Maps of Movies

M (1931)

Where M says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

Eleven places in Berlin, all built in one hangar

Scenes and places

The children's chant in the courtyard (1931)

A group of children play an elimination game in an apartment courtyard, singing a macabre chant about a child-killer. The grown-ups upstairs are tired of hearing it.

Set in An apartment courtyard in Berlin — An unnamed courtyard of a Berlin apartment block; the film never gives an address.

An unnamed courtyard of a Berlin apartment block; the film never gives an address.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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The empty place at Elsie's table (1931)

Frau Beckmann lays the table for lunch and waits for her daughter Elsie to come home from school. The place stays empty.

Set in The Beckmann apartment — An unnamed flat in Berlin; the film shows only the dining table and the stairwell.

An unnamed flat in Berlin; the film shows only the dining table and the stairwell.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Parents waiting outside the school (1931)

A wanted poster warns of a serial killer preying on children, while anxious parents wait outside a school for their kids.

Set in The street outside Elsie's school — An unnamed Berlin school street.

An unnamed Berlin school street.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Elsie and the balloon seller (1931)

Elsie bounces a ball on her way home and is approached by a stranger who whistles a tune from Grieg. He buys her a balloon from a blind vendor and walks with her.

Set in A street in Berlin — An unnamed street, a patch of grass and overhead telephone lines; no real address is given.

An unnamed street, a patch of grass and overhead telephone lines; no real address is given.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The police headquarters, 'the Alex' (1931)

The police read the killer's letter in the newspapers and work around the clock, checking fingerprints, handwriting and records of released patients.

Set in Berlin Police Headquarters at Alexanderplatz — Berlin's central police headquarters on Alexanderplatz; the film only mentions it by its nickname, the Alex.

Berlin's central police headquarters on Alexanderplatz; the film only mentions it by its nickname, the Alex.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The underworld summit (1931)

Raids keep ruining business, so the safecracker Schränker calls the bosses of Berlin's crime syndicates to a conference. They decide to hunt the killer themselves, with beggars watching the children.

Set in The meeting hall of the Berlin crime syndicates — An unnamed hall in Berlin's underworld; the film gives no address.

An unnamed hall in Berlin's underworld; the film gives no address.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Beckert's rented room (1931)

The police search Hans Beckert's rented room and find evidence tying him to the letter and to a past crime scene. They settle in to wait for him.

Set in Hans Beckert's rented room — An unnamed lodging in Berlin.

An unnamed lodging in Berlin.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The shop window and the chalk M (1931)

Beckert spots a girl in a shop window's reflection and follows her until her mother appears. He befriends another girl, but a blind vendor recognises his whistling, and a stranger chalks an M on the back of his coat.

Set in A shopping street in Berlin — An unnamed shopping street; the film uses glass and reflections throughout.

An unnamed shopping street; the film uses glass and reflections throughout.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The night break-in at the office building (1931)

Hunted by the beggars, Beckert hides in a big office building just before the workers leave. The criminals arrive, take the watchmen prisoner and search the building until they find him in the attic.

Set in A large office building in Berlin — An unnamed office block; the break-in drew on a real 1929 bank burglary, but the building is not real.

An unnamed office block; the break-in drew on a real 1929 bank burglary, but the building is not real.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The abandoned distillery (1931)

The criminals take Beckert to an abandoned distillery, where a silent crowd waits for him. They set up a kangaroo court with a 'lawyer' who argues his defence.

Set in An abandoned distillery — An unnamed bankrupt distillery; the dialogue calls it the old Kuntz and Levy works.

An unnamed bankrupt distillery; the dialogue calls it the old Kuntz and Levy works.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The hearing before the crowd (1931)

Before the crowd, Beckert delivers an impassioned monologue saying he cannot control the urges inside him. The parents' grief is put to the crowd as the case against him.

Set in The improvised court — The improvised courtroom in the distillery; the plot gives no separate location.

The improvised courtroom in the distillery; the plot gives no separate location.

Filmed at Staaken Zeppelin hangar studio, Berlin-Staaken — The film was shot mainly in a rented Zeppelin hangar at Staaken airfield on the edge of Berlin, where the sets were built. The sources do not say which scene was shot where inside it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Characters

• Hans Beckert — A man who whistles Grieg and is hunted by both the police and the underworld.
• Inspector Karl Lohmann — The head of the homicide squad, searching for the child killer.
• Der Schränker — The safecracker who summons the crime syndicates to hunt the killer.
• Elsie Beckmann — A schoolgirl on her way home.