Directed by:
Fritz LangCinematography:
Fritz Arno WagnerCast:
Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Thomy Bourdelle, Gustav Diessl, Rudolf Schündler, Jim Gérald, Theo Lingen, Monique Rolland, Camilla Spira, Otto Wernicke, Theodor Loos (more)Plots(1)
The tenuous and terrified atmosphere of Germany on the eve of Nazi ascendancy is cleverly evoked in Fritz Lang's THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE. The film opens with former police officer Hofmeister frantically warning police inspector Lohman of a mysterious gang's activity. He is especially insistant about the gang's leader, but is stopped in mid-confession before he can reveal the leader's identity. Dr. Baum runs the insane asylum where former arch criminal Dr. Mabuse is kept after going insane from his attempts to elude the police. After being incarcerated, Mabuse began writing reams of gibberish prose that gave complex instructions for how to commit crime sprees. When a fellow doctor confronts Dr. Baum with evidence that these exact crimes are coming true, he is mysteriously assassinated. Kent is an unwilling member of the gang and after taking their newest orders from a disembodied voice, he decides to leave the gang. Lohman continues to search for the identity of the gang's leader, as the crime sprees continue, and Mabuse's ghost begins to haunt Dr. Baum. As all of the characters speed chaotically towards the film's dark climax, the idea of a madman controlling a mass of hypnotized people and causing them to commit crimes that he premeditates creates a mystical and simultaneously potent political allegory of Lang's time. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Rudolf Klein-Rogge
German Empire
Best movies:
Metropolis (1927)
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Thomy Bourdelle
France
Best movies:
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
The Red and the Black (1954)
The Return of Don Camillo (1953)
Gustav Diessl
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929)
The Devious Path (1928)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Rudolf Schündler
German Empire
Best movies:
The Stars Shine (1938)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Kings of the Road (1976)
Jim Gérald
France
Best movies:
Father Brown (1954)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Moulin Rouge (1952)
Theo Lingen
German Empire
Best movies:
M (1931)
The Stars Shine (1938)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Monique Rolland
France
Best movies:
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Camilla Spira
German Empire
Best movies:
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Roses for the Prosecutor (1959)
The Devil's General (1955)
Otto Wernicke
German Empire
Best movies:
Die vertauschte Braut (1934)
M (1931)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Theodor Loos
German Empire
Best movies:
Metropolis (1927)
M (1931)
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924)
Oscar Beregi
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Karl Meixner
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Gerhard Bienert
German Empire
Best movies:
Les Misérables (1958)
M (1931)
The Blue Angel (1930)
Georg John
German Empire
Best movies:
Jealousy (1925)
Metropolis (1927)
M (1931)
Maurice Maillot
France
Best movies:
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Napoleon (1955)
Du Guesclin (1949)
Karl Platen
German Empire
Best movies:
M (1931)
Destiny (1921)
The Young Count (1935)
Raymond Cordy
France
Best movies:
Beauty of the Devil (1950)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Wooden Crosses (1932)
Ginette Gaubert
Best movies:
Monsieur Vincent (1947)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Paul Rehkopf
German Empire
Best movies:
Fair People (1930)
Jealousy (1925)
M (1931)
Daniel Mendaille
France
Best movies:
Rififi (1955)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Judgment of the God (1952)