Le Cinema #1: M (1931)

Here is my favorite clip from M, one of my favorite movies. In it, Peter Lorre, in the role that put him on the path to Household Name, plays a serial killer of children. His performance not only manages to make such a despicable creature sympathetic, but is also remarkably current and timeless as well, and not at all in the overly mannered acting style that you might see in another film of this era. I don’t normally like to use cliches, but this is one of the few instances where I might accurately use the word “bone-chilling” as that is exactly the effect of this final monologue.