May 4, 2013

Restored M in Theaters This Summer

Peter Lorre fans across the United States will have the opportunity to see the new digital restoration of M (1931) in movie theaters this summer.

Distributed by Kino Lorber, and restored by TLEFilms Film Restoration and Preservation Services in Berlin, Germany – in association with Archives francaises du film - CNC in Paris and PostFactory GmbH, also in Berlin – this print of M includes improved subtitles and the longest running time of previous prints. At 111 minutes, it’s considered the most-complete print to date.

As of this writing, participating theaters include:
  • Alamo Ritz – Austin, TX – May 4-7, 2013
  • Plaza Theatre – Atlanta, GA – May 10-16, 2013
  • Ambler Theater – Ambler, PA – May 15, 2013
  • County Theater – Doylestown, PA – May 16, 2013
  • Regent Square Theater – Pittsburgh, PA – May 20-23, 2013
  • Cleveland Cinematheque – Cleveland, OH – May 30 to June 2, 2013
  • Miami Beach Cinematheque – Miami Beach, FL – June 27, 2013
  • Wexner Center for the Arts – Columbus, OH – July 11, 2013
  • SIFF Cinema – Seattle, WA – Sept. 6-12, 2013
More information about theaters and showings can be found on the Kino Lorber website.

M was Peter’s first sound film – but not his first time before movie cameras. His first movie was a silent German film, Die verschwundene Frau (The Missing Wife) in 1929. To the end of his life, Peter kept his appearance in the movie a secret, even from his family and Celia Lovsky, who introduced him to the German director Fritz Lang. He preferred that everyone believe that Lang’s first sound movie was his first movie, too.

Stephen Youngkin discusses the making of M – and the discovery of Die verschwundene Frau, including screen shots of Peter as a dentist’s patient – in the pages of his book The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, published in 2005 by University Press of Kentucky. The Lost One is now available in soft-bound and hard-back, as well as the Kindle and Nook.

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