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Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) poster

1922 · thriller · crime

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

Directed by Fritz Lang4h 31m1922

Dr. Mabuse and his organization of criminals are in the process of completing their latest scheme, a theft of information that will allow Mabuse to make huge profits on the stock exchange. Afterwards, Mabuse disguises himself and attends the Folies Bergères show, where Cara Carozza, the main attraction of the show, passes him information on Mabuse's next intended victim, the young millionaire Edgar Hull. Mabuse then uses psychic manipulation to lure Hull into a card game where he loses heavily. When Police Commissioner von Wenk begins an investigation of this mysterious crime spree, he has little to go on, and he needs to find someone who can help him.

Our read: Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) reads as a heavy, steady, grounded thriller · crime entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

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Cast
Rudolf Klein-RoggeAud Egede-NissenGertrude WelckerAlfred AbelBernhard Goetzke
Movie DNA

Heavy, steady, measured thriller / crime, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.

ElsewhereIMDb7.810kRT94%TMDB7.7210
  • heavy
  • intense
  • bleak
  • signature
Game · before you press play

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Where the cast leads
Metropolis (1927) poster
Metropolis
1927
2 cast reunion
Rudolf Klein-Rogge · Alfred Abel · Fritz Lang
adjacent
Phantom (Murnau) (1922) poster
Phantom (Murnau)
1922
2 cast reunion
Aud Egede-Nissen · Alfred Abel
near DNA
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) poster
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
1933
Rudolf Klein-Rogge + Fritz Lang
Rudolf Klein-Rogge · Fritz Lang
near DNA
Spies (1928) poster
Spies
1928
Rudolf Klein-Rogge + Fritz Lang
Rudolf Klein-Rogge · Fritz Lang
near DNA
Rudolf Klein-Rogge
actor path
The Testament of Dr. Mabusenear DNASpiesnear DNAMetropolisadjacent
Aud Egede-Nissen
actor path
Phantom (Murnau)near DNA
Alfred Abel
actor path
Phantom (Murnau)near DNAMetropolisadjacent
DNA · twelve axes

How Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want a silent Weimar epic of hypnotic crime and collapsing society.”

ends unsettlingit stays with youa slow buildgrips from the openattention 5/5feels its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
Heads-upgraphic violencedrug usesuicide theme

Skip it tonight — Skip if four-plus hours of intertitles after 10pm sounds impossible.

If Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler is your film
Metropolis (1927)
Fritz Lang's monumental vision of modern power
(unless sci-fi spectacle over crime saga)
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Lang's sound-era return to the same mastermind
(if four hours already feels enough)
M (1931)
Berlin underworld dread and moral panic
(unless you need the pulpier villain)
Nearest by DNA

Eight films that feel like this one.

Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, with why →

Greed (1924) poster
Greed1924 · a stretch
Arsenal (1929) poster
Arsenal1929 · a stretch
La Chienne (1931) poster
La Chienne1931 · a stretch
M (1931) poster
M1931 · a stretch
Pandora's Box (1929) poster
Pandora's Box1929 · a stretch
The Joyless Street (1925) poster
The Joyless Street1925 · a stretch
The Wind (Sjöström) (1928) poster
The Wind (Sjöström)1928 · a stretch
By the Law (1926) poster
By the Law1926 · a stretch
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