The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933, Fritz Lang) (Patreon)

53/100

Did not anticipate that this would be as much a sequel to M as to Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler. Among other things, focusing on Inspector Lohmann and his investigation assists in solving the conundrum about which I was tremendously curious as I sat down: How would Mabuse, as potent a figure of the silent era as ever graced screens, translate into a world of sound? Hearing him speak seemed unimaginable, inevitably deflating. Thankfully, we never do—he remains irretrievably lost to the world, save for automatic writing that gradually metamorphoses into elaborate criminal instruction manuals. Trouble is, Testament has to fill that vacuum with something, and settles upon bland reluctant gang member Tom Kent and his endlessly understanding paramour, Lilli, plus a whole lot of Lohmann just generally being cranky. Undue emphasis gets placed on a mystery that’s not remotely difficult to figure out (it’s basically Mabuse as The Great And Powerful Oz), and in lieu of Der Spieler's creepy mind-control battles and remarkably sophisticated schemes, we get the ol’ “Heroes left unobserved in lethal circumstances that for some reason won’t be triggered for quite a while yet” routine (which admittedly remained in heavy rotation until finally mortally ridiculed by Austin Powers; still, it’s beneath Lang). The spectral image of Mabuse with enormous eyes and exposed brain packs a wallop, but Testament seems largely uninterested in its skeletal possession narrative (in part because it's trying to avoid tipping who's behind the curtain), forgetting about Baum entirely for long stretches while observing mundane police work. Der Spieler stripped of its title character and everything pervasively diabolical + M minus the homicidal anguish = a film considerably more ordinary than either. And even though Lang had already successfully made the transition to sound, he never seems more at home here than during Testament’s magnificent opening sequence, which is entirely dialogue- and context-free (we have no idea who’s “good” or “bad”), employing rhythmic industrial noises to anxiety-heightening effect. Looked hard again for Nazi subtext, came up just as empty; I really feel like that’s almost entirely hindsight rationalization.