This movie was released in 1931 in Germany. The plot includes a child murderer who is terrorizing Berlin. He is snatching children off the street and the police are at their wits end to find him, searching the criminals for the pedophile. This lead the criminals to launch their own search for the man.
For much of the beginning of the movie the murderer is only seen as shadow or a hat & trench coat. He is most easily identified by his whistling of "The Hall of the Mountain King."
This classic film is amazing. The cinematography is second to none, especially when you suddenly remember that it was filmed in 1931. There is a scene where director Fritz Lang flips between the police and the criminals making a plan, the flips are almost seamless. Make sure you play close attention the police with state that there is one big question mark and the criminals table will have one big question mark made out of nut shells on the table. Nothing was forgotten.
The film is eerie without the modern gore. You know what is happening without needing to see it. The one problem you may encounter is that the movie ends abruptly, so abruptly that it seems to end mid sentence.
I will not tell you who the child murderer is, but I will tell you that it was his first film. Amazing job, you would never know it was his first. It makes sense he is someone you will recognize from many American classics.
If you have two hours and feel like reading German subtitles give this classic a try.
