I welcome writer Holger Haase to the show to discuss the 1960’s Dr. Mabuse films! Holger has written an essay published for Kindle called ‘The Many Masks of Dr. Mabuse: Mabuse in the 1960s’ and reading this prompted me to finally talk directly to Holger. The two of us have known each other for decades but it took our mutual love of these German crime films to use the internet to speak in a non-text based way. It was a little weird.
We go (mostly) chronologically through the six films discussing each in turn. If you want to follow along at home here’s a list of the movies we talk about in this episode:
1. THE 1000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE (1960)
2. THE RETURN OF DR. MABUSE (1961)
3. THE INVISIBLE DR. MABUSE (1962)
4. THE TESTEMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1962)
5. DR. MABUSE VS SCOTLAND YARD (1963)
6. THE DEATH RAY OF DR. MABUSE (1964)
We touch on the cast members with extra attention to the ones that show up in multiple films even when their character’s names mysteriously change. Scriptwriter Ladislas Fodor’s impressive career is discussed as well as directors Fritz Lang and Harald Reinl who brought their many talents to the series. This series of films seems to have been forgotten over the past couple of decades, overshadowed by the original Lang films from 1922 and 1933. We hope to spur some interest in cinema fans curious to discover the hidden joys of these clever crime movies. They really are addictive!
If you have thoughts on the Mabuse films or the krimi cycle that they parallel thebloodypit@gmail.com is where you can send them. We’ll be happy to hear from you. Thanks for listening.
2 comments:
Hi Rod,
I just had the great pleasure to listen to you and fellow compatriot Holger discussing the Mabuse series of the 60's. This episode was immensely entertaining and full of interesting little details about the creators behind this wonderful section of post 2nd WW European cinema. Your chemistry with Holger was flawless and I loved how you ignited each others enthusiasm for the films and their background. Always great to hear about old character actors like Peters (probably not discussed enough in current times), but also the way that directors and producers took the material and made it their own. I watched probably all of the Mabuse films on TV a long time ago and it is definitely time for a rewatch. I liked your little detour into the works of Harald Reinl. I have to say that his version of "Die Nibelungen" is still on my "to watch" pile, but it would be a great content for a future episode with Holger comparing it to the older version of Lang. I guess it will be hard to match some aspects like e.g. the wonderful classic "Hagen von Tronje" (who is really a wonderful villain with a unique look), but I am sure the Reinl version has a lot to offer. I am looking forward to another pairing with Holger!
As per Armin's comments, it was a great episode and Holger really knows his stuff so please have him on again.
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