After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.
By 1932, the character had become rather more than just king villain of the serials: Testament finds him mouthing undisguised Nazi slogans from his asylum prison.
– ,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
The movie captures an air of dread, despair, and individual impotence -- a political atmosphere that meshed perfectly with Lang's raging paranoia.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
24 Apr 2003
fresh:
It is a hallucinating and horrifying story, depicted with great power and the extraordinary beauty of photography that Lang has led his admirers to expect.
– Herbert L. Matthews,
New York Times,
9 May 2005
rotten:
The story is very long-winded and even an ingenious director like Fritz Lang could not prevent its being rather slow-moving in places.