DR. MABUSE VS. SCOTLAND YARD (aka: Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse)
(director/writer: Paul May; screenwriter: Ladislas Fodor/Norbert Jaques/from the novel “The Device” by Bryan Edgar Wallace; cinematographer: Nenad Jovicic; editor: Walter Wischniewsky; music: Rolf Wilhelm; cast: Peter van Eyck (Major Bill Tern), Werner Peters (Inspector Vulpius), Agnes Windeck (Gwendolyn Tern), Dieter Borsche (George Cockstone), Sabine Bethmann (Nancy Masterson), Klaus Kinski (Inspector Joe Wright), Wolfgang Preiss (Dr. Mabuse’s Ghost), Agnes Windeck (Princess Diana), Hans Nielsen (Chief of Scotland Yard), Walter Rilla (Dr. Pohland / ‘Dr. Mabuse’), Albrecht Schoenhals (Sir Robert General Allingham), Wolfgang Lukschy (Ernest Hyliard); Runtime: 90; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Artur Brauner; Something Weird Video; 1963-Germany-in German dubbed in English)
“It’s a much weaker version of the Lang sci-fi mystery stories.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
German filmmaker Paul May (“Because You Are Poor, You Die Sooner”) directs this muddled sequel to the noted Fritz Lang serial about mastermind criminal Dr. Mabuse. It’s a much weaker version of the Lang sci-fi mystery stories, but does capture its spirit. It’s based on the novel “The Device” by Bryan Edgar Wallace and is written by Ladislas Fodor and Norbert Jaques.
The evil Dr. Mabuse dies in Germany but a new doctor, Dr. Pohland (Walter Rilla), takes his place as the spirit of Mabuse lives on through him. The new Dr. Mabuse enslaves people with his stolen mind-controlling camera that makes them carry out his orders. The only thing that can stop this device from functioning are hearing aids or sleep.
After practicing to see if the device works by having a gentle postman in Hamburg, without any motivation, be the unlikely killer of a popular professor, the now satisfied Dr. Mabuse uses the device to inflict a crime wave in England. It’s up to Major Bill Tern (Peter van Eyck) of Scotland Yard and Hamburg Inspector Vulpius (Werner Peters) to team up and crack the case. The Major is helped by his know-it-all doddering mother Gwendolyn (Agnes Windeck), who is around for comic relief.
Klaus Kinski plays a Scotland Yard inspector whose thought process is controlled by the device. Agnes Windeck plays Princess Diana, whose valuable jewels are stolen by a trustworthy insider who is controlled by the device. Dieter Borsche plays the disgraced English scientist George Cockstone, who is freed from a German jail by an escape organized by Dr. Mabuse so that he can work for the mad scientist in Great Britain.
REVIEWED ON 8/6/2009 GRADE: C+ https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/