IMDb > M (1951)

Overview

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7.0/10   181 votes
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Director:
Joseph Losey
Writers:
Leo Katcher (scenario revisions)
Norman Reilly Raine (scenario revisions)
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Contact:
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Release Date:
March 1951 (USA) more
Plot:
In this Americanization of the 1931 German thriller, both the police and the criminal underworld stalk a mysterious killer who preys on small children. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
M (Joseph Losey, 1951) *** more (11 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
David Wayne ... Martin W. Harrow
Howard Da Silva ... Inspector Carney

Martin Gabel ... Charlie Marshall, crime boss
Luther Adler ... Dan Langley
Steve Brodie ... Lt. Becker
Raymond Burr ... Pottsy
Glenn Anders ... Riggert
Norman Lloyd ... Sutro
Walter Burke ... MacMahan
John Miljan ... Blind Baloon Vendor
Roy Engel ... Police Chief Regan
Janine Perreau ... The Last Little Girl
Leonard Bremen ... Lemke, thug left behind in Bradbury Bldg. (as Lennie Bremen)
Benny Burt ... Jansen, drunk thug outside Bradbury Bldg.
Bernard Szold ... Bradbury Bldg. Watchman
Robin Fletcher ... Elsie Coster
Karen Morley ... Mrs. Coster
Jim Backus ... The Mayor
Jorja Curtright ... Mrs. Stewart
Frances Karath
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Aldrich ... Sam (uncredited)
Madge Blake ... Police Station Witness (uncredited)
Ewing Miles Brown ... (uncredited)
Lonnie Burr ... Child Victim (uncredited)
Virginia Farmer ... Harrow's Landlady (uncredited)

Alvin Hammer ... Father (uncredited)
John Indrisano ... (uncredited)
Sherry Jackson ... Little Girl (uncredited)
Tiny Jones ... Woman in Mob (uncredited)
Tom Kennedy ... Hood (uncredited)

Norman Leavitt ... Harry Greer, a bistro patron (uncredited)
Hank Mann ... Man in Mob (uncredited)
William Newell ... Detective Questioning Blonde About License Plate (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor ... Man in Mob (uncredited)
Stanley Prager ... Police Detective (uncredited)
Jack Roper ... Man in Mob (uncredited)
William Schallert ... Rorschach Test Subject (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan ... Cop (uncredited)
Peter Virgo ... Harry Dennis, Jaywalker (uncredited)
Ray Walker ... Detective (uncredited)
Dick Wessel ... Policeman Ticketing Jaywalker (uncredited)
Harry Wilson ... Onlooker (uncredited)
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Directed by
Joseph Losey 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Leo Katcher  scenario revisions
Fritz Lang  scenario (uncredited)
Norman Reilly Raine  scenario revisions
Waldo Salt  additional dialogue
Thea von Harbou  scenario (uncredited)

Produced by
Harold Nebenzal .... associate producer
Seymour Nebenzal .... producer
 
Original Music by
Michel Michelet 
 
Cinematography by
Ernest Laszlo 
 
Film Editing by
Edward Mann 
 
Art Direction by
Martin Obzina 
 
Set Decoration by
Edward R. Robinson  (as Ray Robinson)
 
Makeup Department
Ted Larsen .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
Ben Hersh .... production supervisor
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Aldrich .... assistant director
Jack R. Berne .... second second assistant director
 
Sound Department
Leon Becker .... sound
Mac Dalgleish .... sound re-recordist
 
Music Department
Bert Shefter .... musical director
 
Other crew
John Hubley .... production layout
Robert H. Justman .... production assistant
Don Weis .... script supervisor
 

Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Runtime:
Germany:86 min (Berlin Film Festival) | USA:88 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Finland:(Banned) (1951) | Sweden:15

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
References The Red Shoes (1948) more

FAQ

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
M (Joseph Losey, 1951) ***, 5 July 2009
7/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

I commemorated the 25th anniversary from the death of director Joseph Losey (which occurred on 22nd June 1984) by watching his two best (and, ironically, rarest) Hollywood movies, both noirs made in 1951 – THE PROWLER and M. Fritz Lang's original 1931 version of the latter is not only generally considered to be its director's masterpiece but, on a personal note, is also included in my all-time Top 20 movies. Therefore, I had always been particularly interested in seeing how Losey (another director I admire a great deal) had tackled the daunting task of remaking – and relocating to L.A. – such an iconic German movie. Boasting the original's own producer, Seymour Nebenzal, the 1951 remake has been almost impossible to see and, actually, I only managed to track down a mediocre-looking print a few months ago; even so, I am certainly grateful to have been given the opportunity to catch up with it…especially in view of the fact that Sony's long-rumored Joseph Losey box set on R1 did not materialize after all! Perhaps inevitably, the film's initial stages (the murder of little Elsie) closely resemble those of Lang's film – even down to the choice of camera set-ups: the high angle shot down an eerily desolate flight of stairs, the close-up of the vacant breakfast table, the tell-tale shots of a solitary flying balloon and a rolling ball – but Losey nevertheless manages to gradually make the film his own, culminating in a trademark hysterical finale that highlights a new character not featured in the original: Luther Adler's alcoholic attorney who is, ill-advisedly, moved to turn against his boss Martin Gabel after the baby-killer's confession. David Wayne – best-known until then for playing lightly comic roles – is quite good in his own right (especially during the aforementioned trial sequence) if, understandably, falling short of Peter Lorre's unforgettable original characterization; similarly (and effectively) cast against type, Howard Da Silva makes for a fine Chief of Police, while the sterling supporting cast includes Raymond Burr (also atypically amusing as a raspy-voiced, leading underworld thug), Steve Brodie (as a sadistic cop), Glenn Anders and Jim Backus (as the mayor)! Interestingly enough, two directors-to-be were employed in minor capacities on this film: assistant director Robert Aldrich and script supervisor Don Weis. Allegedly, Fritz Lang balked at Nebenzal's offer to direct the remake himself and never forgave Losey for daring to touch his magnum opus…he must have conveniently forgotten the fact that he had himself remade in Hollywood two Jean Renoir classics – LA CHIENNE (1931) and LA BETE HUMAINE (1938) – as SCARLET STREET (1945) and HUMAN DESIRE (1954) respectively!

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rights issues with Losey's version chrisdfilm
Joseph Losey's 1951 remake of 'M' mariato
Does anyone know where I can get this? zombking
Bradbury Bldg nestudhalter
'M' is playing in New York City... Lilcount
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