Directed by Fritz Lang • 1931 • Germany
A simple, haunting musical phrase whistled offscreen 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.
Up Next in True Crime
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Arsenic and Old Lace
Directed by Frank Capra • 1944 • United States
Starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond MasseyCary Grant stars as the one sane member of a charmingly lunatic family in Frank Capra’s classic comedy. When Mortimer Brewster (Grant) brings his new bride to meet his two kindly aunts, he discover...
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Salvatore Giuliano
Directed by Francesco Rosi • 1962 • Italy
July 5, 1950--Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano's bullet-riddled corpse is found facedown in a courtyard in Castelvetrano, a handgun and rifle by his side. Local and international press descend upon the scene, hoping to crack open the true story behind ...
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Les abysses
Directed by Nico Papatakis • 1963 • France
Starring Francine Bergé, Colette Bergé, Pascale de BoyssonInspired by the notorious case of Christine and Léa Papin—French sisters working as maids who murdered their employer’s wife and daughter in 1933—Nico Papatakis’s debut feature was a succès de s...
