Mabuse Lives! Dr. Mabuse at CCC: 1960-1964

Although the Bond films made supervillains a household name, the idea of a megalomaniacal, mentally-unstable, criminal mastermind had been a literary staple for quite a while.  From Sherlock Holmes’ arch nemesis Professor Moriarty to the yellow peril of Fu Manchu, the concept of a bad guy out to conquer not just his own zip code but the whole world seemed to be a product of the pending international threat and paranoia that led to WW1. France had Fantomas which inspired a series of books and films while Germany had Dr. Mabuse, a master of disguise and mesmerism whose web of spies infiltrated every corner of the criminal underground.  The first film version in 1922 was brought to the screen by none other than director Fritz Lang who was convinced to reboot the franchise in 1960’s The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, which finds the doctor – or perhaps someone inspired by his nihilistic tendencies – back on the world stage in a big way.

So with all that background out of the way, we come to Eureka Video’s marvelous box set Mabuse Lives! Dr. Mabuse at CCC: 1960-1964, a collection of six of the titular supervillain’s escapades produced by CCC Studios in Germany throughout the ‘60s.  That this coincided with the rise of Bond and all things spy oriented is no surprise as each film becomes subsequently more indebted to the cinematic trends of the day. But each is a grab bag of trapdoors, gadgets, secret identities, secret agents and gorgeous femme fatales that work overtime to entertain.

As previously mentioned, The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960) is the only film with Fritz Lang’s creative stamp.  It was also his final film as a director and the most prescient film in the franchise by anticipating the rise of technological surveillance and political blackmail.  Starring Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) as a working-class detective investigating the deaths of a dozen guests who just happened to stay at the same hotel, the film sets the stage for the rest of the Mabuse cinematic universe.  The rules are simple:  there are no rules!   No one can be trusted, no one is who they say they are, and everyone is fair game.

While the tone of the first film is rather grim, things loosen up for the rest of the series, which sees many actors returning in the same or slightly different roles.  The Return of Dr. Mabuse finds the doctor commanding an army of hypnotized prisoners to destroy nuclear power plants.  The Invisible Dr. Mabuse adds a dash of Universal horror with the madman out to possess a scientific device that makes its wearer, yep, invisible.  The Testament of Dr. Mabuse heads in prequel territory while the final two films – Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuseand The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse – up the apocalyptic ante.

A playfully gruesome and inventive throwback to serialized adventure stories - and more contemporary espionage films, the Mabuse series is wildly entertaining stuff that goes out on a limb to keep you guessing.  There’s a hint of film noir in the expressionist photography, some giallo in the ridiculous plotting and plenty of ‘50s era sci-fi special effects to bring the doctor’s elaborate plans to life.  In short, there’s something foreveryone…no hypnosis required.

Extras include a great series of introductions from Tim Lucas, broken up by film so you can follow along with the series’ progression.  The film themselves look terrific and include English dubs on select films along with alternate endings, interviews, a new video essay on Kriminology, an archival commentary on The Thousand Eyes and new commentaries on all the rest.  Included but not available for review is a 60-page collector’s booklet and hardbound slipcase.  The entire set is limited to 2000 copies.   Trust me, you will want this on your shelf.

 

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