Dr. Mabuse the Gambler

1922 film

the 1922 Fritz Lang film

Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler) is the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series about the character Doctor Mabuse who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques. It was directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1922. The film is silent and would be followed by the sound sequels The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) and The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960). It is four and a half hours long and divided into two parts, originally released a month apart: Der große Spieler: Ein Bild der Zeit and Inferno: Ein Spiel von Menschen unserer Zeit. The title, Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler, makes use of three meanings of the German Der Spieler which can mean gambler, puppeteer, or actor. The character Dr. Mabuse, who disguises himself, manipulates people, and is a notorious gambler, embodies all senses of the word. Therefore, the Player might be a more appropriate translation of the title. The film is included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, being the first of five Lang films to be included.

Production of the first part of Dr. Mabuse the Gambler began while the novel on which it is based, Norbert Jacques' Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler was still being serialized. Bernd Widdig points out that while Dr. Mabuse is not an anti Semitic film, aspects of Mabuse's character may have reflected contemporary stereotypes of Jews, especially since he acts in stereotypically Jewish roles such as psychoanalyst, banker, peddler and revolutionary, and consistent with the views on Jews of some contemporary Germans his manipulations were responsible for problems in society. In the sequel The Testament of Dr. Mabuse the link between the Mabuse character and the Nazis is made stronger. Lang also saw Mabuse's character as emblematic of a certain kind of money accumulator in Weimar Germany referred to as a "Raffke". Another theme in the film is surveillance and seeing without being seen. It went on to state that it "will give people fifty or one hundred years from now an idea of an age that they could hardly comprehend without such a document." Variety praised the film's plot for its "speed and life" while acknowledging that it can be confusing. Variety felt the best parts of the movie were the scenes between Mabuse and Von Wenk. Entertainment Weekly reviewer Tim Purtell rated the film an A−, comparing the titular villain to those in the James Bond and Mission Impossible movies. Purtell particularly praised the "sharp" plot turns, "stunning visuals" and Klein Rogge's performance. Akira Kurosawa, the legendary Japanese director, named this movie as one of his 100 favorite films.