The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

Germany / 1933 Directed by Fritz Lang Starring Otto Wernike Gustav Diessl Rudolf Klein-Rogge B&W / 121 Minutes / Not Rated Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC / 2-disc set) Criterion Collection

Hold your mouse pointer over an image for a pop-up caption

Probing the Mabuse mystique... A historical analysis of the novels and films

8     10   10 = Highest Rating   Guest Review by Rod Barnett

Answering a frantic call from a disgraced ex-cop named Hofmeister (Karl Meixner), Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernike) begins investigating a series of crimes carried out by a gang led by a brilliant mastermind. Hofmeister is attacked and driven mad before he can divulge the criminal boss's name but manages to leave a clue scratched into a pane of glass. Thomas Kent (Gustav Diessl) is a new member of this large criminal organization run by a man calling himself Dr. Mabuse. This Mabuse has never been seen by his subordinates, only heard, lending him a truly sinister aspect. The gang seems to think that this man is the same Mabuse that nearly brought the country to its knees 10 years before with a counterfeiting scheme. Ex-convict Kent wishes to go straight but has been unable to land a regular job. He hasn't yet proven himself to the gang and is feeling the pressure to finally act, but is held back by his love for a young woman who's unaware of his past. Meanwhile, in the asylum in which Dr. Mabuse has been incarcerated for a decade, we learn from Professor Baum (Oscar Beregi, Sr.) that while the criminal genius has not spoken since his capture, he has recently begun to write voluminous notes every day. On a research visit to the asylum Dr. Kramm (Theador Loos) chances to see these notes and realizes they describe a recent robbery down to the last detail! Dashing off to inform the police he is quickly shot to death by members of the gang. Inspector Lohmann immediately suspects that Mabuse is somehow behind things but when the genius dies in the asylum the case is back to square one. At this point Kent's lady love, Lilli (Wera Leissem), extracts the whole truth from him and convinces the torn man to quit the gang. But when Mabuse’s assassins come to find him they take his beloved along as well, sentencing them both to death. Can the couple escape? Can the Inspector piece together the puzzle before the criminal's grand counterfeiting scheme wrecks the country's economy? And who is this man using Mabuse’s name and genius?     Although this film is a sequel to Lang's two-part silent epic Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, it's unnecessary to have seen the earlier movie to enjoy this one. Much like a Republic cliffhanger serial Testament is spine tingling, edge of your seat fun with explosions, fires, assassinations, gunfights and chases. It holds up very well for even the most jaded of modern audiences keeping a new surprise coming every few minutes. Lang and his writer even manage to get in some clever humor that grows out of Lohmann’s gruff personality and his increasing irritation with the labyrinthine case confounding him. Lang's films almost always involved crimes and criminals even after he moved to Hollywood. His characters are usually flawed men trying to find their way out bad situations or strong men trying to use other's flaws against them. In Lang's world a good cop can be wrong and a disgraced man can do the right thing. (He must have been hell on the Hayes Office!) In this film we can see this clearly in the characters of Hofmeister and Kent that are used to bracket the story. The first 15 minutes of the movie shows ex-cop Hofmeister trying to redeem himself by learning the villain's name while the last 20 minutes give us ex-convict Kent attempting to help the police take Mabuse down. Both men have made huge mistakes that have destroyed their lives but are struggling for redemption. These types of characters who won't let an innocent be harmed to save their own skin are a Lang specialty and can be found in several of his movies (with Scarlet Street being a my favorite example). The director's various biographers have often painted him as mean-spirited man but anyone that returned to this idea so frequently could never be truly malicious. Of course, I do wonder if he identified more with Hofmeister or Kent, even as I picture him as the grumpy Lohmann. Of course, maybe Lang did see himself as Lohmann considering the character played by the same actor was also in his previous film, the classic M.

The good people at Criterion have released Testament of Dr. Mabuse as a two-disc special edition and have packed it to the rafters. Disc 1 contains the longest restoration of the original German version of the film. This cut is still missing some scenes that may never be recovered but I couldn't notice any narrative jumps at all. The image looks amazingly sharp for such an old picture. While a few segments are obviously taken from source material of lesser quality and sport occasional vertical lines and some scratches, 95% of the movie is simply gorgeous. The image is presented in the odd but correct aspect ratio of 1.19:1, which puts slim black bars on the sides of the picture. I only noticed them at the beginning of the film and only because I was looking for them. The German dialog has been newly subtitled in English and is in very readable white. Disc 1's only extra is a real gem — a full-length commentary track by Mabuse scholar David Kalat. I was very impressed with Mr. Kalat's previous commentary for Dr. Mabuse the Gambler and he doesn't disappoint me here either. Packed with information and insight, the track is the perfect second course for fans as it brings your appreciation of the movie's artistry into clear focus. (Boy, do I need to pick up Kalat's Mabuse book!)     This is all great but it's the second disc that gives us the wide range of extras that I've come to expect from Criterion. To start with we have the entire French version of the film taken from a very rare (and very damaged) surviving copy. Lang directed this version of the film at the same time as the German one but with a mostly different, slightly inferior cast. This was done often in the 1930s before dubbing became the standard. Since Lang was not involved in the editing of this film it plays very differently than the other, losing a good bit of running time as well as effect. If this were the only surviving version of Testament I don't think it would be as well regarded. It's fascinating to see once but I can’t imagine revisiting it from beginning to end. We are next given a 20-minute excerpt from the film For Example Fritz Lang that consists of an interview with Lang directed by Erwin Leiser. This is great as they talk about Mabuse and Lang tells his oft-related tale of the fateful meeting with Himmler that precipitated his exodus from Germany. This is a neat piece even though it felt quite staged as Lang walks around giving a monolog. Then there is the short film Mabuse in Mind, a 1984 interview with actor Rudolf Schundler. Stage trained Schundler's first film role was as the assassin Hardy in Testament and he recounts his memories of Lang and the movie. The goodies continue with Norbert Jacques: Mabuse's Creator, an interview with Mabuse expert Michael Farin talking about the man who wrote the novels that introduced the character to the public. This 9-minute piece speaks about the novelist and tells of his relationship with the films made from his work. I was very glad to learn of the original books and I hope I can eventually find English translations. Next up is a 19-minute bit in which Kalat returns to compare the German, French and American versions of the film. Using split screens we're shown some of the different editorial choices, but what is most fascinating is seeing just how the story was mangled and changed in the American version. Scenes were taken completely out of context with Mabuse being some sort of ghost floating over everything and the entire running time was cut to 75 minutes. Amazing! Capping the extras is a gallery of several dozen rare production design paintings for the movie and then separate sections for various posters, stills, the German press book as well as stills from the French version. (Oh, and I forgot to mention the liner notes/essay by Tom Gunning in the set's insert page.) A more complete or meticulous edition of this movie is likely never to be released and I'm thrilled to have it. I can't recommend this film or this DVD set highly enough. 1/24/05

HOME | REVIEWS | TOP