The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (), also called The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse, is a 1933 German crime-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang. The movie is a sequel to Lang's silent film Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) and features many cast and crew members from Lang's previous films. Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is in an insane asylum where he is found frantically writing his crime plans. When Mabuse's criminal plans begin to be implemented, Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) tries to find the solution with clues from gangster Thomas Kent (Gustav Diessl), the institutionalized Hofmeister (Karl Meixner) and Professor Baum (Oscar Beregi Sr.) who becomes obsessed with Dr. Mabuse.
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse was based on elements of author Norbert Jacques' unfinished novel Mabuse's Colony. It was Lang's second sound film for Nero-Film and was his final collaboration with screenwriter Thea von Harbou, then his wife. To promote the film to a foreign market, a French-language version of the film was made by Lang with the same sets but different actors with the title Le Testament du Dr. Mabuse.
According to Siegfried Kracauer, Lang intended the film to suggest the Mabuse-like qualities of Adolf Hitler, who was on his rise to become Chancellor of Germany while the film was being written. When Hitler came to power, Joseph Goebbels became Minister of Propaganda and banned the film in Germany, suggesting that the film would undermine the audience's confidence in its statesmen. The French-language and German-language versions of the film were released in Europe while several versions of the film were released in the United States. The sequel The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960) was also directed by Lang. Although it initially received a mixed reception, critics would later review the film favorably, and it has influenced filmmakers Claude Chabrol, Artur Brauner and Christopher Nolan.
Plot Chased by a bunch of criminals, disgraced former police detective Hofmeister seeks refuge in a noisy print shop. He telephones his former superior Inspector Karl Lohmann and explains frantically that he has discovered a huge criminal conspiracy. Before he can disclose the identity of its mastermind, the lights go out, shots are fired, and Hofmeister succumbs to madness. He vanishes only to be found later singing every time he feels watched, and he is institutionalized at the asylum run by Professor Baum.
Professor Baum introduces the case of Dr. Mabuse, the criminal mastermind and hypnotist who ten years earlier went mad. Mabuse spends his days frantically writing detailed plans for crimes while a criminal gang is committing them according to "the plans of the Doctor", with whom they confer only from behind a curtain. When Baum's colleague Dr. Kramm by chance discovers that recent crimes implement Mabuse's writings, Kramm is shot by the gang's execution squad, Hardy and Bredow. A clue scratched in a glass window pane at Hofmeister's crime scene causes Lohmann to suspect Mabuse. On arrival at the asylum, Baum reveals that Mabuse has died. When Lohmann disparagingly talks about "Mabuse the criminal", Baum emphatically speaks about "Mabuse the genius", whose brilliance would have destroyed a corrupt world.
Baum continues to study Mabuse's writings and communes with the ghost of Dr. Mabuse. The spirit of Mabuse speaks about an "unlimited reign of crime" and merges with the Professor's silhouette. During the same night, a hidden figure confers with sections of his organisation, preparing various crimes such as an attack on a chemical plant, robbing a bank, counterfeiting, poisoning water and destroying harvests. One of the gang members, Thomas Kent, is conflicted between his criminal work, which he needs to do for money, and his affection for a young woman named Lilli. Devoted to Kent, Lilli begs him to confide in her. Kent finally confesses his past and his current situation to her. The two decide to inform the police but are abducted and locked in the strange meeting room with the curtain. The hidden figure announces their death when they discover that the curtained alcove contains only a loudspeaker and that there is a time bomb. After several escape attempts have failed, they flood the place to lessen the impact of the explosion and break free when the time bomb goes off.
Meanwhile, the police are besieging a flat where several gangsters, including Hardy and Bredow, are staying. After a shootout, Hardy commits suicide while the other gangsters surrender. As Bredow testifies that they assassinated Dr. Kramm in the vicinity of the asylum, Lohmann arranges a confrontation between the gangsters and the Professor, which proves inconclusive. On Kent and Lilli's arrival, Baum's shocked reaction to Kent makes Lohmann suspicious. Lohmann and Kent visit the asylum, where they discover that Baum is the mastermind and has planned an attack on a chemical plant that night. Lohmann and Kent go to the exploding plant, where they discover Baum watching from afar. Baum flees to the asylum with Lohmann and Kent pursuing. Mabuse's spirit leads Baum to Hofmeister in his cell where he introduces himself as Dr. Mabuse, ending Hofmeister's shock. Baum tries to kill Hofmeister but is stopped by guards, just as Lohmann and Kent arrive. The final scene shows the insane Baum in the cell, tearing Mabuse's writings to shreds.
Cast
Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Dr. Mabuse Otto Wernicke as Inspector Lohmann Karl Meixner as Detective Hofmeister Oscar Beregi Sr. as Professor Baum Theodor Loos as Dr. Kramm Gustav Diessl as Thomas Kent Wera Liessem as Lilli
Rudolf Schündler as Hardy Oskar Höcker as Bredow Theo Lingen as Karetzki Hadrian Maria Netto as Nicolai Griforiew Camilla Spira as Juwelen-Anna Georg John as Baum's servant Klaus Pohl as Müller, Lohmann's assistant
Cast notes: Wernicke reprises the character Inspector Lohmann, a role he first played a year earlier in Lang's film, M.
Production Development Norbert Jacques wrote the original Dr. Mabuse books in the style of other popular thrillers in Europe at the time, such as Nick Carter, Fantomas, and Fu Manchu. Jacques expanded the traits of these books to include critiques on Weimar Germany. In 1930, Jacques was approached by a film producer to develop a story for a new Dr. Mabuse film with a female villain. This caused Jacques to start writing a new novel called Mabuse's Colony. In the novel, a character named Frau Kristine obtains a copy of Mabuse's testament which outlines plans for a future world of terrorism and crime that she uses.
At this time, Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou were developing the film M. Von Harbou and Lang were friends with Jacques since creating the first Mabuse film Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, and they went on vacation with each other. Lang asked Jacques for help with the screenplay for M and asked for suggestions for a new Mabuse project. Jacques sent Lang his unfinished work for Mabuse's Colony. Lang used the idea of Mabuse's will from the story and began working on an outline to what would become The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
Using the outline that Lang proposed, Jacques signed a contract in July 1931 for the movie to be written by von Harbou and directed by Lang based on Lang's own outline.Kalat, 2005. p. 80 The film was released in tandem with Jacques's book. Jacques' contributions are not mentioned in the film. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is a direct sequel to Dr. Mabuse the Gambler and is related to the film M which features the Inspector Lohmann character.
Pre-production Many members of the cast and crew had worked with Lang on his earlier films. Rudolf Klein-Rogge returned to play Dr. Mabuse as he did in Dr. Mabuse the Gambler. Klein-Rogge acted in Lang's earlier films including Destiny, Die Nibelungen, Metropolis and Spies. Otto Wernicke reprises his role as Inspector Lohmann from Lang's M. Klaus Pohl plays Lohmann's assistant Müller. Pohl acted in Lang's Woman in the Moon and in an uncredited role in M. Theodor Loos, who portrays Dr. Kramm, had earlier appeared in both Metropolis (as Josaphat) and M (as Inspector Groeber).
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse was Lang's second film for the company Nero-Film and producer Seymour Nebenzal. The film would be the last film collaboration between Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou, who had worked with Lang on all his directorial efforts since Destiny. Lang's relationship with von Harbou was ending and the two would file divorce papers during 1933. Cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner returned to work with Lang. Their film credits together include M, Spies and Destiny.
Filming
Lang filmed The Testament of Dr. Mabuse at the end of 1932 and the beginning of 1933, desiring to have the film viewed worldwide. In his film, where gun-play, fires, or explosions are needed, Lang often used real weapons. In the opening scene, during a power outage, a stunt actor did the gun play. Cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner stated that he spent most of the production in a state of panic due to the way Lang would endanger his crew. The film is generally filmed in a realistic style with the exception of Mabuse's ghostly appearances throughout the film. Lang admitted later in interviews that if he could re-do the film, he would not have included these supernatural scenes.
Wagner filmed the explosion scenes at the factory on location during nighttime. These explosion scenes were the first scenes of the film to be filmed before returning to the studio to film the rest of the film. The film crew had three weeks to prepare for the factory scene by clearing trees and bringing in some artificial trees to match Lang's idea for the scene. The explosion was triggered by Lang himself.
During the early years of sound films before dubbing and subtitling, one way to present a film to a foreign audience was to record the film with a translated screenplay with foreign-language cast. As this was a time-consuming and expensive procedure, most filmmakers who did this tended to only make one alternative language feature. Producer Seymour Nebenzal felt that creating this alternative version would enhance international sales for The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. The French-language screenplay was adapted by René Sti. Lang was fluent in French and directed The Testament of Dr. Mabuse in both French and German. Actor Karl Meixner played Hofmeister in both versions of the film as he was bilingual. Rudolf Klein-Rogge also features as Mabuse in the French version with his lines being dubbed. The French version, titled Le Testament du docteur Mabuse, was edited by Lothar Wolff in France while the film was still in production.
Post-production
For the film, Lang commissioned a composer for the first time. Hans Erdmann created the opening theme and the music played during Professor Baum's madness. The soundtrack in the film is deceptive. As in Lang's M, the film's music and sound are a subtle mix of actual silence with accompanying music and more or less realistic sound effects. Lang worked with his editor Conrad von Molo directly on the post-production process. Lang was known for making very long films and to suit foreign fashions, editor Lothar Wolff was contracted to shorten the French-language version. This version deletes parts from the romantic sub-plot between Lilli and Kent.
Release