A simple, haunting phrase whistled off-screen tells us that a young girl will be killed. "Who is the murderer?" pleads a nearby placard as serial killer Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) closes in on little Elsie Beckmann. In his harrowing masterwork M, Fritz Lang merges trenchant social commentary with chilling suspense, creating a panorama of private madness and public hysteria that to this day remains the blueprint for the psychological thriller.

• 1 hr 50 min
• Directed by

  Fritz Lang
• Written by Fritz Lang

• Starring

  Peter Lorre

  ,

  Ellen Widmann

  ,

  Inge Landgut

  ,

  Otto Wernicke

  ,

  Theodor Loos

  ,

  Rosa Valetti