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Release date 11th May 1931
Country : Germany
Running time : 117 mins
Genre : Thriller
Starring Peter Lorre
 Screenplay by Thea Von Harbou and Fritz Lang
Directed by Fritz Lang


   
A child murderer is tracked down and made to face up to his crimes.

Lang's best film with its use of newsreel techniques to dramatise the search for the child murderer (Peter Lorre in his greatest ever performance).The completely silent sections are very intimidating but precisely right. I love the way the killer whistles a tune which became his undoing, really imaginative use of sound. The most impressive sequence is when Lorre is confronted by the mob, Lang touches on a lot of fascinating issues there : all these years later I can't help thinking of the Nazis and their treatment of criminals or sick people. Not to condone what the murderer has done I feel that we are made to feel sorry for the wretch to some degree, interesting that you don't really see Lorre properly until about a third of the way into the film.
 

Lorre whistles In The Hall of the Mountain King from the Peer Gynt suite by Edvard Grieg.