[...] the way in which Lang expressed a sense of respect for - and reciprocity with - his audience throughout his entire career:

I was always opposed to the American line, 'An audience has the mentality of a sixteen year-old chambermaid.' If this would be true, I would be ashamed to work for such an audience. I like audiences, but I don't think you should give an audience something fifty steps ahead of them. I asked myself - why is the first work of a writer, of a screenwriter, or of a playwright almost always a success? Because he still belongs to an audience. The more he goes away from the audience, the more he loses contact. What I tried to do my whole life long was not to lose contact with the audience.