Pros: A classic thriller pitting the evil Dr. Mabuse against Inspector Lohmann (of M fame)
Cons: Somewhat silly and overly dramatic Expressionist style
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended for film-history buffs; moderately recommended for entertainment value alone. Great performances, comic-book depth script.
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is a film classic and the work of Fritz Lang, a great German director born in 1890 and best known for the exquisite murder mystery M (1931) starring Peter Lorre as Franz Beckert. Lang was a pioneer in cinema, arguably launching such genre as the serial killer films, murder mysteries, and film noir. He began directing films in 1919 and married a script writer, Thea Von Harbou, in 1922.
Historical Background: Based on a novel by Norbert Jacques, Lang’s cinematic adaptation made Dr. Mabuse one of the most famous villains of the 1920’s. Lang first introduced audiences to the nefarious Dr. Mabuse in 1922 in the classic silent-era film entitled Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, which is itself sometimes included on Top-100 lists of all-time great films. With the advent of sound, Lang returned to his popular villain for just his second foray into the new aural medium, following his triumph with M. Later, Lang closed his cinematic career by returning once again to his faithful if sinister companion in The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960). All three of these films were made by Lang in Europe, but between the second and the last of the three, Lang spent much of his career in Hollywood.
The immediate impetus for Lang’s departure from Germany, to Paris and later Hollywood, was closely related to The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. In 1933, the Nazis had just seized power in Germany and were in the process of consolidating that power. Lang’s film is easily recognized as a warning to the German people of the impending threat of a madman directing a criminal empire from behind the scenes through his influence over witless thugs. The message was not lost on Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, who banned the film even before it was released. Goebbels then invited Lang to take over the German film industry for the purpose of producing propaganda films. Lang’s wife, actress Thea Von Harbou, was an active supporter of the Nazis but his mother was a Jew. Despite Goebbels’ “assurances” that “We while decide who is and is not a Jew”, Lang supposedly fled Germany that night, not to return until the 1950’s. Harbou, who had been previously married to the actor who played Dr. Mabuse in both the 1922 and 1933 films, quickly divorced Lang, and took the same offer that he had rejected!
In Hollywood, Lang’s talents were recognized but commercial interests prevailed and limited the range of work that he was permitted to do. Lang was also hampered by the fact that many of the most talented actors in Hollywood didn’t want to work with him. He was somewhat cranky and autocratic and was used to the European market where actors had much less status than directors. His best known Hollywood efforts were noir films (characterized by an amoral tough guy protagonist, femmes fatale, and shadowy atmospheres), such as The Big Heat (1953), with Lee Marvin.
The Story: Lang came up with a clever tactic in constructing The Testament of Dr. Mabuse that would have virtually guaranteed commercial success for the film had it not been for the Nazi censorship. He took the villain, Mabuse, from one of his previous successful films and pitted him against an equally popular hero, Inspector Lohmann, from another triumph, M. I’ve often wondered why Hollywood doesn’t try that tactic, pitting, for example, Spiderman against the Joker. The curiosity factor alone would fill seats.
Before either of the principal antagonists are introduced, however, the opening scene takes place in an old factory that is currently housing a counterfeiting ring. A former police officer, Hofmeister (Karl Meixner), who had dishonored himself by taking a bride from a black-marketeer, has discovered the illegal operation and identified the name of their leader. Hofmeister is understandably a nervous wreck, but manages to escape with his life, barely, and wants desperately to pass on his information to his old mentor, Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke). While on the phone with Lohmann, the lights go off in the room from which Hofmeister is calling, he screams and the line goes dead. After tracing the origin of the call, Lohmann finds no sign of Hofmeister, but does discover scratches on a window pane. When the scratches are later deciphered, they turn out to be an inverted “Mabuse”, scribbled by Hofmeister with his left hand.
Lohmann reads the decade-plus old file concerning Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and tracks down his location in an insane asylum. For Mabuse, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse picks up where the 1922 silent film, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, left off. Dr. Mabuse had gone insane at the end of the earlier picture, tormented by images of his countless victims. Dr. Mabuse has resided in an institution for the insane ever since. We learn from his psychiatrist, Dr. Baum (Oscar Beregi, Sr.), that Mabuse had remained catatonic for several years. Then, gradually, he had begun showing persistent writing movements with his hand. Given paper, he initially scribbled meaninglessly, but gradually began to write in letters, then words, and finally sentences. Soon he had generated a criminal manifesto – his testament – outlining plans for a great criminal empire designed to terrorize all of humanity. One can see here the obvious connection to Hitler's writing of Mein Kampt from his prison cell.
Mabuse, though insane, remains a criminal mastermind as well as a master of hypnotic control. He has taken control of Dr. Baum and, through him, is directing the activity of a criminal network, despite being bedridden and confined to a padded cell. A second psychiatrist, Dr. Kramm (Theodor Loos), comes across pages from Mabuse’s testament, in Baum’s possession, and notices the striking correspondence between one section and a jewelry theft committed that morning and described in the paper. Baum sets off toward police headquarters but is assassinated on the way by Mabuse’s special 2B unit. Though designated "2B", their work appears to be devoted to the other half of Shakespeare’s famous dichotomy, “not to be.” The assassination is carried out amidst a blare of auto horns at a traffic jam.
The principal subplot concerns one of Mabuse’s less committed henchmen, Tom Kent (Gustav Diesel). Kent had been imprisoned himself for four-and-a-half years for murdering his girl friend and her lover. Once out, he had been unable to find work in the depressed circumstances in Germany of the 1930’s. He had resorted to joining Mabuse’s criminal conspiracy. The only decent treatment he had received since his prison stint was from Lilli (Vera Liesseu), who loaned him money when he was desperate. She, at least, believes in him and the two are falling in love. Wipe that tear from your eye! Kent may have to work for Mabuse for a living but draws the line this side of murder. He finally recognizes the scope of Mabuse’s mad plan and tries to break free, only to find himself and Lilli trapped in a room with no escape and scheduled for execution in three hours.
Well, now that I’ve got you all hanging in suspense, I’ll stop recounting this narrative – criminal mastermind that I am! Dr. Mabuse is waiting for you, should you choose to accept the challenge. I’ll only add that there are a couple of fine action scenes, including an exploding chemical factory and a car chase – not spectacular by today’s standards but probably quite something for 1933.
Themes: Bond had his Blofeld, Batman had his Joker, and Superman had his Lex Luther. You fill in the rest! Wherever there are heroes and superheroes, there have to be villains to make their lives worthwhile. It’s sad, but true. Without fire, fireman would be worthless and without disease, physicians would be on the breadline! Dr. Mabuse gives purpose to Lohmann’s otherwise humdrum existence. Like page-hits for an Epinions writer.
More seriously, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is about protofascism and a stern warning to the German people about what lay ahead. The prescience of Lang’s film was certainly remarkable. Not only can Mabuse be readily seen as Hitler, but it is equally apparent that his henchmen are the inner circle of Nazi collaborators. Tom Kent represents, the German people, with one last chance to go straight – a chance which, however, was not taken in the larger historical context.
Production Values:The Testament of Dr. Mabuse was in the style of German expressionism, which was in its waning days in 1933. Expressionism meant flamboyant sets, hyper-dramatic scripts, and a style of acting that would be called “over-acting” in any other kind of film. The general tone of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse reminds me of superhero comic books or comic strips of the Dick Tracy type. Characters are mostly black or white and dialogue is terse, idealized and cliché ridden.
Rudolf Klein-Rogge reprises the role of Dr. Mabuse that he had in the 1922 film. He is a magnificent classic villain, though he speaks precious few words in this film. Most of his villainous influence transpires through his surrogate, Dr. Baum. Oscar Beregi Sr., who played Baum, had perhaps the toughest role in the film, having to transition from the staid, respectable, and somewhat haughty psychiatrist to the insane reincarnation of Mabuse. He delivers a splendid performance. Karl Meixner was a standout as Hofmeister – like a rat trapped in a corner, full of terror. Otto Wernicke made a very good Inspector Lohmann. He is the only character in the film that is multi-dimensional, providing most of the comic touches as well as the role of the persistent hero.
Some reviewers find the romantic subplot involving Tom and Lily overly drawn out. I rather enjoyed their segments. The overacting was funnier for the romantic exchanges than anywhere else in the film. I could watch Wera Liessem batting her eyelashes as Lilli all day long. Their declarations of love were romance at its utterly cloying best! Gustav Diesel, as Tom Kent, was most effective in his displays in defiance of Dr. Mabuse, clenching his fists and turning red in the face. All of the actors playing the henchmen were quite effective as well, especially the blond bimbo, Juwelen-Anna, played by Camilla Spira
Bottom-Line: I think that it’s almost meaningless, in a way, to rate a film of this nature. It really comes down to criteria. You could give it five stars for its place in cinematic history and its prescience in relation to world history. On the other hand, I could complain about its lack of depth, though that would be like rating a comic book against a Tolstoy novel. I could downgrade it for the limitations of its 1930’s technology and special effects – but is that fair? Honestly, I think I’d prefer to watch one of the Batman films or a Bond flick with their improved film technology. All things considered, I’d like to give The Testament of Dr. Mabuse about 3.5 stars for entertainment value alone and I’ll up-grade that to four out of respect for its status as a film classic.
This film is in German with English subtitles and has a running time in the Criterion DVD of 121 minutes. The Criterion edition is technologically magnificent, providing a print quality that hasn’t been available for years. They’ve restored several scenes in comparison to the versions that were previously available in America. There’s an entire second disk of extras, including a French version of the same film. There’s also an audio commentary by scholar David Kalat, an interview with Lange, and a comparison of the various German, French, and cut-American versions of the film.
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You might want to check out these other excellent films from Germany:
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