German Expressionism - Fritz Lang's "M"

Into the Underworld

The film M, directed by Fritz Lang and written by Kaes, was created in 1931. The movie was made right after the German Expressionistic movement ended in 1926. M takes place in Berlin, Germany, where a child murderer is on the loose. The murderer, Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre), has been creating problems for the criminal underworld’s businesses, so they too, along with the police, are interested in capturing Beckert. The story develops in a desolate urban landscape which includes many dark streets, buildings, alleys, and bars. In the film M, Lang uses elements of mise-en-scene and many components of film noir to create a film with an expressionistic style.
Throughout the entire film, Lang uses mise-en-scene to drive the narrative forward. In the beginning of the movie, the viewer sees a scene of children playing near their apartment buildings and singing songs about a “boogeyman”. Soon after that, Elsie Beckmann is kidnapped and without seeing...