Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (1922)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Norbert Jacques (novel)
Fritz Lang (writer)

Release Date:

26 May 1922 (Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Arch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.

Plot Keywords:

Disguise | Seance | Organized Crime | Temptation | Depravity

Cast

Rudolf Klein-Rogge	...	Dr. Mabuse
Aud Egede Nissen	...	Cara Carozza, die Tänzerin
Gertrude Welcker	...	Gräfin Dusy Told (as Gertrude Welker)
Alfred Abel	...	Graf Told / Richard Fleury - US version
Bernhard Goetzke	...	Staatsanwalt von Welk / Chief Inspector Norbert von Wenck / Chief Inspector De Witt - US version
Paul Richter	...	Edgar Hull
Robert Forster-Larrinaga	...	Spoerri
Hans Adalbert Schlettow	...	Georg, the Chauffeur (as Hans Adalbert von Schlettow)
Georg John	...	Pesch
Charles Puffy	...	Hawasch (as Karl Huszar)
Grete Berger	...	Fine, a servant
Julius Falkenstein	...	Karsten
Lydia Potechina	...	Die Russin
Julius E. Herrmann	...	Emil Schramm (as Julius Herrmann)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julietta Brandt		(as Julie Brandt)

Also Known As:

Dr. Mabuse, Inferno des Verbrechens (Germany) (second part title)
Dr. Mabuse, King of Crime
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Germany) (short title)
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler

Runtime:

297 min (restored version) | Germany:100 min (part 2) | Germany:95 min (part 1) | Spain:114 min (part 2) | Spain:154 min (part 1) | USA:231 min (video version) | 271 min (Murnau Foundation restoration) | Germany:242 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 (first part) | Finland:K-16 (second part) | Germany:o.Al. | Spain:T | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2004)

Filming Locations:

Berliner Union-Film Studio, Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Uco-Film GmbH

Trivia:

Soviet editors re-cut the Dr. Mabuse films into one shorter film (see Alternate Versions). The lead editor was Sergei M. Eisenstein.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Mabuse abducts Dusy Told and places her in his car and departs, wires pulling the car forward can be seen.

Quotes:

Staatsanwalt von Welk: [speaking on the phone:] Mabuse, surrender! We have ringed the house!
Dr. Mabuse: I feel like a state within the State. Come and get me!
Staatsanwalt von Welk: We shall be using strong means; resistance is useless!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gekijô-ban hagane no renkinjutsushi: Shanbara wo yuku mono (2005)

Not only for students of German Cinema!

In this review I refer to the Transit Film DVD edition from the F W Murnau Foundation (or Stiftung, if you understand German!). This 2 DVD set is an excellent restoration of this(these?) movie(s). At three and a half hours, some may argue that it is a little daunting for the uninitiated silent film viewer, but in my humble opinion it is so well made (by Fritz Lang) that it still stands up today as a masterpiece of "gangster cinema". Shot between November 1921 and March 1922, the film was made only a couple of years after Lang's directorial debut (Halblutt - 1919), and five years before Metropolis - perhaps Lang's masterpiece. It can be argued that it represents the start of a 'series' of gangster/crime related movies by Lang, and parallels can be drawn to Spione (Spies) of 1927/28, and M (1931 - Lang's first talkie), and of course, The Testament of Dr Mabuse (1932/33). There was also a final addition from 1960, The Thousand Eyes of Dr Mabuse, but that is obviously of a different era. It is interesting to observe that Lang/von Harbou clearly were attempting to create a screen detective character something like Sherlock Holmes in the form of Commissioner Lohmann, (superbly played by Otto Wernicke) for it is he who is the detective in both M and Testament. However, I digress. Where both M and Testament concern themselves with the work of the police in an almost documentary fashion (especially M), Der Spieler is almost exclusively concerned with the working of the criminal mind. Mabuse is played by Rudolf Klein-Rogge, one of Lang's favourites - though one wonders what Klein-Rogge made of Lang - Thea von Harbou, the screen-writer, married Lang in 1921, after divorcing Klein-Rogge! He gives a masterful performance as Mabuse, and dominates the film. Even when not on the screen, his omnipotence pervades the entire proceedings. Whilst I wouldn't go so far as to describe the picture as 'gripping', it still has the power to hold the attention for most of its mighty three and a half hours. For me, at least, this is aided in no small measure by the magnificent new soundtrack by Aljocha Zimmermann, whose use of leitmotif (in true Teutonic style) adds immeasurably to the overall enjoyment of the film. I strongly recommend this picture, not only to serious students of German Silent Cinema (they'll have seen it anyway!) but to anybody who enjoys a good gangster/crime story. If you have a hang-up about silent movies, then in all honesty this isn't going to change your mind - but give it a try. I think its worth the effort in the end. Trivia: Although made in Berlin, and the numerous vehicles all drive on the right as one would expect, they are without exception, all right hand drive!