Titel Kino 2/2001(2 Alternativ) - German Films

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