Rating: 3.5/5
Anti-Criterion Challenge 2024 | 2/52 | 1920s
There is no such thing as love — there is only desire! There is no happiness — there is only the will to gain power!
Dr. Mabuse is a criminal mastermind who uses disguises and hypnosis to con people.
A train passes. We see a bag thrown out the window into a passing car.
The bag contains a secret trade agreement between Holland and Switzerland. Without the contract, Switzerland may cancel the agreement. The market goes into a panic, selling off stock like crazy. Mabuse buys in the slump. The contract gets to Switzerland, and the stock market booms again, making Mabuse a ton of money.
Dr. Mabuse chooses Edgar Hull, the only son of the industrialist Paul Hull, as his next victim.
Mabuse hypnotizes Hull, introducing himself as Hugo Balling. He follows Hull to the 17+4 club, where they play cards and gamble. Hull’s advisors tell him to stop playing, but he continues losing money to Hull.
When Hull comes to, he doesn’t remember inviting Balling, playing cards, or anything.
The state attorney comes to Hull. Hull is not the first fishy gambling incident. The attorney elicits Hull’s help in tracking down and capturing this crook.
As the pursuit continues, the stakes grow higher. Kidnappings, murders, explosions — will the police catch Dr. Mabuse?
The copy of the movie I have is low-resolution. I struggled to identify the faces and read the on-screen text. I went to YouTube for Part II when I realized I only had Part I. Lo-and-behold, I found a 4K upscaled version of both parts. You live and learn.
The plot is intricate, and the film introduces a lot of details upfront. Starting the movie with a stock market exploit is bold but reflective of the times. But once Mabuse gets into action, it becomes easier to piece together what is happening.
I’m curious about the filmmakers’ assumptions regarding the audience’s familiarity with Mabuse, given that it was a serialized story during the movie’s release.
The first half is slow plotting and schemes. The second half is the pursuit of Mabuse, which has more action as Mabuse “mercilessly annihilates” anyone who gets in his way, even his allies. Both parts need one another — you won’t care about the action if you don’t have the story, and the story requires the catharsis of the action.
I enjoyed this, but I wish it were shorter and tighter. I’ve heard the rumor of an Eisenstein cut. Still, this movie is foundational for action and mystery films.