Dial ‘M’ for Remake

“M”--the 1931 classic German chiller that launched Peter Lorre--may be remade . . . with a modern twist. The original, directed by Fritz Lang, centered on a psychopathic child killer brought to bay by the city’s underworld. In the new edition, the media mistakeningly connects the crimes to gangs--which unite to bring the real culprit to justice.

Screenwriters David Loucka (the now-filming “Dream Team”) and Ted Gershuny (the Santa slasher pic, “Silent Night, Bloody Night”) are co-producing, currently in discussions with a major distributor, they tell us.

Loucka said the project is as topical as ever, but he isn’t keen on an L.A. backdrop: “We’re looking for another location, now that ‘Colors’ has covered that turf. Lord knows with the growth of gangs in most major cities, we won’t have to strain credibility.”

Columbia remade “M” in 1951, with David Wayne starring. That studio’s rights lapsed in 1959; Loucka purchased them from the picture’s German title-holder.