M

Films about child murderers are reasonably rare perhaps because the subject of child murder is so repugnant. The definitive movie about child murder, (Fritz Lang's "M"), kept the killings off-screen and concentrated instead on the psychopathology of the killer, (a superb Peter Lorre), whose final speech, ("I can't help myself..I have no control over what I do..."), brought the nature of his actions into sharp focus. Like many great movies, then, it seemed inconceivable that anyone would want to remake it, particularly in view of the subject matter, and yet in 1951 Seymour Nebenzal, who also produced the Lang version, decided to do just that.

The 1951 version of "M" was not a success. It dealt with a subject much too dark for an American audience and, furthermore, its director Joseph Losey was on the cusp of being black-listed and yet I think it is as much a masterpiece as the earlier German movie. The setting was moved from Berlin to Los Angeles, (superbly shot and making great use of LA locations by Ernest Laszlo). The plot remained very much the same with a few noticeable changes, (both the police and the criminal underworld are more 'enlightened' here), while the pivotal role of the murderer, seen for most of the picture as a mostly silent, shadowy figure was given to David Wayne, who up to that time was seen as a light comedy actor.



Casting Wayne may have been a risky strategy but it certainly paid off. There was something simple and unobtrusive about his presence, the ease with which he moved about children easily explainable as he seemed so childlike himself. When finally he is tracked down and brought to a large underground car-park for 'trial' his fear and panic are palpable and, like Lorre's, his long speech direct to camera is heart-breaking as well as a stunning example of the actor's art. If in the end there is the tiniest touch of melodrama introduced into the climax, it is forgivable in view of all that has gone before. This is an "M" for the McCarthy age, a genuinely frightening picture of an America where even the murder of a child isi viewed as collateral damage in a society where criminality is corporate. It's failure is both understandable and troubling; it is certainly Losey's best American film and one of the finest things he was ever to do. It is long overdue a re-release and a reassessment.