Pencil This In: Joseph Losey's Remake Of 'M'

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 6, 2013 6:45PM

Remakes of classic films isn't a recent trend. Fritz Lang's 1931 film M—a masterpiece of Weimar cinema that put Peter Lorre on a fast track for Hollywood stardom—was re-shot 20 years later and set in Los Angeles instead of Germany. Joseph Losey directed the remake after Lang turned down the opportunity and David Wayne fills in admirably for Lorre as the child killer who is the subject of a manhunt by both police and the criminal underworld. Losey's version of the film wound up being banned in eight states and the film takes on some anti-McCarthyist sentiments—a product of the time.

The Northwest Chicago Film Society screens the M remake 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Patio Theater (6008 W. Irving Park Rd.) ina 35mm print restored by the Library of Congress. Tom Gunning, Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago, will introduce the film.

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