''When chaos has become supreme law, then the time will have come for the empire of crime.''
Fritz Lang bade farewell to Germany with The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933). A sequel to Lang's Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), Testament incurred the wrath of Joseph Goebbels, who suppressed it as an anti-Nazi work. Modern viewers will likely appreciate its influence on countless serials, adventure films and superhero sagas.Inspector Karl Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) is baffled by a crime wave until disgraced detective Hofmeister (Karl Meixner) phones him with word of an evil plot. Lohmann learns from Professor Baum (Oscar Beregi, Sr.) that incarcerated crime boss Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is writing an endless series of cryptic instructions. Helped by Thomas Kent (Gustav Diesel), Mabuse's conflicted henchman, Lohmann uncovers the mastermind's evil plan - an extensive terror campaign continuing even after his death.
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler is an incredible experience, mixing a standard pulp plot with amazing direction. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is smaller but equally impressive. Lang crams a lot of plot and action into two hours, with breakneck pacing and remarkably modern editing. Testament has some creaky segments, like Baum recapping the original film, or any scene with Kent and his sweetheart Lilli (Wera Liesem). One lame sequence finds those two locked in a booby-trapped room. Intercutting it with Lohman's raid on Mabuse's hideout, Lang salvages even that soggy scene.
Norbert Jacques' Mabuse influenced countless supervillains, mixing hypnosis, intellect and megalomaniac schemes. Certainly Mabuse's rants presage The Joker from The Dark Knight, committing terrorism to sew anarchy and establish an "empire of crime." It's the most frightening cinematic villain: Mabuse doesn't want revenge, money or power, merely the pleasure of "watching the world burn."
"I'm afraid you underestimate the number of subjects in which I take an interest!"
Critics and Nazis alike equated Mabuse with Hitler, a handy analogy given its director and setting. Shortly thereafter, Lang declined Goebbels' offer to head Germany's film industry, fleeing to Hollywood. Really though, Mabuse's a more elemental enemy: a supernatural scapegoat for societal ills. Yet Lang undercuts his Great Villain, showing that Mabuse's ideas remain a menace after his death (not unlike a Mafia family or terrorist cell). Professor Baum forms a Caligari-style bond with the madman, with an ending Alfred Hitchcock cribbed for Psycho.Testament lacks a super-powered protagonist, merely Inspector Lohmann. Having subdued Peter Lorre in M, Lohmann becomes an ace detective whose mere presence induces crooks to surrender. Otto Wernicke's earthy performance sells a potentially colorless hero. Neither genteel Sherlock Holmes nor ass-kicking Harry Callahan, Lohmann's just a gruff but resourceful policeman who can checkmate any dastard. Who needs Batman?
Few directors better blended the sublime and silly than Lang. Testament provides set pieces (shootouts, car chases) but retains sublime touches. Most obvious is the chilling double exposure where Baum confronts Mabuse's spirit, all bulging insect eyes and exposed brain. He retains nifty silent-inflected editing, like a match dissolve from a character's portrait, while making use of sound effects and Hans Erdman's eerie music. The climactic terror attack remains thrilling Lang destroying a real factory in an impressive set piece.
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse ranks alongside Lang's more obvious masterworks (Metropolis, M) as a seamless mix of high art and pop culture.