Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit) (Dr. Mabuse, King of Crime) (1922)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 13
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 1
liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 2,171
Movie Info
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler is the eight-reel version of Fritz Lang's twenty reeler, two-part silent thriller, Dr. Mabuse. Mabuse (Rudolph Klein-Rogge) a sinister mesmerist/psychiatrist, toys with the weaknesses of the rich and influential. He worms his way into the confidence of wealthy men, plays cards with them, hypnotizes them into cheating at their businesses, then puts them in a position to be blackmailed so that he can corner the stock market. A devilishly ingenious plan-but Mabuse is up
Jan 1, 1922 Wide
Aug 28, 2001
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Cast
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Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Dr. Mabuse -
Aud Egede Nissen
Cara Carozza -
Gertrude Welcker
Graefin Told -
Alfred Abel
Graf Told -
Bernhard Goetzke
Von Wrenk -
Paul Richter
Edgar Hull -
Grete Berger
Fine -
Paul Biensfeldt
Mann der die Pistole... -
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Julius Falkenstein
Karsten -
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Georg John
Pesch -
Karl Platen
Diener Tolds -
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Hans Adalbert von Sc...
Georg -
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Lydia Potechina
Russin
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All Critics (14) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (1) | DVD (10)
Lang's introduction to Mabuse is typical of his early work in being disorganised and erratically paced as a narrative, but shot through with flashes of inspiration.
Top CriticPlays like the stream of a not very pleasant consciousness.
...a bit unwieldy in terms of structure, but it's worth the sit for the eventual flashes of Lang's visual genius.
Visions, sets and even words come alive in Lang's epic
Though disjointed and poorly paced and the plot makes little sense, there are inspirational moments throughout.
One of the silent era's best and most exciting epics, the hyper-modern Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler has scarcely aged a day in nearly ninety years.
Uneven but sometimes outstanding film.
Straightforward enough -- but also unique enough -- to provide an excellent primer to Lang's early work.
This Mabuse has only pretensions to myth; he's as mortal as they come and Lang's film slowly (very slowly) leads him down a Fibonacci-spiraled path to the one true salvation--insanity.
In Europe Mabuse is as familiar an icon of horror as Count Dracula or Frankenstein's Monster. It began here, with Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler ('...the Gambler').
This is wonderfully exuberant cinema, delighting in the possibilities of the art form.
Audience Reviews for Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit) (Dr. Mabuse, King of Crime)
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
The film's familiar "supervillain" plot is still a fixture of Hollywood cinema. Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is a psychoanalyst whose mystical powers of mesmerism allow him to control people. This makes him a terror at baccarat, where his glaring eyes compel opponents to make losing choices. He is also a master of disguise (the film's most reliable source of fun), and thus pulls off all sorts of devilish tricks without anyone realizing they're the work of a single person. His crimes are not limited to gambling, and eventually span counterfeiting, rioting, commodities fraud and murder.
However, a crafty state attorney named Von Wenk (Bernard Goetzke) finally notices the pattern, and becomes the first authority to pose a serious threat to Mabuse's underworld reign. The battle of wits between these formidable adversaries is the story's core.
The film's daunting length is mostly due to all the extended caper sequences. The first two schemes alone span the opening 40 minutes. Subplots with two alluring women -- an exotic dancer who's an accomplice to Mabuse, and a countess who ducks Mabuse's romantic advances and helps out Von Wenk -- also chew up plenty of time. The fate of the countess's vulnerable husband becomes another important element, depicted in detail.
Where "Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler" falls short of other Lang classics is its visual imagery. Outside of one secret casino (a performance stage can lower over a retractable dealer's table at a moment's notice), the dazzling sets of films like "Metropolis" and "Die Nibelungen" are in short supply. There are a few notable effects and props -- hypnotic words superimposed over the action, a shot of Mabuse's "floating" head, a couple of laughably phallic costumes from a burlesque show, one multi-image segment with avenging ghosts -- but most scenes take place in everyday room interiors. Still, Klein-Rogge's bulging eyes are practically a special effect on their own.
Super Reviewer
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Foreign Titles
- Dr. Mabuse - Der Spieler (DE)
- Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922) (UK)
