M

M (Criterion #30). 1931 Nero-Film AG & Janus Films
Starring: Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Gründgens, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Theodor Loos, Friedrich Gnass
Director: Fritz Lang
Available from Amazon.

M, which is short for "Mörder" (German for "murderer"), was Fritz Lang's first sound film, and it typecast Peter Lorre for years after it was released as a villain. Both Lorre and Lang would flee Germany after M was released, both fearing Nazi persecution.

Hans Beckert (Lorre) is a serial killer, and quite possibly a pedophile, who is preying on kids in 1930s Berlin. The audience does not initally see his face; instead, they see his shadow, or shots of his body, or they hear him whistling "In the Hall of the Mountain King". Beckert buys a balloon for a small lady named Elsie Beckmann (Landgut). The next scenes see her mother (Widmann) searching franticlaly for her, as the balloon flies up into the telephone lines. Beckert also taunts the police by sending handwritten letters to the press. The police, led by Inspector Karl Lohmann (Wernicke) pursue Beckert by using fingerprinting and handwriting analysis, while staging raids and questioning known criminals.

The criminal underworld in Berlin is on edge: it's bad for business with the police constantly lurking about, and it's also insulting to be lumped in with a suspected child murderer. Beckert is also unaware that both police and criminals are pursuing him. Eventually, he is found, and the criminals put Beckert on trial in a kangaroo court, where he claims that voices in his head compel him to commit those crimes, and he shouldn't be punished for being insane. Before the criminals can kill Beckert, the police arrive.

Highly, highly recommended.