br />
(1920), Kämpfende Herzen (1920/21), Der müde Tod<br />
(1921), Das indische Grabmal (1921), Dr. Mabuse,<br />
der Spieler (1921/22), Die Nibelungen (1922-24),<br />
Metropolis (1926), Spione (1927/28), Frau im Mond<br />
(1928/29), M (1931), Liliom (1934), Hangmen Also Die<br />
(1942), Ministry of Fear (1944), The Big Heat (1953) and<br />
many, many more.<br />
39<br />
THE 100 MOST SIGNIFICANT GERMAN FILMS – 1