Tag: OCF Classic Movie Review

2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 14

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My All-Time Favorite Movies

I won’t make any claims other than these are my favorite movies of all time.  They are not in strict order because that would be impossible to achieve.  And in fact, this list is the most conflicted and unsatisfying.  Basically, this is the end of the world list.  If nuclear Armageddon was to strike and I had to pick the movies for my private collection that I would be able to watch (somehow) for the rest of my life, what would I have to have?  So, of course, this could only be my list.  Your list will differ radically because the list is as much about you as about the quality of the movies.  But for better or worse this is what I chose.  Multiple dates after the movie title signify multiple versions of the story I would take.

Well, as usual, have at it in the comments.

  1. IT’S A GIFT (1934)
  2. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935)
  3. MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE (1935)
  4. GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
  5. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)
  6. OFFICE SPACE (1999)
  7. THEM! (1954)
  8. FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956)
  9. INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)
  10. FIREFLY (2002 – 2003)
  11. SERENITY (2005)
  12. TOMBSTONE (1993)
  13. TRUE GRIT (1969, 2010)
  14. BABES IN TOYLAND (1934)
  15. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
  16. THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987)
  17. THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1989)
  18. THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2001 – 2003) all three films in the extended version
  19. BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
  20. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
  21. IRON MAN (2008)
  22. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)
  23. MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (2012)
  24. DEADPOOL (2016)
  25. KING KONG (1933)
  26. DRACULA (1931)
  27. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
  28. ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932)
  29. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
  30. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934)
  31. SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)
  32. NOTORIOUS (1946)
  33. DIAL M FOR MURDER (1953)
  34. REAR WINDOW (1954)
  35. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
  36. THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
  37. OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
  38. KEY LARGO (1948)
  39. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
  40. THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)
  41. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
  42. BAND OF BROTHERS (2001)
  43. THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)
  44. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (2003)
  45. GUNGA DIN (1939)
  46. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944)
  47. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
  48. TREASURE ISLAND (1934)
  49. SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)
  50. SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (2011)
  51. CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1950)
  52. SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
  53. THE NATURAL (1984)
  54. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
  55. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938, 1951, 1984)
  56. NINOTCHKA (1939)
  57. A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (1945)
  58. CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA (1945)
  59. THE BELLS OF SAINT MARY’S (1945)
  60. LIFE WITH FATHER (1947)
  61. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)
  62. HAMLET (1948, 1990, 1996)
  63. A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949)
  64. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
  65. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
  66. ABSENCE OF MALICE (1981)
  67. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958)
  68. THE STING (1973)

 

2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 13

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My Favorites from 1940 – 1949

I won’t make any claims other than these are the movies from the 1940’s that I like best.  And without trying I could add a whole bunch more (see the runners up list below).

It’s funny.  I have a much different feel about the movies in the ‘30s versus the ‘40s.  When I look at the movies from the ‘40s I feel like I’m more jaded or something.  I haven’t included a single monster movie.  Maybe I shifted to the fairy tales with Sabu like “The Thief of Bagdad” and the “Jungle Book.”

Well, as usual, have at it in the comments.

  1. The Bank Dick (1940)
  2. The Great McGinty (1940)
  3. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
  4. The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
  5. Our Town (1940)
  6. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
  7. Sergeant York (1941)
  8. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
  9. Casablanca (1942)
  10. Jungle Book (1942)
  11. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
  12. Double Indemnity (1944)
  13. Gaslight (1944)
  14. Going My Way (1944)
  15. Henry V (1944)
  16. To Have and Have Not (1944)
  17. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
  18. Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
  19. The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)
  20. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
  21. The Big Sleep (1946)
  22. Notorious (1946)
  23. Life with Father (1947)
  24. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
  25. Hamlet (1948)
  26. Key Largo (1948)
  27. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
  28. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
  29. A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
  30. The Third Man (1949)

 

Runners-Up List

 

1940

Dr. Cyclops

Edison, the Man

Foreign Correspondent

The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Dictator

His Girl Friday

The Letter

The Philadelphia Story

Rebecca

Road to Singapore

Swiss Family Robinson

The Westerner

Young Tom Edison

 

1941

Buck Privates

Citizen Kane

The Corsican Brothers

The Devil and Daniel Webster

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dumbo

High Sierra

How Green Was My Valley

The Lady Eve

The Little Foxes

Meet John Doe

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Suspicion

They Died with Their Boots On

Tobacco Road

The Wolf Man

 

1942

George Washington Slept Here

The Glass Key

Kings Row

The Magnificent Ambersons

The Man Who Came to Dinner

Mrs. Miniver

Now, Voyager

The Pride of the Yankees

Saboteur

Tortilla Flat

Yankee Doodle Dandy

 

1943

For Whom the Bell Tolls

The Human Comedy

The Ox-Bow Incident

The Song of Bernadette

 

1944

Arsenic and Old Lace

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The Canterville Ghost

Hail the Conquering Hero

The Keys of the Kingdom

Lifeboat

The Lodger

National Velvet

Thirty Seconds over Tokyo

 

1945

The Body Snatcher

Brief Encounter

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes

Spellbound

The Story of G.I. Joe

They Were Expendable

 

1946

The Beast with Five Fingers

The Blue Dahlia

Gilda

It’s a Wonderful Life

The Killers

My Darling Clementine

The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Stranger

 

1947

The Bishop’s Wife

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

The Lady from Shanghai

Odd Man Out

Out of the Past

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Sinbad the Sailor

 

1948

3 Godfathers

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Fort Apache

I Remember Mama

Johnny Belinda

Macbeth

The Naked City

Oliver Twist

Red River

Rope

Sorry, Wrong Number

The Three Musketeers

 

 

1949

All the King’s Men

The Inspector General

Mighty Joe Young

Sands of Iwo Jima

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Twelve O’Clock High

White Heat

2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 12

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My Favorites from 1930 – 1939

I won’t make any claims other than these are the movies from the 1930’s that I like best.  And without trying I could add a whole bunch more (see the runners up list below).  People say that 1939 was Hollywood’s greatest year.  Based on my tastes I’d say 1934 was the high point.

I’m sure opinions will differ.  Have at it.

  1. Dracula (1931)
  2. Frankenstein (1931)
  3. Island of Lost Souls (1932)
  4. The Mummy (1932)
  5. King Kong (1933)
  6. Babes in Toyland (1934)
  7. It Happened One Night (1934)
  8. It’s a Gift (1934)
  9. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
  10. The Thin Man (1934)
  11. Treasure Island (1934)
  12. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
  13. Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
  14. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
  15. A Night at the Opera (1935)
  16. Dead End (1937)
  17. The Good Earth (1937)
  18. Topper (1937)
  19. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
  20. A Christmas Carol (1938)
  21. Gunga Din (1939)
  22. Ninotchka (1939)
  23. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

 

Runners-Up List

1931

Little Caesar

City Lights

The Public Enemy

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1932

A Farewell to Arms,

Grand Hotel

Horse Feathers

Scarface

Tarzan the Ape Man

1933

42nd Street

Dinner at Eight

Duck Soup

The Invisible Man

The Private Life of Henry VIII

The Son of Kong

1935

The 39 Steps

Ah, Wilderness!

Captain Blood

The Glass Key

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Ruggles of Red Gap

Werewolf of London

1936

After the Thin Man

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

My Man Godfrey

Things to Come

1937

Captains Courageous

A Day at the Races

Heidi

Lost Horizon

The Prince and the Pauper

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Prisoner of Zenda 1

1938

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Angels with Dirty Faces

The Lady Vanishes

You Can’t Take It with You

1939

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Destry Rides Again

The Four Feathers

Gone with the Wind

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Of Mice and Men

Stagecoach

 

 1  Master Diver

2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 11

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Baseball Movies

I started out with sports movies but that’s a lot of territory.  Football, basketball, boxing, horse racing and all kinds of other stuff.  Baseball by itself is plenty for a list.

Every kid of my generation loved baseball as much for playing as for watching the pros.  We played some version of baseball on parish fields, sandlots, school yard asphalt or around the cars on our city streets.  Baseball, stickball, punchball, slapball or softball.  Wherever we could find the space and whoever was around we could always get together some kind of game.

And of course we were rabid fans.  Being from New York City we had to choose between the Yankees and the Mets.  But even though I was a die-hard Yankees fan I went to the 7th game of the 1969 World Series and dutifully ripped up a square of turf when the Mets won it all for the first time and planted it in my backyard.  A year later that chunk of grass died.  It figured.

“The Sandlot” is a cheat because it’s more of a comedy about kids but it has a few things that broaden the appeal.

“Field of Dreams” and “A League of Their Own” both have cultural aspects that annoy me but both contain enough entertainment to allow me to include them on the list with only a grimace or two.  “The Natural” is overly sentimental but I consider it the best attempt to capture the mythological aspect of baseball in the American psyche; at least as it was before America was lobotomized in our era.  “61*” is a more realistic look at the business of baseball legends.  “Eight Men Out” is another movie to look at the reality behind the legends.  It’s the story of the Black Sox Scandal.  Excellently made.

I’m sure opinions will differ.  Have at it.

  1. The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
  2. It Happens Every Spring (1949) 1
  3. Angels in the Outfield (1951) 1
  4. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1976)
  5. The Natural (1984)
  6. Bull Durham (1988)
  7. Eight Men Out (1988)
  8. Field of Dreams (1989)
  9. A League of Their Own (1992)
  10. The Babe (1992) 2
  11. The Sandlot (1993)
  12. Cobb (1994)
  13. For Love of the Game (1999)
  14. 61* (2001)

1 Master Diver

2 War Pig

2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 10

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Military Movies

I’m sure everyone will say I left out one of their favorites.  War movies and movies about the military seem to be very personal in their impact.  And that’s easily remedied when you list your forgotten favorite in the comments!

I left out ancient wars so Spartacus and Henry V were too far back I thought.  “Master and Commander” is close to the line but is such a good movie I couldn’t leave it out.  Although it would still show up in an action category and a list of movies about the sea.  Of course, I was restricted to movies I’ve seen and I can’t claim to have seen most war movies.

  1. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) 3
  2. The Story of GI Joe (1945) 3
  3. They Were Expendable (1945) 3
  4. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
  5. Fixed Bayonets! (1951) 3
  6. Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) 3
  7. From Here to Eternity (1953)
  8. Pork Chop Hill (1956) 1
  9. The Gallant Hours (1960) 3
  10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 3
  11. The Longest Day (1962) 3
  12. The Great Escape (1963)
  13. Zulu (1964)
  14. Battle of the Bulge (1965) 3
  15. In Harm’s Way (1965) 3
  16. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
  17. Battle of Britain (1969) 3
  18. Patton (1970)
  19. A Bridge Too Far (1977) 3
  20. Big Red One (1980) 3
  21. Das Boot (1981)
  22. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
  23. Gettysburg (1993) 3
  24. Saving Private Ryan (1998) 2
  25. Band of Brothers (2001) 2 *
  26. Black Hawk Down (2001)
  27. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
  28. Downfall (2004)
  29. Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) 3
  30. American Sniper (2014)
  31. Dunkirk (2017)

*(TV Series)

1 Master Diver

2 Tom D

3 War Pig

2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 9

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Classic Horror Movies

Okay, the category is one of those inconsistent constructs.  Why not call them classic monster movies?  How do you define classic?  What is the allowable chronological range?  Are silent movies included?  Well, I’m fudging all of these and just selecting what I want to, no matter that logical consistency probably goes out the window.

Let’s look at my list.  Basically, it’s the Universal monster movies in their heyday along with “Nosferatu,” “Island of Lost Souls” and “House on Haunted Hill” thrown in for dubious reasons (basically because I like them).  I’ve left out a dozen Universal films that could just as easily have been included and I’ve included “The Invisible Man” and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” which really belong in a list of early science fiction stories.  But that probably applies to the Frankenstein movies too.  So, the whole thing is incredibly subjective and personal in nature.

So, I won’t belabor the point any longer and will instead chalk this up to a labor of love.  As a little kid I thoroughly enjoyed these movies and hundreds more that provided a similar thrill.  List your favorites in the comments.  If you want my detailed reviews of most of these movies do a search on the site by title.

  1. NOSFERATU (1922)
  2. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925)
  3. DRACULA (1931)
  4. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
  5. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931)
  6. THE MUMMY (1932)
  7. ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932)
  8. THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933)
  9. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
  10. THE WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935)
  11. THE WOLF MAN (1941)
  12. HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959)

 

UPDATE

War Pig’s picks:

Black Sabbath 1963

Black Sunday 1960

Night o/t Living Dead

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde 1931

Psycho

The Birds

Phantom o/t Opera 1925

Last Man On Earth 1964

Incredible Shrinking Man

Curse o/t Demon

Island of Dr Moreau 1932

Murders in the Rue Morgue

The Tingler

M (also under film noir, crime, etc.)

 

 

 

OCF Goes to the Movies – Part 1 – Brainstorming

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That post I wrote a few days ago about Disney’s woke movies losing money at the box office and some of the comments I got have inspired me to spend some time looking back at some of the good movies that have been made over the years.  What I’ll start out doing is put together a list of categories like comedies, dramas, and genre films like film noir, sci-fi, fantasy, westerns, war movies, etc.  Then I’ll start getting people to give me their favorites.  We might even divide it by decades or at least eras (30s/40s/50s, 60s/70s, 80s/90s, 00s/10s/20s)

At some point we can get some polls up to find out what the popular favorites are on the site.  Now this is tricky.  With the exception of some of the regulars, most people are pretty uninterested in commenting.  What I was thinking is if you know any movie fans encourage them to show up and contribute movie titles and when we get to the voting to pick their favorites.

Feel free to leave comments on how to enhance the process to get a good list together.  I know there are some specialists in such sub-genres as “schlock science fiction” and of course these will not be neglected.

In the next installment Ill start the ball rolling with my own best of lists for the various categories.

 

OCF Goes to the Movies
Comedies Dramas Science Fiction Fantasies Westerns Film Noir Historical Drama
30s/40s/50s
60s/70s
80s/90s
00s/10s/20s

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) – An OCF Classic Movie Review

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I think the chief interest in this movie is that it comes across as a light-hearted crime drama.  In a real sense I think it could be considered a comedy.

(Spoiler Alert – Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)

Edward G. Robinson is the eponymous Clitterhouse, a surgeon with a keen and inquiring scientific mind.  When we first meet him in the opening scene, he is in a darkened bedroom rifling through a wall safe.  Just then a burglar enters through the second story window.  Clitterhouse trains a strong flashlight on the burglar and convinces him that he’s being covered by a gun.  He gets the burglar to stand facing the wall with his hands up.  Just then a second burglar who’s on the ladder looks in.  It’s Bogart playing Rocks Valentine (some name, huh).  He sees the situation and heads back down the ladder to escape.

Clitterhouse leaves the burglar in the bedroom and reenters a society party that’s going on downstairs.  A coloratura soprano is singing an aria.  Clitterhouse accepts a brandy from a butler, calls one of his associates about a patient he is treating and then calls the police and an ambulance just as a woman screams from upstairs and someone in the house shoots the burglar as he attempts to exit the house.  Clitterhouse treats the wounded burglar but he is recognized by his voice.  But Police Inspector Lane played by Donald Crisp laughingly allows Clitterhouse to be on his way to a surgical appointment without even inspecting Clitterhouse’s medical bag filled with the pilfered jewels.

Thus, the scene is set.  Clitterhouse is engaged in research on the physiological aspects of crime.  For this experiment he has committed four burglaries.  Now to expand his research he is reaching out to a jewelry fence, Jo Keller (played by Claire Trevor) and a gang of burglars headed by Rocks that includes such familiar character actors as Ward Bond, Vladimir Sokoloff and Burt Hanlon.  Clitterhouse identifies the victims and meticulously plans the heist.  The gang and Keller provide the manpower and the connections to perform the thefts and sell the loot.

In the final crime, a theft of furs from a warehouse, Rocks tries to double-cross Clitterhouse by locking him in the refrigerated vault.  But one of Keller’s men saves him.  At this point Clitterhouse has completed his research.  He has taken blood samples, blood pressure and other diagnostic tests on the gang members and now he wants to end his association with the underworld.  But Rocks figures out Clitterhouse’s true identity and tells the doctor that he will be forced to continue his criminal activities indefinitely.

Clitterhouse seems outwardly to agree to Rocks’ ultimatum but actually he doctors Rocks’ drink with a deadly dose of a drug.  Rocks falls asleep and then Clitterhouse and Keller dump the body in the river.  Eventually the police discover Clitterhouse’s guilt in Rocks’ murder and he goes on trial for murder.  His lawyer uses an insanity defense.  The prosecution gets Clitterhouse to testify against himself by stating that his scientific study is completely accurate and therefore the work of a sane man.  But the jury finds him insane based on the idea that only a madman would knowingly admit his sanity when he knows it would cause his own death.

Despite the fact that Clitterhouse murders Rocks in cold blood I see this movie as a comedy.  Throughout the story the atmosphere of the whole thing is light-hearted and I find it impossible to take any of it seriously.  There are a number of silly moments when the various gang members come off more as clowns than criminals.  The only menacing character is Bogart’s Rocks.  And as we see he is no match for Robinson’s genteel madman.  So, what can I make of a whimsical film noir?  Well, not too much.  It’s not a great movie but it is amusing in its own way.  I’ll recommend it to fans of the 1930s.  If we need a serious movie with Bogart and Robinson we’ll have to wait for their rematch in Key Largo

The Westerner (1940) – An OCF Classic Movie Review

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In this western story Gary Cooper is Cole Harden a drifter passing through Vinegarroon, Texas on his way to California.  But Vinegarroon is the home of “Judge” Roy Bean, the only law west of the Pecos River.  Bean (played by Walter Brennan) is a hanging judge who hands out rough justice based on being an advocate for the cattlemen.  If the cattlemen stampede a herd of cattle through a corn field and the farmer shoots one of the steers he’ll be hanged by Bean for the offense.

(Spoiler Alert – Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)

When Harden appears in the movie, he’s being led to Bean’s court house (saloon) because one of the locals recognized Harden’s horse as one that was stolen from a local.  Naturally the jury will declare him guilty but Harden manages to convince Bean that he is a friend of the famous actress Lily Langtry whom Bean greatly admires.  Claiming that he has a lock of her hair Harden gets Bean to “suspend” his sentence while evidence of his innocence can be found.  While Harden and Bean cement their friendship over bogus tales of Langtry and Bean’s rotgut whiskey the real horse thief walks into the saloon and Harden punches him out and retrieves the purchase price of the horse from his pockets.  When the thief attempts to shoot Harden, Bean beats him to the draw and thus reinforces the bond between the drifter and the hangin’ judge.

After this the movie drifts off into other directions.  Harden leaves town and while travelling through the area ends up working as a field hand for the Mathew family on their farm.  A romance blossoms between and Harden and the daughter Jane.  But we find out that Judge Bean has been persecuting the farmers and intends to drive them off their land through harassment and judicial malfeasance.  The farmers organize and decide to go en masse and shoot Bean to end their problem.  When Harden hears this, he gallops to Bean’s saloon and warns Bean.  Harden and Bean stop the plot and send the farmers away.  But Harden convinces Bean to remove all the cattle from the valley where the farmers live in exchange for Lily Langtry’s lock of hair that Harden claims to have.  Harden manages to get a lock of Jane Mathew’s hair for the purpose and when Bean fulfills his promise to move the cattle, he ceremoniously hands over the hair.

Now the farmers are triumphant and have a celebratory feast.  But while it is going on the cattlemen set fire to the fields and homesteads of the farmers and destroy the whole valley.  Jane’s father is murdered by the cattlemen and she blames Harden for the deeds she attributes to his friend Bean.

Harden forces Bean to admit that he was responsible for the fire and Harden leaves town to get a warrant for the arrest of Bean for murder and arson.  Coincidentally Lily Langtry is in the area for a concert and Judge Bean buys up all the tickets so that he can enjoy a private audience with Miss Langtry.  And the performance becomes the site of a shootout between Harden and Bean.  Eventually Harden fatally wounds Bean but before Bean dies Harden carries him backstage so Bean can see Langtry before he dies.

In the final scene Harden and Jane are a married couple on a rebuilt farm celebrating the return of the other settlers that had been driven out by Bean.

By the description, you can tell this is a very strange western.  The way I can describe it is a comedy for the first half of the movie that switches over into a more conventional melodrama.  From my point of view the comedic portions of the movie are the better parts.  Cooper and Brennan have a weird funny chemistry that makes the movie interesting and enjoyable.  The later romance and drama are okay but clash with the comedic elements.  I’ll recommend the movie based on the scenes with Cooper and Brennan even though as whole the movie is sort of a mess.

M (1931 film) – An OCF Classic Movie Review

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This old movie is in German.  Peter Lorre stars as M, a psychotic murderer of young girls in Berlin.  The movie chronicles how the murderer’s crimes terrorize the city and galvanize the police to roust the criminal element of the city in an effort to find the murderer.  And this interference with their normal operations convinces the criminals to organize and find the murderer themselves.  So, the movie is made up of the murderer’s actions including his killings, the police investigation and the effort of the underworld to find the murderer themselves.

Up front we have to address the foreign language aspect of the film.  If you cannot tolerate a subtitled foreign film then let this one be.  If you can, then follow my review and see if this sounds interesting.  Peter Lorre’s character is satisfactorily creepy and despicable.  Luckily a movie from this era would not include any graphic violence against a small girl so all the murders occur off camera.  The police procedural scenes and the investigator’s analysis of the evidence and the psychological profiling of the killer are well done and satisfy that part of the movie’s work.  But it is the underworld’s capture and subsequent treatment of M that are the centerpiece and most interesting aspect of the movie.  Because after locating M.  The underworld gang have to break into a bank building to extricate him from where he is hiding out.  So, all of their criminal expertise is employed in an enterprise that is actually admirable.

And finally, after capturing M they put him on trial for his life.  They provide him with a defense attorney and have a prosecutor, judge and the membership of the underworld serve as the jury.  The only effective defense that might sway the jury is M’s own testimony that a terrible compulsion forced him to kill against his own will.  But led by the women who formed part of the criminal jury the verdict comes in guilty and they are right at the point of carrying out the death penalty when the police break in and rescue M for his legal arrest and trial.  The last scene is the judge giving a verdict which appears to be the death penalty and a sort of Greek Chorus of the mothers of the murdered children lamenting that M’s death will not bring back their children’s lives.

I like this movie.  Certainly, it is so far removed in time and culture from our present world that it makes it slightly difficult to become submerged in the cinematic experience but I don’t find it too great a barrier to enjoying the story.  And it is a very clever idea.  Criminals policing their own and a parallel manhunt going on by the police and by their usual quarry.  And a trial before the underworld is a wonderful invention.  Finally, Peter Lorre is perfect for the part.  Here he is a younger and surprisingly chubbier Lorre than we are used to seeing in such things as “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and the “Maltese Falcon.”  But his manner with the young girls makes your skin crawl.  So, acknowledging the caveat about foreign language films I highly recommend this film.