Editing M (1931 film) (section)

== Legacy ==
Lang considered ''M'' to be his favorite of his own films because of the social criticism in the film. In 1937, he told a reporter that he made the film "to warn mothers about neglecting children".<ref name="Jensen. p. 95"/> The film has appeared on multiple lists as one of the greatest films ever made. It was voted the best German film of all time with 306 votes in a 1994 poll of 324 film journalists, film critics, filmmakers, and cineastes organized by the {{interlanguage link|Association of German Cinémathèques|de|Deutscher Kinematheksverbund}}.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The 100 Most Important German Films |url=http://www.fiafnet.org/pdf/uk/fiaf54.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605042344/http://www.fiafnet.org/pdf/uk/fiaf54.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2015 |journal=Journal of Film Preservation |date=April 1997 |issue=54 |page=41 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It is included in [[Empire (magazine)|''Empire'']]'s 100 Best Films of World Cinema in 2010.<ref>{{cite web | title = The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema: 33. M | url = http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=33 | work = Empire}}</ref> It is listed in the film reference book ''[[1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die]]'', which says: "Establishing conventions still being used by serial killer movies, Lang and scenarist Thea von Harbou intercut the pathetic life of the murderer with the frenzy of the police investigation into the outrageous crimes, and pay attention to issues of press coverage of the killings, vigilante action, and the political pressure that comes down from the politicians and hinders as much as encourages the police."{{sfn|Schneider|2015|p=90}} In 2018, it was voted the thirteenth greatest foreign-language film of all time in [[BBC]]'s poll of 209 critics in 43 countries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 100 greatest foreign-language films|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181029-the-100-greatest-foreign-language-films|access-date=December 17, 2020|website=BBC Culture}}</ref>  The film is also referenced in the song "In Germany Before the War" by American songwriter [[Randy Newman]] in his 1977 album ''[[Little Criminals]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title = In Germany Before The War by Randy Newman | url = https://www.songfacts.com/facts/randy-newman/in-germany-before-the-war | access-date=June 22, 2021 | work = Songfacts}}</ref>

A scene from the movie was used in the 1940 Nazi propaganda movie ''[[The Eternal Jew (1940 film)|The Eternal Jew]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barnouw |first=Erik |title=Documentary: a history of the non-fiction film |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qtZ91DNvgBMC&pg=PA142 |access-date=15 November 2011 |year=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195078985 |page=142 }}</ref>

===Remakes and adaptations===
A Hollywood remake of [[M (1951 film)|the same title]] was released in 1951, shifting the action from Berlin to Los Angeles. Nero Films head Seymour Nebenzal and his son Harold produced the film for [[Columbia Pictures]]. Lang had once told a reporter: "People ask me why I do not remake ''M'' in English. I have no reason to do that. I said all I had to say about that subject in the picture. Now, I have other things to say."<ref name="Jensen. p. 94"/> The remake was directed by [[Joseph Losey]] and starred [[David Wayne]] in Lorre's role. Losey stated that he had seen ''M'' in the early 1930s and watched it again shortly before shooting the remake, but that he "never referred to it. I only consciously repeated one shot. There may have been unconscious repetitions in terms of the atmosphere, of certain sequences."<ref name="Jensen. p. 94"/> Lang later said that when the remake was released, he "had the best reviews of [his] life".<ref name="Wakeman. p. 615"/>

Argentine noir classic "[[The Black Vampire]]", released in 1953 and directed by [[Román Viñoly Barreto]], is based on Lang's original script. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/espectaculos/cine/a-50-anos-de-el-vampiro-negro-nid528032/ |title=A 50 años de "El vampiro negro" |date=17 September 2003 }} </ref>

In 2003, ''M'' was adapted for radio by [[Peter Straughan]] and broadcast on [[BBC Radio 3]] on 2 February, later re-broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4 Extra]] on 8 October 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007fqv4|title=Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou – M |publisher=BBC Radio 4 Extra|access-date=21 October 2016}}</ref> Directed by [[Toby Swift]], this drama won the Prix Italia for Adapted Drama in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prix Italia: Past Editions – Winners 1949–2009 |url=http://www.prixitalia.rai.it/2010/pdf/WINNERS_1949-2009.pdf |website=Wayback Machine |publisher=Prix Italia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303194401/http://www.prixitalia.rai.it/2010/pdf/WINNERS_1949-2009.pdf |access-date=15 January 2020|archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>

Writer [[Jon J. Muth]] adapted the screenplay into a four-part comic book series in 1990, which was reissued as a graphic novel in 2008.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8109-9522-2|title=Fiction Book Review: M: A Graphic Novel by Jon J. Muth, Author, Thea Von Harbou, Screenplay by, Fritz Lang, Adapted by Abrams (189 p)|date=April 2008 |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |isbn=978-0810995222}}</ref>

In 2015, [[Joseph D. Kucan]] adapted the screenplay into a theatrical stageplay entitled ''A Summons from the Tinker to Assemble the Membership in Secret at the Usual Place'' for production by the Las Vegas-based theatre company A Public Fit. The play is environmental in nature, transforming its audience into the members of the criminal underground who have captured - and will judge - the elusive serial child murderer. The play is primarily a courtroom drama, presented with no fourth wall, and utilizes flashback sequences to tell the story of the man's detection, capture and confession. A brief segment of the play is dedicated to improvised audience debate and deliberation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/regional/lasvegas/lv1.html | title=A Summons from the Tinker to Assemble the Membership in Secret at the Usual Place | author=Mary LaFrance | website=TALKIN' BROADWAY}}</ref>

In 2019, a six-episode Austrian-German miniseries adaptation of the film was released, entitled ''M — A City Hunts a Murderer''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7028444/ |title=M – A City Hunts a Murderer|publisher=IMDB.com|access-date=25 November 2019}}</ref>