His films are characterized by a strong sense of fatalism and alienation. His German films include Metropolis 1927, the sensational M 1931, in which Peter Lorre starred as a child-killer, and the series of Dr Mabuse films, after which he fled from the Nazis to Hollywood 1935. His US films include Fury 1936, You Only Live Once 1937, Scarlet Street 1945, Rancho Notorious 1952, and The Big Heat 1953. He returned to Germany and directed a third picture in the Dr Mabuse series 1960.
