Dir. Fritz Lang, Harold Reinl, Werner Klingler, Paul May, Hugo Fregonese, 1960-1964, West Germany, 549 mins, subtitles and dubbed
Cast: Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Werner Peters
Review by Colin Dibben
Fritz Lang made two of the defining works of early German cinema with Dr Mabuse the Gambler and The Testament of Dr Mabuse, two masterpieces centred on a mysterious, shadow-shrouded, master of disguise supervillain mastermind, first developed in novels by one Norbert Jacques.
In 1960, Lang was asked by Artur Brauner’s CCC Film to make a third crime thriller centred on the infamous Dr Mabuse. The Thousand Eyes of Dr Mabuse was such a success that CCC greenlighted an series of 6 films focused on the master criminal between 1960 and 1964.
The 6 films are all here: The 1000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse, The Return of Dr Mabuse, The Invisible Dr Mabuse, The Testament of Dr Mabuse, Scotland Yard Hunts Dr Mabuse, The Death Ray of Dr Mabuse.
These are all satisfying crime films to watch, with their uncanny villains, dowdy cops, procedural heists and dirty double crosses. There is also a wealth of character actors to look out for, many that will ring bells for fans of Euro-thrillers from the 1960s and 1970s.
Lang’s own third Mabuse film kicks off proceedings, but it is Klingler’s remake of Lang’s 1933 film The Testament of Dr Mabuse that acts as the epitome of the set: there are some iconic images in this one and the sub-plots, secondary characters and criminal activities all zip along splendidly.
Mostly, the films take their visual style from the Lang film, with its flat TV studio look, although there are some nice crisp location shots and high-contrast nighttime shadows too. The Death Ray of Dr Mabuse is interesting for trying to cash in on the success of the James Bond movie Thunderball – with a much smaller budget.
This is a Limited Collector’s Edition Box Set of 2000 copies. Physically, it is a limited edition hardcase featuring new artwork by Tony Stella. The set includes a limited edition 60-page collector’s book featuring new notes on each film by journalist Holger Haase, a new essay by German film scholar Tim Bergfelder, an archival essay by David Cairns, archival writing by Fritz Lang and notes by Lotte Eisner on Lang’s final unreleased projects.
