The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse

"Dr. Mabuse is on the loose!"

1960 1h 39m DE

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 116

CrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

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A reporter is murdered while driving to his job. The Police are contacted by a clairvoyant who saw the death in a vision, but some dark force is preventing him from seeing the man behind the crime...

“Dr. Mabuse is on the loose!”

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Cast

Peter van Eyck
Henry B. Travers
Gert Fröbe
Detective Inspector Kras
Wolfgang Preiss
Prof. Jordan / Peter Cornelius / Dr. Mabuse
Dawn Addams
Marion Menil
Werner Peters
Hieronymus B. Mistelzweig
Andrea Checchi
Hotel Detective Berg
Howard Vernon
No. 12
David Cameron
Michael Parker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Heinz Oskar Wuttig, Fritz Lang
Languages: German
Countries: France, Germany, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Dr. Mabuse Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Karl Löb. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Gerhard Becker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Waltraut Wischniewsky shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter van Eyck and Gert Fröbe and Wolfgang Preiss carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Dr. Mabuse is on the loose!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fritz Lang directs. Karl Löb behind the camera. Gerhard Becker scores. Waltraut Wischniewsky cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Germany, Italy. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

166 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Italy.
3Part of the "Dr. Mabuse Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Karl Löb. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Gerhard Becker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Waltraut Wischniewsky shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Peter van Eyck and Gert Fröbe and Wolfgang Preiss carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Dr. Mabuse is on the loose!".
9IMDB entry: tt0054371 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Karl Löb
Original score: Gerhard Becker
Editing: Waltraut Wischniewsky
Production design: Erich Kettelhut
Costume design: Ina Stein
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: DE
IMDB: The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960)

Part of

Dr. Mabuse Collection

Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (German: Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler) is the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series about the character Doctor Mabuse who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques. It was directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1922. The film is silent and would be followed by the sound sequels The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) and The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960). It is four and a half hours long and divided into two parts, originally released a month apart. The title, Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler, makes use of three meanings of the German Der Spieler which can mean gambler, puppeteer, or actor. The character Dr. Mabuse, who disguises himself, manipulates people, and is a notorious gambler, embodies all senses of the word. Therefore, the Player might be a more appropriate translation of the title. The film is included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, being the first of five Lang films to be entered.