The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

Submitted by the Event Organizer

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Fritz Lang’s death (August 2, 1976). We screen this film in honor of one of German cinema’s most visionary directors — a master of suspense whose influence echoes from film noir to modern blockbusters.

About the Film
Madman? Monster? Murderer? Scientist?

After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum (Oscar Beregi), he observes the professor’s preoccupation with another patient: the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist (Rudolf Klein-Rogge).

When Mabuse’s notes are found to be connected to a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals — despite conflicting reports on the doctor’s whereabouts — and capture him for good.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is the second film in Fritz Lang’s legendary Dr. Mabuse trilogy, following the silent classic Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922). Made shortly before Lang fled Nazi Germany, the film is a dark, prescient thriller that the Nazi regime later banned.

About the Director
Fritz Lang was an Austrian-German-American filmmaker whose work includes the silent masterpieces Metropolis (1927) and M (1931). His Dr. Mabuse films explored themes of crime, hypnosis, and social chaos — presciently anticipating the rise of fascism. Lang fled Germany in 1933, the same year Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse was released, after reportedly being offered the position of head of the German film industry by Joseph Goebbels.

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