I saw Let's Do it Again and A Piece of the Action on Cinemax, while in high school. Didn't see Uptown Saturday Night until years later, on DVD.

Let's Do it Again also has small roles with George Foreman (as one of Cosby's co-workers) and a young Jayne Kennedy (as a secretary, at the plant whee Cos works). A lot of the actors in these would turn up on the Cosby Show, especially Denise Nicholas (as did Robert Culp). Interesting that Amos & Walker were filming Good Times, at the same time as the film.

Probably I haven't seen enough to really tell but I had the impression that Shaft was a cut above most of the other "blaxploitation" films of the early 70s in terms of production values - the cinematography looked better, the writing was a bit tighter ...

Obviously not including big Hollywood productions like Uptown Saturday Night. I'm comparing it more to Superfly, stuff like that. Also, this is from 30-year old impressions, so not at all reliable. Shaft is one of those movies I first saw in the early 90s, after I bought a VCR.

Shaft and Superfly are both, in terms of production values and acting, a cut above most Blaxploitation films. However, both were still relatively low budget, for Hollywood, since they weren't featuring big name stars and were perceived as having a narrower audience. Their success got others jumping on the bandwagon, for cheaper and cheaper productions.

I just watched Eddie Murphy's Dolemite is My Name, which is fantastic, which covers how Rudy Ray Moore, created the character for stand-up, turned that into comedy albums, then financed the first Dolemite film, which is pretty low budget stuff.

That "Shaft" for ukeleles is the best video of the week! Maybe more.

I'm looking for one for tubas now.

France has long been noted for its detectives, both real and literary. There was Eugene-Francois Vidocq, a former criminal who became a policeman and invented many techniques of modern policing, including plaster casts of footprints, recordskeeping of criminal cases, undercover operations, ballistics, crime scene investigation and more. He was the first director of the Surete Nationale and his history would inspire Emile Gaboriau's detective Monsieur Lecoq. There was Georges Simenon's Jules Maigret and then there was Blake Edwards & Maurice Richlin's Inspector Jacques Clouseau...



Clouseau first comes to light in 1963, in Edwards' film The Pink Panther...



The film features a notorious jewel thief, the Phantom, who is actually Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven). He is plotting to steal the fabulous Pink Panther Diamond from Princess Dala, of Lugash. Dala is on holiday, in Cortina, an Alpine ski resort. Also at the resort is Inspector Jacques Clouseau, of the Surete, who has been chasing after the Phantom, with little success. He is on vacation with his wife, Simone (Capuccine), who is actually the lover and accomplice of Sir Charles Lytton. Also there is Sir Charles' nephew, George (Robert Wagner) a liar and con artist who faked his way through college and wants in on the family business. Sir Charles gets close to Dala by staging a fake kidnapping of her dog (which he thwarts) and arranges for a society patron to throw a lavish party, that will allow him to get to the diamond. Clouseau's wife is fending off George and her husband, while he is looking for the Phantom.

The film is a bedroom farce, without any real sex, which mainly focuses on Sir Charles and his scheme, with Clouseau as his bumbling adversary. Essentially, it follows the old template of the gentleman thief pulp tales of Raffles (and his nemesis Inspector McKenzie, of Scotland Yard) and Arsene Lupin, as well as the criminal Fantomas and his nemesis, Inspector Juve and the journalist Fandor. However, those police inspectors were competent men who would be outwitetd by the genius of Raffles and Lupin, while Clouseau is an arrogant, bumbling fool who can't see the forest for the trees. Clouseau is a supporting character in this first outing; but, Peter Sellers' performance steals the film and movie goers loved it. That would lead to an almost immediate sequel, that isn't a sequel...



A Shot in the Dark was not a Pink Panther script. It was actually a film adaptation of the play of the same name, which was itself adapted from the French farce L'Idiote. That play features a maid to a wealthy household who wakes up naked, in her bedroom, with her lover shot dead and the gun by her side. A magistrate investigates the case, which powerful people want wrapped up quickly, with the maid as their suspect, while the man's ambitious wife wants him to go along. he doubts that she did it, putting him in conflict with his superiors, his wife and the wealthy suspects.

Peter Sellers had signed to do the film before The Pink Panther was released. However, he hated the script and asked Blake Edwards (or the Mirisch Corp execs did, depending on who tells the story) to try to make it work. Either Edwards, Sellers or Mirisch suggested making the magistrate Clouseau (accounts vary) and they rewrote scenes to match this. This is the film that introduces most of the features that would become synonymous with the Pink Panther series. Clouseau is a bumbling, arrogant fool, who has a strange accent, mangles words and can't see real clues in front of him. He gets by on dumb luck. His boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfuss, can't stand his bungling and the man drives him slowly insane. At first, he drives him to fits of rage, then a persistent eye twitch and manic giggle, then to homicide as he tries to kill Clouseau. Clouseau has a servant, named Cato (Kato in this one, until they are warned off and change the spelling), a Chinese valet, who he has try to attack him at any time, leading to battles in his bedroom, interrupting his chance at a romp with the chief suspect, Maria Gambrelli, the maid (Elke Sommer). George Sanders is the wealthy industrialist, whose chauffeur is the first victim. Then, a blackmailing gardener, another maid, and the head butler end up dead. Clouseau and Maria have to escape Dreyfus at a nudist colony and end up in a traffic jam ion a crowded Parisian street.

The film is a hoot and has lots of sight gags, including a running gag of Clouseau trying to watch Maria, in disguise, that keeps getting him arrested and hauled off to jail in a van, with parts of his disguise hanging out the back. It also has Graham Stark, a friend of Sellers, as Hercule LeJoy, Clouseau's assistant. Stark would go on to play different characters in each film.

Both the original movie and A Shot in the Dark feature the music of Henry Mancini, who devised the famous Pink Panther Theme for the film, which was played with the equally famous animated titles, created by the DePatie-Freleng Studios. A Shot in the Dark introduces a new theme and animation that centers around the Inspector character and criminals; but, did not have the Pink Panther in it. The Pink Panther Theme is one of Mancini's greatest pieces of music, a jazzy number that exudes cool...



A Shot in the Dark was another big hit; but, Edwards and Selelrs had a contentious relationship and it got worse over the filming, to the point hey both swore they would never work together again. Edwards went off to do other things and Sellers did his thing. mirisch, however, wanted another film. Sellers kept turning them down, so they decided to recast. Edwards also turned them down, so they turned to Bud Yorkin, a tv director and producer (partner of Normal Lear) and the new Clouseau was Alan Arkin, who had starred in the Mirisch film The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming! The end result was not quite the hit of previous films...



Patrick Cargill (The Prisoner, Father, Dear Father) is Commissioner Braithwaite, who has been tasked to find the loot of the Great Train Robbery. Frank Finlay is one of his detectives, Supt. Weaver. Beryl Reed is his Scottish wife, who has a thing for Clouseau. Barry Foster and Clive Francis are the criminals. It has the germ of a good idea; but not a particularly good script and Arkin's Clouseau ends up being more of an arrogant jerk than the bumbling, but lovable Clouseau of Sellers. Arkin does the silly accent, but not the malapropisms and spoonerisms, the strange pronunciations and there is neither Cato nor Inspector Dreyfus. It has some moments; but, not many of them. At best, the film is a mildly amusing caper comedy; but, Yorkin shoots it in a rather boring manner, the jokes tend to fall flat and there is none of Edwards' style. It also lacks Mancini's music. It does have animated titles, from DePatie-Freleng, with their rendition of the Inspector, who would star in his own cartoons (much like the Pink Panther), voiced by Pat Harrington.

The failure of this film put a damper on things for several years. Sellers and Edwards, despite previous vows, were working on a Clouseau tv series and had a couple of scripts completed. Edwards had pitched a new Clouseau film to Mirisch, who liked the idea; but, United Artists felt Edwards and Sellers were box office poison, after several disappointing films. Edwards cut a deal with Sir Lew Grade to originally finance the tv series; but Grade wanted a film, instead. he agreed to back this and a couple of films for Edwards and wife Julie Andrews. One of the scripts dealt with a new theft of the Pink Panther diamond and it became Return of the Pink Panther...



The film opens with the theft of the Pink Panther Diamond from amuseum, in Lugash. The white glove calling card of the Phantom is left behind. Clouseau has been demoted to uniformed gendarme and misses a bank robbery, which ends up with him on suspension. However, Lugash demands the help of Clouseau to recover the diamond. He goes to Lugashto investigate the scene, then to Nice to track down Sir Charles Lytton, who is allegedly retired. Lytton (Christopher Plummer) is innocent and decides to find the real thief to prove it, lest he be railroaded into jail. He goes to Lugash to look for clues. Meanwhile, Clouseau enters his house, disguised as a telephone repairman (and is spotted by Claudine Lytton immediately) and overhears that she is going to Gstaad and follows her there. Sir Charles has to face criminals who think he has the diamond and the head of the secret police who doesn't care, so long as his emergency powers allow him to gain more control of the country. Meanwhile, someone is trying to kill Clouseau. It all comes to a crashing climax.

Niven was unavailable and Plummer was cast as a very virile Lytton, proving why he was considered as a replacement James Bond, after Connery. He gets some great action scenes, while Erich Pohlman and Graham Stark play the criminals, The Fat Man and Pepe, who are homages to Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, in Casablanca. Catherine Schell, who would co-star in the second season of Space 1999 is Claudine. Herbert Lom is back as Chief Inspector Dreyfus and Burt Kwouk is Cato, who still attacks his master.

This is a hilarious film; best of the bunch. Sellers is in great form and gets his best scenes, including early, as a gendarme, who is distracted by a street musician who is actually the lookout for bank robbers. There, Clouseau contends with the beggair and his filthy "minky". His fight with Cato is a scream, as the destroy his apartment, untiol the phone rings and Cato answers it, then Clouseau sucker punches him. The attempts on his life get wilder and wilder. A scene in Gstaad ahs him sneak into Lady Lytton's room to look for clues, disguised as a cleaner and have to deal with a sarcastic parrot and a bulb that keeps popping out of a light.

Blake Edwards was the grandson of a noted silent film director and he shows the talent as many of Clouseau's scenes involve physical comedy and sight gags, with no dialogue and no music to punch it up. It is pure comedy, some of it wild slapstick, some subtle things. For instance, in Gstaad, he meets Lady Lytton disguised as Guy Gadois, a smarmy ladies man, but loses one end of his fake mustache (over his real one) and has no idea it is gone. Catherine Schell legitimately cracks up as Selelrs does his schtick, which works beautifully, as Lady Lytton is amused by Clouseau.

Herbert Lom's Dreyfus again goes slowly mad, after a series of mishaps that result in him shooting off his nose and accidentally strangling his analyst. In the end, he is the one trying to kill Clouseau.

The film was a massive hit and a sequel soon followed...



Dreyfus escapes a mental institution, after a bout with Clouseau (he had seemed cured, until Clouseau visits him and a series of accidents tips him back over the edge) and after failing to kill Clouseau, arranges the escape of a notorious bank robber and assembles a team of master criminals. he then robs a series of banks to finance his plan. he kidnaps a scientist and his daughter to force the scientist to build a doomsday weapon that disintegrates the UN building. he demands the death of Clouseau or he will destroy a city. Clouseau is called into England to investigate the kidnapping, which leads him to Germany, to locate Dreyfus, while the world's assassins try to kill him, mostly taking out each other. Finally, he locates Dreyfus' castle base and tries to get in, and ultimately succeeds, disguised as a local dentist (Dreyfus has a bad tooth). he is unmasked and runs from Dreyfus' henchmen, while the madman prepares to destroy a city. clouseau's bumbling saves the world.

Dreyfus is turned into a Bond villain and the film parodies spy and detective films, with help from several Avengers veterans, including Cyd Child, the stunt double for Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson. Part of the plot occurs in a gay nightclub, where the scientist's butler has a secret life as a drag performer and singer. Child is the very butch bouncer (dubbed by a male voice) and a massive fight breaks out when the kindappers show up to silence him.

There are great scenes of Clouseau and Cato fighting with martial arts weapons (again destroying his apartment, until the phone rings), Clouseau interrogating the scientist's domestic staff, while destroying a priceless Steinway piano ("Not anymore!"), and his narrowly avoiding death from the assassins. The scenes of him, disguised as the dentist, and Dreyfus, both under the influence of nitrous oxide, are hysterical, as Clouseau ends up pulling the wrong tooth. The film also has great action scenes and is a decent rival to Bond, establishing a potential future for the series.

Next would be Revenge of the Pink Panther...



The French Connection (led by Robert Webber) is out to kill Clouseau, to impress the Mafia, from New York. They send an assassin, Mr Chong (Ed Parker Jr) to do the job; but, he fails. The head of the French Connection, Douvier, also has to get rid of his secretary (Dyan Cannon), when his wife delivers an ultimatum (she has evidence of his crimes with her lawyer, should anything happen to her). Clouseau inadvertently rescues her and they work together, with Cato's help, to stop Douvier and the French Connection, in Hong Kong. It culminates in a gunfight in a fireworks factory. Dreyfus is newly released and gets pulled in, after Clouseau is believed killed (early in the film, which allows him to hide, later).

This one has some funny stuff; but the formula has worn rather thin and Sellers and Edwards could barely get along (Sellers attacked Edwards after Strikes Again, saying he made him look bad). Sellers was also in poor health and would die 2 years later. The story is rather weak and disjointed, and comes in fits and starts and was a disappointment, though it still made money.

Sellers died in 1980. That looked like the end, until 1982, when they put together Trail of the Pink Panther, with deleted footage (mostly from Strieks Again) and new stuff, which brought back the old cast, including Niven, Cappucine and Herbert Lom. Clouseau disappears at sea and a journalist runs a piece on him. It served as an end to Clouseau and sets up Curse of the Pink Panther, when an American bumbling detective (played by Ted Wass, of Soap and Blossom) as the new hero. It was shot simultaneously with Trail, but both are best avoided, as they aren't very funny and were just cash grabs.

In the 90s, they tried again, with Son of the Pink panther, with Roberto Benigni as the son of Clouseau and Maria Gambrelli, of A Shot in the Dark. Elke Sommer did not return; but, Claudia Cardinale did, to play Maria, who ends up in a romance with Dreyfus. The film has moments; but, not many and the romance with Dreyfus and Maria is the highpoint. The failure of that film killed the property, until various remakes were in development, with Robin Williams and Mike Meyers set to play Clouseau, until, ultimately, Steve Martin stepped in for a remake. It wasn't great; but, did well enough for a worse sequel, which seems to have killed things again.

The Sellers films are the ones to watch, especially A Shot in the Dark, return and Strikes Again. The original is a great film, but Clouseau is less developed and it is rather sedate, compared to those later films.

My father took us to see Return of the pink Panther, when I was a kid (we had watched the cartoon show) and we loved it, though some of it was over our heads. We showed up late (when Claudine comes home to find Sir Charles and news of the theft) and missed the opening theft sequence, but stayed to catch what we missed (you could do that, in those days). He took us again when Strikes Back came out, again turning up late (not as far in, but after the sequence in the mental institution) and, again, we stayed to see what we missed; but, this time, my dad let us stay for the entire film. He took us again for revenge (we missed the opening and stayed to catch it, as a tradition). We later watched them on television, when they would turn up. the experiences of missing the openings would forever instill me with the desire to get to the theater early for movies, so I get a good seat and miss nothing. That got a bit tiresome when I would get there 15-20 minutes early, wait for the film to start, then sit through 15-20 minutes of trailers and commercials. I don't go to theaters anymore (I hate modern seating and small theaters, plus prices). I love these films and they are tremendous fun and classic comedy, both verbal and physical, as well as character-driven, with great homages to silent comedians and classic films, plus plenty of naughtiness, without being dirty. Forget the remakes, skip the post-Sellers and stick with the Sellers/Edwards films.

Next up, we look at some silent film heroes and criminals, from France and Germany. Join me for a look at the criminal Irma Vep and Les Vampires and the cloaked avenger, Judex, the grandfather of The Shadow. Then, stay for the master criminals Dr Mabuse and Fantomas.

Millions in Francs are stolen from a bank, in front of dozens of armed guards; who is responsible? Fantomas! A wealthy industrialist is murdered, yet spends weeks looting his own company, before his dead body is discovered; who is responsible? Fantomas! A crowd of people at a gala ball is poisoned by plague-infested rats; who is responsible? Fantomas! A young man's parents are murdered and he is framed for it; who is responsible? Fantomas!



Fantomas is the creation of Marvel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, who launched his criminal deeds in 1911. Fantomas is a master criminal and sociopath; expert at disguises, devilishly creative in murder and mayhem, and forever sought by Inspector Juve, of the Surete. Aiding Juve is the journalist, Fandor, who was the man framed for the murder of his own parents, by Fantomas. His love is Helene, the beautiful step-daughter of Fantomas (who may actually be her biological father. Fantomas acts unseen, murdering, robbing and spreading terror, with his gang of Apaches and wealth of disguises. He unleashes hordes of plague-infested rats, venomous serpents, deadly poisons, all in the name of mayhem and further his crimes.

His true name is unknown as he has masqueraded as many; mostly his victims. For a time, he was Gurn, a veteran of the British Army and the Boer War. He commits murder and assumes the identity of the victim, moving from identity to identity.

Fantomas was a sensation in France, selling thousands of copies of the stories, while also attracting condemnation from the Church and government for glorifying the world of criminals. He was conceived in the mold of Prof. Moriarty, while he was preceded by the criminal Zigomar and the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin. His success spawned imitators, including Tenebas and Belphegor, a Mexican comic strip where he is a masked hero, and, with Lupin, the masked thief Diabloik, in the Italian fumetti. The avant garde took to him immediately, with artists such as Magritte alluding to him in their works. It is no surprise that it didn't take him long to come to film and launch a whole series, both in the silent era and, in the 60s, after James Bond became a hit.

The first Fantomas serial came from Louis Feuillade and is considered a masterpiece...



The serial consisted of 5 parts and starred Rene Navarre, Edmond Breon as Juve and Georges Melchior as Fandor. Each part is subdivided into chapters, some recapping previous events, some presenting cliffhangers.



The serial was a smash hit and an American version was made with Edward Sedgewick, where Fantomas faces detective Fred Dixon (John Willard), with little relation to the French version. In France, it was known as Diablos, to avoid confusion and because of the diversion from the source...



The American serial is played out over 20 chapters, though only the first 12 were shown in France. It was quite popular in the US, though no prints are known to exist, now.

In 1932, a new version was made, with director Pal Frejos, starring Jean Galland and Thomy Bourdelle.



This was followed by Monsieur Fantomas, in 1937, a short, surrealist comedy...

.

This was followed by a 1946 film...



and Fantomas Against Fantomas, in 1949...



However, Fantomas gained its greatest modern popularity in the wake of the james Bond craze, with the 1964 film Fantomas, from Andre Hunabelle, starring Jean Marais as both Fantomas and Fandor, and Louis de Funes as a comical, bumbling Juve.



The film is a blend of espionage, caper comedy amd action-adventure, with marais really shining as hero and villain. This Fantomas appears in a nightmarish blue mask, stylish suit and black gloves...



He operates from a secret underground lair, which is a masterpiece in set design, with it's catacombs curved ceilings, rock outcroppings, tasteful antique and modern furnishing, secret elevator and design elements which make it memorable. Fantomas commits a daring jewel heist from a jewlers, while in disguise, at the opening. Fandor writes a fake interview with the thief, which angers him and he has the man abducted and brought to his lair, threatening his life if he continues. Soon, Juve is working with Fandor. fantomas concots a plan to steal a set of fabulous jewels, from a museum, under Juve's nose, while disguised as Fandor. He escapes out a window and across rooftops, until he climbs onto a crane and swing the arm over, away from the building, where he catches a rope ladder to a waiting helicopter. A chase ensues, which ends with Fantomas on his personal submarine.

The film proved amazingly popular and a sequel, Fantomas se dechaine (Fantomas Returns) followed, in 1965.



Fantomas is even further into the territory of Bond villain, as he kidnaps a scientist to develop a doomsday weapon. he needs another scientist and Fandor disguises himself as the man to lure Fantomas into abducting him and bringing him to his lair. The plan is interrupted by Juve, who is deeper into Clouseau mode, complete with ridiculous disguises and gadget.



Fantomas gets a Ken Adam-style modern lair and escapes Fandor in a Citroen DS, that spouts wings...



Both of these are great fun, with exciting action and tremendous comic scenes, from Funes. A third film followed, but the formula was wearing thing...



Fantomas Against Scotland Yard focuses mostly on Juve, as we are in pure Clouseau territory. Fantomas has placed a "head" tax on the wealthy, collecting from them or killing them. Juve is invited to Scotland to stop Fantomas, by a potential victim. Fantomas is using his castle as a base, complete with missile silos secreted in the towers.

This would prove to be the end of the series, as the result, though often hilarious, never quite rises to the adventure levels of the first two films.

The one coda to Fantomas would be The Artist, with Jean Dujardin. At the beginning of the film, he is filming scenes for a new picture, dressed in top hat and tails and domino mask, looking rather like the early depictions of Fantomas. Fantomas would also appear as one of the early founders of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, in The Venture Brothers and an ancestor to Phantom Limb. Alan Moore made Fantomas one of the members of the French LOEG counterpart, Les Hommes Mysterieux, alongside Arsene Lupin and Robur the Conqueror (from Verne's Clipper of the Clouds aka Robur the Conqueror and the sequel Master of the World).

Fantomas and Moriarty would have a profound effect on our next entry, the German master criminal Dr Mabuse, star of silent and talking films of Fritz Lang and a series of German 1960s crime/horror tales, of decreasing popularity. Come back as we discuss the silent Masterpiece Mabuse der Spieler (Mabuse the Gamble) The Testament of Dr Mabuse that forced Lang to flee Germany, his return with the 1000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse, and the German remakes that would feature Gert Frobe and Wolfgang Preiss.

Lastly, a modern trailer of the Fantomas epic...

Imagine a world where crime rates are out of control. In this world, the poor live in horrible conditions, barely surviving, with multiple people huddled in small rooms or on the streets or abandoned buildings. Imagine the wealthy throwing away money in the pursuit of pleasures, at risque nightclubs and gambling tables. Imagine massive hyper-inflation, where the currency is worthless. This was the real world of the Weimar Republic, the government that governed Germany in the inter-war years, after the abdication of the Kaiser. The German government was forced to bear tremendous war reparations and printed excess currency to meet these demands, devaluing their value to the point of being nearly worthless. Unemployment was massive and people spent their time in a world of alcohol, drugs and vice, throwing rapidly devalued currency away on gambling tables and living for the moment in elaborate cabarets and nightclubs. Prostitution was widespread and crime more so, with gangs fighting for what money there was, while other gangs fought for political power (the Nazis, the communists and the Socialists). Into this world came a novel of a master criminal, inspired by Prof Moriarty, Fantomas and Svengali. He was the creation of journalist Norbert Jacques, formerly of Luxembourg, who lived in Germany. The novel was Dr Mabuse der Spieler (Dr Mabuse, the Gambler) about a criminal overlord who rules an empire of assassins, counterfeiters, con men and gamblers, using cutouts, disguises and elaborate ruses. He is opposed in his actions by police inspector Von Wenk. The novel was a crime thriller, like its inspirations; but, used to form to make social criticisms of life in Weimar Germany.

While the novel was being serialized and was becoming a smash hit, director Fritz Lang and writer Thea Von Harbou began working on an epic 4+-hour film, which would bring the madman to life...



Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Lang's favorite actor, stars as Mabuse, who is aided by a cocaine addicted servant, a chauffeur/assassin, a prostitute/dancer/lookout woman, an inept thug, a pack of blind counterfeiters, and other unwitting. He picks a disguise at random, from a stack of photos, then orchestrates a stock swindle by stealing a classified contract from a man on a train. He then mesmerizes a wealthy man to play badly as he bankrupts him at cards. The wealthy man comes to the attention of Von Wenk, who is investigating the seemingly random crimes of Mabuse's gang. Mabuse tries to hypnotize him and fails, leading Mabuse to flee. He tries to have Von Wenk killed and fails. Part of his gang is captured and he plots to have them kiklled, with the dancer, who loves Mabuse, taking poison secreted to her. Mabuse kidnaps a countess and the manipulates her husband, until he is tracked by Von Wenk and the woman is rescued, while Mabuse is trapped during a gun battle, as he tries to flee via the sewers and ends up locked in a chamber, where he dies.

The film was split into two parts: The Great Gambler: A Picture of the Time and Inferno: A Game for the People of Our Age. The film is noted for advanced techniques, especially during sequences where characters are plagued by nightmares and ghosts. A nighttime car chase was the first effective one of its type. Von Harbou was married to Klein-Rogge; but, began an affair with Lang that resulted in an amicable break up with Klein-Rogge and marriage to Lang, who still used Klein-Rogge in subsequent films. It was shown in the US as a massively edited single film, under 2 hours in length. It was considered a masterpiece of cinema and helped cement Lang as part of the german Expressionist cinematic movement, along with FW Murnau (Nosferatu) and Robert Wiene (Cabinet of Dr Caligari).

Critics and academics, over the years, have found all kinds of themes in the film, some intentional, some representing their own agendas. The film is filled with a satire of the devaluing of German currency, the hedonism in search of escape, the squalor of poor areas and the distance between classes. Some saw anti-semitism in it, as Mabuse's disguises represented figures in heavily Jewish professions. the Nazis saw Mabuse as a Jewish figure and used him as an example of their claims that Jewish bankers and intellectuals were the cause of Germany's defeat by the Allied nations. Others saw a connection between the megalomania and manipulation of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Jacques began work on a sequel, Mabuse's Colony, in which a group of his followers create a civilization based on his principles, in South America; but, it was left unfinished. Instead, Von Harbou and Lang crafted a new film, ten years later; 1933's Das Testament des Dr Mabuse or The Testament of Dr Mabuse...



Klein-Rogge plays a man incarcerated in a mental institution, who writes out page after page of diatribes and plans of conquest through crime and other methods. A disgraced police officer contacts his superior, Inspektor Lohmann, to warn him of a vast criminal conspiracy, but is disappears before revealing who is behind it. He is later institutionalized at the asylum where Mabuse was. Criminals receive orders via a man behind a curtain, speaking into a microphone. One of these men is Thomas Kent,a former boxer conflicted by the crimes he must commit. He confides in Lili, his love, who encourages him to go to the police. One of the doctors at the asylum discovers that the crimes being committed match the writings of the madman and approaches Dr Baum, the elading doctor about it but is ridiculed. Inspector Lohmann discovers Mabuse's name etched into glass at a crime scene and suspects the doctor may be alive. he confers with baum, who states that he died. When Lohmann refers to Mabuse as a criminal maniac, Baum refers to him as a genius. Later, baum is seen studying Mabuse's notes, conferring with his ghost, who merges with him. An attack on a chemical plant is defeated. Kent and Lili lead Lohmann to the office where the gang gets its orders and finds a loudspeaker and empty room. A police siege captures some of Mabuse's killers. they learn of the death of the asylum doctor. Lohmann goes to speak to Baum and Kent and Lili arrive and Lohmann notes Baum's reaction to them. He discovers that Baum planned the attack on the chemical plant. Baum flees, but goes to the cell where the digraced police officer, Hoffmeister, is housed and reveals that he is Mabuse, which brings Hoffmeister out of his trance. Baum is prevented from killing Hoffmeister and ends up a prisoner in his own asylum, tearing up the writings of Mabuse.

The character of Inspektor Lohmann first appeared in Lang's suspense film about a child killer, M, starring Peter Lorre. Otto Wernicke played Lohmann, who investigates the child killings and cracks down on the underworld, forcing them to use their resources to help find the killer. Here, Wernicke again plays Lohmann, hunting for the criminal conspiracy. This is less a satire and more of a direct attack on the Nazis, as Mabuse's writing very closely reflects the speeches and writing of Adolf Hitler. Lang tells of meeting Josef Goebbels about the film, who praised it as brilliant and that it would not be seen. Lang says he then fled the country. In fact, he left earlier, from France, where he shot a French language version, and he escaped through France, eventually to Hollywood. Von Harbou remained behind, willingly assisting the Nazi propaganda machine, until her death in a street accident.

The French version was shown internationally, while the Germans banned the German version. It was shown at a premiere in Budapest. An English dub was shown in the US as The Crimes of Dr Mabuse. The film is a definite indictment of the Nazis and their intentions, likening them to a gang of criminals out to control the world.

That would be it until well after the war, when a revival would come in the 60s. In Occupied Germany, American films gained dominance in German theaters. Local filmmaking was severly hampered by money and resources.One of the producers with connections to important people in the American sector was Arthur Braunner, who had scene Testament as a child and was in awe of it and Lang. With American aid he set up CCC (Central Cinema Company) to produce new films. he worked to entice expatriot German filmmakers, like Robert Siodmak and Fritz Lang to return to Germany and make new films, especially remakes of their old. He enticed Lang to come with promises of filming The Indian Tomb, an unfinished epic, and a remake of Testament of Dr Mabuse. Lang declined to remake Testament; but created a new entry, Die 1,000 Augen des Dr Mabuse, or The 1,000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse.



A reporter is murdered on the highway, on his way to work. A fortune teller contacts the police that he had a vision of thecrime, but not the criminal. A wealthy American industrialist comes to stay at the Luxor Hotel, in Berlin, where he becomes involved in the troubles of a woman in a neighboring suite, who he saves from a suicide attempt and an attack by her abusive husband. Inspektor Kras, the policeman, attends a seance of Cornelius, the fortune teller, who speaks of Dr Mabuse. Kras and Travers (the American) collide and discover a hidden room, where the entire hotel is monitored through secret cameras and transmitters, as it was used for spying on diplomats, during the war. Cornelius is revealed to be Mabuse, who also masquerades as a doctor. A chase ensues, leading to the climax.

Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) was Kras, while Wolfgang Preiss (Longest Day, Raid on Rommel) is Cornelius. Peter Van Eyck (Spy Who Came in from the Cold) is Travers and Dawn Addams the woman in peril. Lang fills it with suspense, expressionist scenes, and plenty of action and a bit of voyeurism, as Adams is seen in states of undress through two-way mirrors and on camera. Again, it is a mixture of crime and horror and was hugely popular in Europe, though less so int he US. Braunner would use it to launch a whole series of Mabuse films, while Lang was forced to retire due to deteriorating eyesight, that left him virtually blind by the end of filming.

The film is an excellent thriller, a modern version of Lang's criminal masterpiece, with a new story, but similar themes. The idea of a spider at the center of various webs was taken from Moriarty, while the criminal attacks on morality was very Fantomas. The manipulation of others was Svengali and Dr Caligari. The character would influence such later fil;ms as The Usual Suspects, with Keyser Soze at the heart of a criminal empire, real or imagined, which brought together the various criminals for a job. He is a template for some of the Bond villains, particularly Goldfinger and Bloefeld, who run vast organizations.

The films would highly influence horror and crime films, and the success of them and the subsequent series spawned a host of krimi films, dealing with petty criminals, gangsters, and even spy films that used the trappings of Lang's masterpieces.

The first of the non-Lang Mabuse films was Im Stahlnetz des Dr Mabuse (The Srteel Web of Dr Mabuse) aka The Return of Dr Mabuse (the US title).



Gert Frobe returned, but as Inspektor Lohmann, who is about to go on a fishing vacation, when he receives a call about a murder of an Interpol courier, who was carrying proof of the Chicago mobs plan to unite with a European criminal organization. FBI agent Joe Como (Lex Barker of the Tarzan series) is sent to liase with German police, and a Mrs Pizarro is the mobs representative to the European gang. Lohmann visits a prisoner who was a member of the European gang to get info. He is unsuccessful. Mrs Pizarro is murdered by a flame thrower, with only a blind man as a witness (shades of M). he describes the sound of a wooden leg, before feeling the heat of the flame thrower. Maria Sabrehm, a reporter (Dahli Lavi) throws questions to Lohmann, who avoids them. Como is nearby and he aids Maria. A book is found on the body, called the Devil's Anatomy. They trace it to a church, where Lohmann catches up to them and Mabuse's voice is heard over a loudspeaker. Como talks to the voice and reveals he is actually part of the Chicago mob. Lohmann goes back to find his witness murdered and he and Como catch the killer, the prisoner he visited earlier. He is brought back to the prison, where the warden insists he is still there, only for them to find a dead man with a wooden leg in his place. mabuse has a drug that is manufactured, in the prison, by Maria's father, who has developed a mind control method. Mabuse is inhabiting the body of the warden, running the gang from the prison. To demonstrate his power, Mabuse uses the mind control drug on the prisoners and sends them to attack a nuclear plant.

The film is a bit slow in spots, and twists back on itself a couple of times; but, it a pretty darn good mix of crime & suspense and horror. Frobe makes an excellent Lohmann, though he lacks Wernicke's vibrant personality. Barker is rather stiff as Como, who is an FBI man, revealed to be a mob undercover man, who is in fact in the FBI, infiltrating the mob. Lavi is mostly there to drive the plot and be rescued, as Como has to save her from a deathtrap, after she has been kidnapped. Preiss is excellent in his role and he will continue to portray Mabuse in the series, usually in disguise.

The remake of Testament would follow (also known as The Terror of Dr Mabuse, in some prints), with Frobe as Lohmann. It mostly follows the original, with some minor alterations.



One of the main differences is a later scene where Lohmann is a prisoner of Mabuse/Baum, at the asylum...



Next up was Scotland Yard vs Dr Mabuse, with Peter Van Eyck returning, as Maj. Bill Tern, an Army officer, and Klaus Kinski as Inspector Joe Wright. Preiss is also back as Mabuse's ghost. The Dr is now a spirit that possesses others and starts with the docotr that ran the previous asylum. he goes to England to steal mind control experiments and is chased by Scotland Yard. Klinski's character is mind controlled by the doctor.



The story was actually adapted from a novel by Bryan Edgar Wallace, son of prolific pulp writer Edgar Wallace, who write hundreds of mystery and crime stories, many adapted for film, including the original King Kong. The film is rather slow, with some good moments, here and there; but, is a fairly weak entry into the series.

Die Todesstrahlen des Dr Mabuse,(The Secret of Dr Mabuse), aka The Death Ray of Dr Mabuse was next, with Van Eyck as another character. This one was more in line with an espionage film, which finds Secret Service Agent Bill Anders trying to locate a death ray invention that is sought by Dr Mabuse. The climax features Anders and a troop of frogmen attacking an island base.



I left out The Invisible Dr Mabuse (Die unsichtedbaren Krallen des Dr Mabuse), which features You Only Live Twice's Karin Dor as a woman who is being driven insane at a theater, where she is performing. This one is more of a horror film, with some sci-fi elements.



Lex Barker co-starred, as this fell between Return of and Testament of Dr Mabuse.

Death Ray would be it for several years, until the vengeance of Dr Mabuse was filmed by Jess Franco, in 1970. There is little to recommend in this very low budget version, from the director of Castle of Fu Manchu (which nearly broke Joel and the Bots).

1984 saw The Image of Dorian Gray in the Yellow Press, which has a female Mabuse as a media mogul, in a film that satirizes the tabloid press.

1990 saw French director Claude Chabrol make Dr M (aka Club Extinction), a loose remake of Dr Mabuse the Gambler.



The plot has a detective investigating a series of suicides that seems to be tied to one man. reviews were pretty harsh and it's B-movie material, at best.

2013 and 2014 saw 2 Dr Mabuse remakes, Dr Mabuse and Dr Mabuse: Eptiomar.



The German synth-pop band Propaganda had a minor hit with the song Mabuse, in 1984, with a video that featured Vladek Sheybal (From Russia With Love, Smiley's Peope) as Mabuse...



The popularity of Dr Mabuse was always greater in Europe, especially Germany and the German-speaking world; but, the 60s films were staples of syndicated film packages. There is tremendous potential for a modern Mabuse, in the right hands, especially with the modern world of multinational conglomerates, and wealth inequality, to make the same kind of social and political statements.

The closest expression has been in the form of the German tv series, Babylon Berlin, based on a series of detective novels, set in Weimar Germany. the tv series has a cinematic quality that draws heavily on things like Cabaret, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Dr Mabyse. the series sees a young police detective, Inspector Gereon Rath, who is seconded to the Berlin police, from Cologne, seeking criminals who are blackmailing an official in Cologne. he gets mixed into a secret conspiracy to lay hand on a train shipment of gold, fromt he Soviet Union, a mysterious doctor who uses hypnosis on veterans of the War (Gereon is also a veteran) and looks at the political battles, the hedonist lifestyle, the income disparity and violent crime that dominated Weimar Berlin. There is much Mabuse in this series, which is about to return for a third series. The first two were screened on Netflix.

(warning, some skimpy dancer costumes, including pasties)




co-producer/director Tom Tykwer was the director of the excellent and stylish film Run Lola, Run, with Franka Potente (Bourne Identity) as a young woman who's boyfriend has lost a consignment of cash he was carrying for gangsters. She has to help him replace it or he will be killed. The film has different outcomes, depending on whether Lola bumps into someone or not, plus we see their side stories in quick montages.

The tv series is outstanding and has spawned a comic series, from Titan. At least the first novel has also been translated to English, for the US.

Sticking with the world of German cinema and Fritz Lang, we next look at his psychological masterpiece, M, about the hunt for a child murderer.