Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)
English Title: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
Directed By: Fritz Lang
Written By: Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou
Starring: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Otto Wernicke, Oscar Beregi Sr., Gustav Diessl
Length: 124 min.
Genre: Crime Drama
Dr. Mabuse seems to have found a way to run his criminal organization for the mental hospital he's locked up in. Inspector Karl Lohmann (same character as in M, but I don't believe that was ever referenced) is on the case.
I'm starting to think that I must just not like Fritz Lang movies for whatever reason. Well, I like them, but I don't hold them up as much as others. Of course I thought Metropolis was a masterpiece, but I went back over my old reviews to see how I scored Lang's other movies. Spies (1928) 5/10, Woman in the Moon (1929) 6/10, M (1931) 6/10. And here's another crime drama that I liked, but didn't think it was noteworthy.
And that's what really disappointed me about this movie. It had it's twists and turns. It had a big reveal. It should have been a movie that I really enjoyed. There was nothing wrong with the plot, but I just wasn't drawn in at all. In my review for "Woman in the Moon", I said "It wouldn't be a Fritz Lang movie if it didn't last forever". This movie probably could have lost a good 15 minutes. Then the pacing might have felt right. Many scenes in this movie felt like they dragged on a good minute more than they needed to.
There were some good shots and effects, though. I particularly liked the way one assassination scene was shot. Overall though, I did like the plot, the acting, but I thought the pacing was way too slow. And, something else. I can't quite put my finger on it, but just like the M, I just simply could not get into the movie.
My Rating: 6/10
IMDB User Rating: 7.9/10 (10k votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% Critics (16-2), 90% of Audience (4.0 / 5 ; 5k votes)