Noir Summer: M

I had heard about this film many years ago, but never sat down to watch this. It's rarely exhibited and I don't believe Stanford Theatre has shown this film. It was rather controversial for its time and perhaps even more so today. You don't see too many films about a child murderer. But the movie was less about the murderer than it was a commentary on society, parenting and the judicial system. As I watched the film, I realized that after nearly 85 years of M's release, nothing much as changed in terms of social hysteria and mob rule.

Following the news of the latest child abduction and murder, society goes into a panic where even the most innocent of actions are misinterpreted as threatening. A child asks a gentleman for the time and he is assumed to be the murderer. Thus, all men are perceived as threats to children. Even mention of the word "murderer" brought about a lynch mob and attacked a man who complained to police about his apprehension of a minor crime. We see this today with the Amber Alerts and when accusations hit social media; right away there is a presumption of guilt over innocence. Never mind the truth.

The kangaroo court at the film's climax was nothing short of shocking. Criminals took it upon themselves as both jury and executioner to condemn a man who was clearly mentally ill with no impulse control. Yet, those who stood in condemnation were true murderers who killed discriminately and with motive. I think what I found most disturbing was the comments from women and mothers; they cursed, they damned, they advocated violence. These are your creators of life spewing vitriolic acid. If not for law enforcement intervening a the last second, the would have been beaten to death.

Ultimately, director Fritz Lang's message to all parents was to watch over their children closely. Justice's blind decision wouldn't have mattered as it does not bring back the victims. Hence, the warning to protect your own. A warning, after all these years, still isn't heeded. 

But is it Noir? This film was included as part of TCM's Summer of Darkness; 9 Fridays of Films Noir, and it was the first film to air under this banner. I would have said no if I had stuck to my original premise that noir is a mood. But from a technical standpoint, the film does have the noir style.

POV Shot

We view up from a child's perspective.

The upshot of the inspector places him in a position of power 

Here, we look down at a suspect from police's perspective.

In a position as observer from a parent's perspective

Shadows/Dark Figures

Hans Beckert, der mörder, introduced as shadow

Vigilantes in search of Hans Beckert

Set Direction

In films noir, sets generally contain straight lines, parallel structures to evoke a sense of pursuit, anxiety and fear especially if those images are repeated.

The best shot of the film in my humble opinion

While the story may not be your typical hardboiled detective plot, it does contain the criminal plots with a focus on the investigative process and bringing a murderer to justice. The technical elements are there. This is more of a precursor of what was yet to come in Hollywood filmmaking.