Movie Review: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
Directed by Fritz Lang (1933)
Does this evil manifesto sound like anything you’ve heard recently?
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (HBO Max / Amazon Prime)
The evil genius Dr. Mabuse was the fictional creation of novelist Norbert Jacques, a citizen of Luxembourg who wrote in German. The character appeared in a series of thrillers and was reminiscent of Professor Moriarty of the Sherlock Holmes books.
Mabuse was reputed to be a hypnotist who controlled a gang of skilled criminals remotely. Das Testament, the manifesto he scribbled while incarcerated in an insane asylum, details plans for subversive and hugely disruptive criminal operations.
The novel was published in 1932, and its film adaptation, directed by Fritz Lang, was released the following year, coincident with Hilter’s rise to power. The movie was suppressed by the Third Reich and was not seen in Germany until a restored version appeared in 1961.
One reason these crimes were seemingly unsolvable was that the plotter’s motivations were baffling. These crimes appeared to be random and senseless. Besides giving detailed instructions to the mob, the doctor’s secret manifesto revealed his purpose in a chapter titled, “The Reign of Crime:”
Humanity’s soul must be shaken to its very depths, frightened by unfathomable and seemingly senseless crimes - crimes that benefit no one, whose only objective is to inspire fear and terror - because the ultimate purpose of crime is to establish an endless reign of crime, a state of complete insecurity and anarchy, founded upon the tainted ideals of a world doomed to annihilation.
When humanity, subjugated by the terror of crime, has been driven insane by fear and horror, and when chaos has become supreme law, then the time will have come for the reign of crime.
Criminals would rule a lawless world.
Among the catastrophic plots was a series of bank robberies in which the stolen cash would be replaced with counterfeit notes.
The objective was to destroy the public’s confidence in the country’s financial system.