Who directed the 1931 German thriller M?

The director of the 1931 German thriller M was Fritz Lang.

M was Lang’s first sound film and one of the defining movies of German cinema. It follows Berlin police and criminal syndicates as they hunt Hans Beckert, a serial child murderer played by Peter Lorre. The film’s parallel investigation gives it an unusual structure: both law enforcement and the underworld want to capture the same suspect.

Lang co-wrote the screenplay with Thea von Harbou, his wife and longtime creative collaborator. The film uses sound in inventive ways, including Beckert’s recurring whistling of “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Its visual style, tracking shots, shadows, and procedural storyline strongly influenced later crime and thriller films.

M is sometimes mistaken for a film directed by Joseph Losey because Losey made a 1951 American remake with the same title. That version moved the story to Los Angeles and is a separate production. Lang’s original was produced in Germany by Nero-Film and released in German.