roverrocks Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Greatly enjoyed watching "The Testament of Dr. Mebuse" last night. The first time I had seen this fine German movie. Thanks TCM for showing it. Much appreciated. Really enjoyed Otto Wernicke as investigator Lohmann. He stole the movie I thought. Were Liessem as Lilli was gorgeous and adorable. I fall in love with a different starlet every week. Once again, thanks TCM for showing old foreign language classics such as this one. Windows on bygone days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewannie Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 I DVRed it for viewing at a later date, but I did see it once in college. A German history class I took showed many German films including this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Oh, no! Change the spelling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roverrocks Posted October 5, 2013 Author Share Posted October 5, 2013 Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse. My bad. I am thumping my fingers with a ruler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 This is a weird movie. I still don't understand it, although I've seen it 3 or 4 times. However, it fascinates me how much some of these characters sound and act like pre-Nazis, the way they act, the way they talk, and the way they set out to completely destroy their country and the rest of Europe. Also, every time I see it, I feel like I'm watching a pre-noir, because of the great photography, lighting, and acting, and all the shadows and weird dangerous characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roverrocks Posted October 5, 2013 Author Share Posted October 5, 2013 preNazis = hundreds of years of Prussian history, militaristic society and paranoia culminating in the utterly devastating (to Germany) defeat in WW1, subsequent to WW1 civil war between the German Reds and right-wing Freikorps, and then the Great Depression. I'm so glad I wasn't a German living thru the 1920's and 1930's. A frightening place and existence caught between the violent Communists/Bolsheviks on one extreme and the violent far-right Nationalists/preNazis on the other. I sure agree that it is hard to understand and noir-like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Yes, I agree, what an awful time to live in Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SippyCup Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 A very entertaining movie with a little bit of everything--a criminal genius, a clever police inspector on his trail, a love story, shoot outs, car chases, a perils of Pauline watery escape, etc., and some wonderful direction and visuals. I agree that Lohman does steal the show, at least in part because Rudolf Klein-Rogge really doesn't have much to do in his brief time on screen. According to Wiki, Lang later thought that he would have left the supernatural elements out. To me it's kind of confusing exactly where Dr. Mabuse's spirit is and who he is inhabiting at certain times. The ironic thing is that Goebbels didn't like the film because it showed that a criminal enterprise has the potential of overthrowing the power of the state. While Lang may have seen the Nazis as a criminal band, the Nazis saw themselves as the state that was threatened by criminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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