Review of M (1951) by Allan C — 26 Apr 2016

Surprisingly good thriller based on Fritz Lange's classic German Expressionist film. I never bothered to watch this film because I always felt it was a remake that needn't have been made, just like "The Outrage," the western remake of Kurosawa's "Rashomon.

" In order to get this film made during the strict production code era, the only reason studios were allowed to make a film about a child murderer is because the original film was such considered a classic.

Directed by Joseph Losey, the remake moves the setting from Berlin to Los Angeles. There is a spate of unsolved child killings and the police are putting pressure on all crime in order to flush out the killer, so the underworld sets out to find the killer themselves.

The film makes great use of real Los Angeles locations and watching this film reminded me of the Los Angeles depicted in Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" or the excellent "L.A. Noire" video game.

There's also a terrific chase scene through the iconic Bradbury Building, famously used in other films and TV shows ranging from "Blade Runner" to "Marloe" to even "Avenging Angel.

" Character actor David Wayne gives a creepy performance as the child killer, though Peter Lorre in the original was far more disturbing when he pleads for his life at the end of the film. And speaking of the film's ending (SPOILER ALERT!), when the underworld manages to capture the killer before the police and set up their kangaroo court to decide the child murderer's fate, the location in the remake is moved to an underground parking garage and this is when the film really feels like it comes to life and could have been something brilliant.

The scene, like much of the film, takes most all of it's cue from the original, but Losey gives the "trial" scene a very American feel to it that makes the scene a very effective one. Overall, the underworld manhunt scenes play out like a well made, though not classic, crime film, but the film's finale and the performance by Wayne really do elevate this film to something that's certainly better than average.