Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Norbert Jacques (characters)
Fritz Lang (writer)

Release Date:

1952 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Fritz Lang's Meisterwerk. Der Gewaltigste Film der Gegenwart. (Fritz Lang's masterpiece. The most tremendous film of the present.)

Plot:

Berlin police inspector Lohmann investigates a case, in which all clues lead to a man, who's in a hospital for mental illnesses for since many years...

Plot Keywords:

Police Inspector | Counterfeiting | Trapped | Flooding | Gunfire

Cast

Rudolf Klein-Rogge	...	Dr. Mabuse
Gustav Diessl	...	Thomas Kent
Rudolf Schündler	...	Hardy
Oskar Höcker	...	Bredow
Theo Lingen	...	Karetzky
Camilla Spira	...	Juwelen-Anna
Paul Henckels	...	Lithograph / Litographer
Otto Wernicke	...	Kriminalkomissar Lohmann / Commissioner Lohmann
Theodor Loos	...	Dr. Kramm
Hadrian Maria Netto	...	Nicolai Griforiew (as Hadrian M. Netto)
Paul Bernd	...	Erpresser / Blackmailer
Henry Pleß	...	Bulle
Adolf E. Licho	...	Dr. Hauser
Oscar Beregi Sr.	...	Prof. Dr. Baum (as Oscar Beregi)
Wera Liessem	...	Lilli

Also Known As:

Das Tagebuch des Dr. Mabuse
Dr. Mabuses Testament
The Crimes of Dr. Mabuse (USA) (dubbed version)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (International: English title) (informal literal title)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1933) | Finland:K-16 (1998) | Finland:K-18 (1952) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | UK:12 (2003) | UK:A (1934) | South Korea:15 (2006) | Argentina:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Germany:(Banned) (1933-1945) | Spain:13 | Sweden:(Banned) (1933-1952) | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Nero-Film AG

Trivia:

In his autobiography "Timebends," Arthur Miller speculates that his unconscious mind picked the name "Loman" for Willy Loman, the protagonist of his greatest play, "Death of a Salesman (1966) (TV)" (1947), from the name of Kriminalkomissar Lohmann in "Das Testament das Dr. Mabuse."

Quotes:

Kriminalkomissar Lohmann: [during a shoot-out] I'm getting fed up with this!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Der Fall Metropolis (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Die Walküre (The Valkyries)

The prototype thriller

The film reads like a trainer for all the thrillers that came thereafter: The staring face reminiscent of 'Alien', the scary opening scene, which deserves to be better known, the tough but lovable cop, the haunted (literally) master criminal, the asylum, the heroine with an excuse to get her dress all wet and clingy, the Mae West look-alike, the spooky special effects, the explosions and the fires (real ones not your computer generated rubbish), the shoot out, the chase through the woods, the car chase, the high tech gadgets (using 78 vinyl!). There's even what looks like a placement add (Mercedes, during the car chase). Yes, all the thriller clichés are there but way back in 1933 they weren't clichés. Unfortunately some rather wooden acting by the heroine, Wera Liessem, who seems to be stuck in silent film mode, mars the film.

As for the political overtones, I'm not sure if these were deliberate. Lang's stories about himself were as fantastical as his films, especially the one about being offered the head of the Reich films.