Why would organized crime care about catching a child murderer?

One of the most gripping noirs of its era

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Nancy Guild, John Hodiak, and Lloyd Nolan in Somewhere in the Night (1946)

John Agar, Marla English, Carolyn Jones, and Edmond O'Brien in Shield for Murder (1954)

Hardy Krüger and Micheline Presle in Chance Meeting (1959)

Jim Backus, Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Fred Clark, and Henry Hull in Hollywood Story (1951)

Louis Hayward, Evelyn Keyes, and Ida Lupino in Ladies in Retirement (1941)

To prevent other crimes, your police department has prepared five don'ts. DON'T let your children accept rides from strangers, sometimes these are one-way rides leading to death. The amiable stranger may be a killer. DON'T let your children accept presents from strangers. A bag of popcorn or a candy bar is not worth your child's life. DON'T send children on after-dark errands, the night works in behalf of the killer who preys on our young. If you must have something from the store after sundown, get it yourself. DON'T let your child play unattended in wooded places or empty lots. Though your eyes aren't on them, somebody else's may be watching. DON'T let your children become friendly with Pop, that nice old character in your neighborhood. Most of these men are harmless, but there are exceptions. It's up to you to make sure your child isn't the victim of one of these exceptions. And now for one all important do: If you notice any suspicious characters lurking around schools and playgrounds, DO call at once, your police department: Central 5000, the life you save may be your child's life.

Janine Perreau and David Wayne in M (1951)

Luther Adler, Glenn Anders, Steve Brodie, Howard Da Silva, Martin Gabel, and David Wayne in M (1951)

Luther Adler, Glenn Anders, and Martin Gabel in M (1951)

David Wayne

Howard Da Silva

Martin Gabel

Norman Reilly Raine

Leo Katcher

Waldo Salt

In this Americanization of the 1931 German thriller, both the police and the criminal underworld stalk a mysterious serial killer who preys on little girls.

Joseph Losey

not quite as bad as its reputation

Fritz Lang&apos;s classic &apos;M&apos; back in the 1930s is a well-regarded classic, which brought Peter Lorre to prominence and a career in Hollywood.

This film, made twenty years later by Joseph Losey, starred light comedian David Wayne as the child-killer, and has much of the same storyline and set-pieces as its predecessor. But is it any good? It has its chilling moments - notably the ones involving the plasticine figure and the bird at the cafe - and Wayne, in a largely silent part, is surprisingly good. But much of the film is a copy of the original, and this lessens its impact. Also, the character of the lawyer who has gone to drink is too prominent, and the underworld search for the murderer who threatens their operation doesn&apos;t quite fit on the mean streets of LA, where it did in Germany.

Not as bad as I&apos;d heard, in fact this film is really quite good, but some bad editing decisions (acknowledged at the time of its release by Losey) have done damage. It deserves a nod for unusual casting though.

Fritz Lang's classic 'M' back in the 1930s is a well-regarded classic, which brought Peter Lorre to prominence and a career in Hollywood.

This film, made twenty years later by Joseph Losey, starred light comedian David Wayne as the child-killer, and has much of the same storyline and set-pieces as its predecessor. But is it any good? It has its chilling moments - notably the ones involving the plasticine figure and the bird at the cafe - and Wayne, in a largely silent part, is surprisingly good. But much of the film is a copy of the original, and this lessens its impact. Also, the character of the lawyer who has gone to drink is too prominent, and the underworld search for the murderer who threatens their operation doesn't quite fit on the mean streets of LA, where it did in Germany.

Not as bad as I'd heard, in fact this film is really quite good, but some bad editing decisions (acknowledged at the time of its release by Losey) have done damage. It deserves a nod for unusual casting though.

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