Lang's M, has many stylistic qualities of the Noir genre. The use of a grey color palette, lighting, lack of background music, to name only a few. From the first few seconds of the films start you got the sense that there was a dangerous person in the area and he or she preyed on children. The song the children were singing made that evident, and it made the adult uneasy. In Noir films, inanimate are extremely important in filing in the blanks of the story. In this case, the clock on the wall that seems to be the sound of hope and happiness for a woman that has only work to look forward to in her quiet home. The ball that the little girl is playing with makes us take note of her presence and when you stop hearing the bounce you know it means she is in danger. The shadows, are always mysterious and in most cases the evil protagonist of the film, and in this case the sought out murderer.
