Die Todesstrahlen des Dr. Mabuse (1964)

Directors:

Hugo Fregonese
Victor De Santis

Writers:

Ladislas Fodor (writer)
Norbert Jacques (characters)

Release Date:

1967 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

The evil Dr. Mabuse develops a death ray with which he threatens the world. |

Plot Keywords:

Death Ray | Beautiful Woman | Evil Scientist | Character Name In Title

Cast

Peter van Eyck	...	Maj. Bob Anders
O.E. Hasse	...	Prof. Larsen
Yvonne Furneaux	...	Gilda Larsen (as Yvonne Fourneaux)
Rika Dialina	...	Judy
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Dr. Mabuse (archive footage)
Walter Rilla	...	Prof. Pohland
Ernst Schröder	...	Chefarzt
Robert Beatty	...	Col. Matson
Valéry Inkijinoff	...	Dr. Krishna
Dieter Eppler	...	Kaspar
Claudio Gora	...	Direktor Botani / Dr. Mabuse
Gustavo Rojo	...	Mario Monta
Massimo Pietrobon	...	Jason Monta
Charles Fawcett	...	Cmdr. Adams (as Charly Fawcett)
Leo Genn	...	Adm. Quency

Also Known As:

I raggi mortali del Dr. Mabuse (Italy)
Les rayons de la mort du Dr. Mabuse (France)
Mission spéciale au 2ème bureau (France)
The Death Ray Mirror of Dr. Mabuse
The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse (International: English title) (literal title)
The Devilish Dr. Mabuse
The Secret of Dr. Mabuse (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

West Germany | France | Italy

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

Trivia:

Wolfgang Preiss does not appear in this movie although he is listed in the credits.

Movie Connections:

Spin off Dr. M (1990)

Dr. Mabuse goes James Bond.

This movie is a true direct sequel to "Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse" from 1 year earlier. Normally you don't need to watch any of the other Dr. Mabuse movies in order to watch just one but this movie might be an exception to that.

All of the Dr. Mabuse movies from the '60's have sort of the same style as the early James Bond movies but since the first Dr. Mabuse movie from the '60's is from 1960 and the first James Bond movie is from 1962 it's not completely fair to call the Dr. Mabuse movies a rip-off from the James Bond movie, since it obviously had developed its style before the first James Bond movies became an huge success. Nevertheless its very much thinkable that the '60's Dr. Mabuse movies were inspired by the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming since it obviously shows some similarities in its odd gadgets and way the villain and his organization is often being portrayed, as well as his plan to 'take over the world'. On top of that, I think that this particular Dr. Mabuse movie is still more inspired on the James Bond movies nevertheless. There are a bit too many similarities this time to call it a coincidence.

Not only does the movie feature all kind of odd gadgets again and is the villain once more portrayed in a Blowfeld kind of way but also for the first time the movie is set at different places and the main character travels to exotic locations. But there also are some small other similarities such as in the camera handling, the portrayal of women as sex objects, fist fights with henchman, checking the room for bugs and an underwater sequences.

Peter van Eyck who also starred in the previous movie "Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse" reappears in this movie, only in a different role this time. In "Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse" he played Major Bill Tern. while in this movie he plays Maj. Bob Anders. Sort of makes you wonder why, also since he basically plays the same sort of character in both movies. Also funny thing is that Wolgang Preiss is being credited in this movie, the man who played Dr. Mabuse in the previous five Dr. Mabuse movie, but he never actually appears in this movie at all.

Not only the fact that this movie tries too hard to be a like a James Bond movie makes this movie a quite bad one to watch but also its story. Seriously what is this story all about? Also most of the other Dr. Mabuse movies had a quite silly main plot but because of their entertainment values and camp elements none of it really mattered. This movie just never really becomes interesting or engaging and also totally lacks any of the thriller elements all of the other previous Dr. Mabuse movies still had. On top of that, Dr. Mabuse himself is hardly ever featured in this movie and the story concentrates to much on Maj. Bob Anders, while most of the other Dr. Mabuse movies still concentrated on Dr. Mabuse's criminal master plans.

Quite a dreadful movie to watch.

4/10