M

This past Saturday, I was lucky enough to be able to go see one of my all-time favorite classic films on the big screen: Fritz Lang's 'M'. The Inwood Theater in Dallas offered this cinematic favorite at this weekend's midnight movie. For those not familiar with the movie, it's a crime-thriller that takes place in a German city in the 1930's. A quick synopsis, courtesy of IMDB.com: "A psychotic child murderer stalks a city, and despite an exhaustive investigation fueled by public hysteria and outcry, the police have been unable to find him. But the police crackdown does have one side-affect, it makes it nearly impossible for the organized criminal underground to operate. So they decide that the only way to get the police off their backs is to catch the murderer themselves."

The midnight movies are normally shown in the downstairs theater, which is the largest screen in the 57-year old theater. However, since the "classic" midnight movies don't always have the fan base of the more pop-culturesque-type midnight movies (i.e. The Goonies, Fight Club, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, etc.), they opted to show M in one of the 2 smaller upstairs theaters. The really cool thing about seeing it upstairs, aside from the 'more intimate' factor, is that the Inwood Theater is one of the few remaining theaters around that still has an actual silver screen! That's right, silver screen isn't just a term, it actually exists. Early films (esp. B&W) were originally shown on silver screens because the contrast was better. They're pretty much a thing of the past, but I got to see M on one! How cool is THAT?!!

The film is in German with English subtitles and stars Peter Lorre. I love how the film opens, which sets a dark, foreboding mood, while at the same time having humor. The movie opens with a little girl in the center of a circle of playmates, reciting a sort of "My mother told me to pick the very best one and you... are... not... it..."-type rhyme. However, this rhyme is much more sinister: "Just you wait a little while, The nasty man in black will come. With his little chopper, He will chop you up!" The little girl in the center of the circle would recite this and whomever she was pointing at when she got to the word "up", would be "out." Think of a creepier version of Duck, Duck, Goose. The fact that there is a killer on the loose, killing children, in a way that is so "horrible" that no one in the film will even discuss the state in which the children are found, makes it that much more eerie.

I own the DVD, so I have seen the film before, however I was surprised to see how much of it had some relevance even today. For a film that was made over 70 years ago, it was interesting to see that things like psychological profiling and the insanity plea, were already around. The way that we refer to them today, you'd think we invented them. Au contraire, mon frere! I don't speak any German, so my French will have to do. Heh. If you are a fan of classic movies and not one of those people who associate subtitles with hard labor, then you will enjoy the film. It will keep you entertained until the very end. I may be alone on this, but I find Peter Lorre attractive in some of his earlier films. I know as he got older he took on the look of a cross between Marty Feldman and a Pug, but if you check him out in certain scenes from his earlier films like M (The mirror scene), Mad Love (one of my all-time FAVORITE films) and Secret Agent (love the mustache look), you might see what I mean.

Since Peter Lorre is one of my favorite actors, I'm going to suggest some other favorites which star and/or costar Peter Lorre. As far I know, all are available on DVD, with the exceptions of Mad Love, The Beast With Five Fingers, The Boogie Man Will Get You and You'll Find Out. I have provided hyperlinks (just click on the title) for each title, providing places where you might be able to purchase them. The DVDs are generally pretty inexpensive, with the exception of M, which is a Criterion title. Mad Love and The Beast With Five Fingers can still be purchased on VHS and The Boogie Man Will Get You and "You'll Find Out are hard ones to find. You might try an online auction site. In addition to the hyperlinks below, you might want to try one of my all-time favorite places to buy DVDs: Alpha Video. Don't be deceived by the title. Alpha carries VHS, DVD, CD and even vinyl! They specialize in "Oldies But Goodies." Their ongoing special is: DVD: $5.95 each or 5 for $25 & VHS: $2.95 each or 10 for $20. You can't beat that!

M. 1931. DVD/VHS
The Man Who Knew Too Much. 1934. DVD/VHS
Mad Love. 1935. VHS
Secret Agent. 1936. DVD/VHS
Mr. Moto's Last Warning. 1939. DVD/VHS. *This is just one in a series of 8 Mr. Moto films
You'll Find Out. 1940. OOP
The Invisible Agent. 1942. DVD/VHS. *Release date Oct. 19
The Boogie Man Will Get You. 1942. OOP
The Beast With Five Fingers. 1946. VHS
Quicksand. 1950. DVD/VHS