Ron Hier and I worked on many films and screenplays together. Our first production, in 1970, was the gothic horror Blood Creature From Beyond the Grave, based on the German Expressionist movies of the 1920s. The dominant filmmaker of that time was Fritz Lang, straddling the transition between silent and sound movies, proving himself a master of both. We saw Metropolis and M, both major influences on our own work, but I’d never seen the Dr Mabuse films until recently (you couldn’t just tell the TV to show you anything you liked, as you can now). Lang directed three of them, though there were several knockoffs. The first two, though very different, were quite fascinating.

The first and original, Doctor Mabuse the Gambler, was a 4-hour silent film, released in 2 parts in 1922. Germany was at the time suffering the onerous effects of the World War I reparations, and it offered an escapist view of the doings of the rich and well-born members of society. The evil Dr Mabuse gains money and power through his hypnotic powers and finally, driven mad by the spirits of his many victims, ends up in an asylum.

The second in the series, The Testament of Dr Mabuse (1933), was a talkie, so the conventions were quite different. As were the politics of the time. During the filming, the Nazis were gaining power, and by the time it was set to be released, they had a firm grip on the country. However Lang, according to himself (though his recollections vary from interview to interview), was warned by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels that, though they loved his work and wanted him as an official filmmaker, The Testament of Dr Mabuse must be banned in Germany. Why? According to Lang, Goebbels gave the nonsensical explanation that he objected to the ending, wherein Mabuse escaped being killed by the righteous wrath of the people. He could have pointed out, as he did later to a different audience, that the real reason was the fact that the story was a clear allegory of the rise of Nazism, as well as its possible overthrow. Unlike the first film where he was after strictly material gain, in the second Mabuse uses his dedicated followers to commit massive, senseless crimes on a worldwide scale. His goal: to destroy the establishment and emerge as the king of a chaotic new world order. Some of his rantings were direct quotes from Hitler himself.

So why did Goebbels tell Lang that the problem was with the ending? The answer is that both Lang and Goebbels knew what the real ending of Testament was, and what it meant. I thought I knew too, because when I watched the film recently, the ending seemed quite clear, laying the groundwork for an epic Part 3. But when I searched the net for reviews, none of them seemed to have picked up on what actually happened. Viewing it again, though, I think I was right.

In Testament, Mabuse supposedly dies halfway through the film, but Baum, the head of the asylum, is possessed by his spirit and continues his crimes. Meanwhile, police spy Hofmeister (who bears more than a passing resemblance to Goebbels himself) has been driven insane and is confined to a cell in Baum’s asylum. As the authorities close in at the end (see the video below), Mabuse appears in spirit form and guides Baum to Hofmeister’s cell. He then fully possesses Baum’s body and introduces himself to Hofmeister as Mabuse. There is an unseen struggle between Baum/Mabuse and Hofmeister. Hearing the fray, the attendants rush in and, when the police inspector arrives, they lead Hofmeister out of the cell. Hofmeister smiles, chuckles and greets the policeman maniacally: "Herr Kommissar!" He then regains his composure and announces: "That man is named Mabuse, Herr Kommissar. Doctor Mabuse." The attendants lead him away, and the camera switches to Baum, lying on the bed in the cell, blank-eyed, ripping up Mabuse’s manifesto. And that is where it ends. We are supposed to believe, like all the reviewers I have read, that Mabuse, who has not made a false move in the entire film, has gone totally mad, and will live out his life trapped in the insane Baum’s head. Watch the video below to see the crucial scene. What do you think really happened?

Myself, I think that what Lang intended, and what Goebbels understood but could not say, is that Mabuse’s spirit has abandoned Baum and now possesses the body of the supposedly cured Hofmeister. And that he will go on, as Goebbels, to commit crimes unimagined by even the evil doctor himself (of course in real life, those crimes would lead to the total destruction of Goebbels, his master, his philosophy, and his country). If Lang had had the chance to make the third Mabuse film at that time (The Triumph of Dr. Mabuse?), I believe that is what it would have been about. What do you think? Let me know below.*

Whatever the case, Lang interpreted the ban as an excellent reason to leave Germany far behind. He moved to America and spent most of the rest of his life making Hollywood movies, but his last film in 1960 was a German production of The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, the third and least memorable of the series (Mabuse wasn’t even in it!).The real Doctor Mabuse died in 1945, but he always comes back, and his political philosophy is apparently on the rise again. Here’s hoping it meets the same fate, and that it doesn’t take a world war to do it.

*And while you’re at it, you can also try to explain the other great mystery of this film. How on earth did the spirit of Mabuse pick up the papers and give them to Baum without CGI? Suggestions welcome.

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