The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang, 1933)
Lang's final German film before leaving for Hollywood is not just a sequel to his 1922 epic
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, with Rudolf Klein-Rogge returning (briefly) as the title villain, but also a spin-off to
M, with Otto Wernicke reprising his role as Inspector Lohmann. Had I known that beforehand, I would have been way more eager to see
Testament, which, because of its B-movie title, I'd always pictured as something cheap and silly. But it's not that at all. Instead, it's a fitting culmination of Lang's early period, bridging the gap between silents and talkies and between pulp fiction and realism.
On a scene-by-scene basis,
Testament is a potpourri of greatness:
- the opening sequence of in medias res suspense with the wonderfully heightened soundtrack
- the introduction of Lohmann (and Wernicke's super appealing performance)
- Mabuse's furious scribblings
- the scratches in the glass
- the traffic-light assassination (a moment that seems purely Hitchcockian, but perhaps it's really Fritz who influenced Alfred)
- Lohmann's trying to convince Hofmeister that he's still on the phone
- the introduction of a man behind the curtain (which is funny in a film with a character named Baum)
- Lohmann's not remembering Mabuse's crimes from 1921 (some extremely satisfying self-reflexivity)
- the visit to the morgue
- the surprising and confident infusion of the supernatural into a realist aesthetic
- the silent film character finally finding his voice in death
- peaking behind the curtain
- the apartment siege
- explosion in a flooded room (which is cool enough to forgive to silly setup)
- Lohmann connecting the dots (almost)
- the clue of the recorded voice (whic becomes extra interesting given Mabuse's silent-film origins)
- apocalypse at the chemical factory
- a furious night-time drive
- coming full circle
That's enough goodness to fill a 121-minute film — and yet, somehow, the movie feels almost an hour longer than it is. I don't really understand why that is. There are few scenes that struck me as extraneous (the Kent/Lilli ones often offering the exception), few individual scenes felt bloated to me, and Lang's creativity always keeps things interesting. So my restlessness is a bit baffling. I heard, though, that the American cut trimmed the film down to a mere 75 minutes — but without deleting any scenes, save one or two. I'm not assuming that that version would be better (if it weren't dubbed I'd be tempted to find out), but the 46-minute differential definitely seems to imply a good deal of fat in many of Lang's scenes and thus perhaps explains my restlessness.
I don't want to bury the lede here, though.
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is a good film, chock full of great moments, and definitely worth a watch.
I’m curious to know if the people who turned Saw into a franchise were influenced by this. The seemingly insane and locked up Mabuse is a side character, yet his influence is everywhere and his underground cult of criminals is vast. He has supernatural abilities that remove all logic, but (unlike Saw) Lang’s direction battles the ridiculous plot to a draw. If it tried to make sense it would be more insultingly stupid. Lang lets the all-powerful Mabuse unshackle his creativity.
I didn't make a connection to
Saw, but Arkham Asylum was on my mind throughout, with Mabuse seeming a possible influence on the Joker. I was thinking more of the comics than any particular film, so it surprised me to read this trivia item on IMDb afterwards:
The 2008 film The Dark Knight features a version of The Joker inspired by Mabuse. Throughout the film, the character recites monologues promoting chaos & disorder which borrow heavily from Mabuse's own in 1933's The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Director Christopher Nolan has stated: "I think I made Jonah (Nolan's brother) watch Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse prior to writing the Joker.
Makes sense, really.
It took me three days to get all the way through this and even then I could no longer enjoy things my eyes and brain were telling me I should be smiling about.
I wonder if your struggles with
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler carried over into
Testament, which certainly offers more than ★ ★ ½ worth of things to smile about.
Grade: B
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