History Film / DrMabuseTheGambler

* ShadowDictator: Mabuse, though he runs a criminal network, not a government. He actually notes later on he's basically running "a sttate within a state".

[[caption-width-right:300:The many faces of Doctor Mabuse]]

Lang followed with the belated but highly acclaimed sequel ''Film/TheTestamentOfDrMabuse'' in 1933, and the less well-regarded ''[[Film/Die1000AugenDesDrMabuse The Thousand Eyes of Doctor Mabuse]]'' in 1960. A series of inferior films was spun off from there in the 1960's and 70's, and a new Mabuse film is listed as "in development" on the Website/IMDb.

** This occurs both times that Mabuse hypnotizes Wenk. In the first instance, Mabuse tells Wenk that his glasses are "Chinese, from Tsi-Nan-Fu", and Wenk sees the words appear on his cards and on the table. The second time, Mabuse orders Wenk to drive his car off a cliff, and we see the name of his destination (Melior) superimposed on his car and in the night shy.

* DiabolicalMastermind: An early example and one of the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifiers]].

* ShadowDictator: Mabuse, though he runs a criminal network, not a government.

%%* VillainProtagonist

* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: When Mabuse kidnaps Countess Told.
* LargeHam: Mabuse himself. Despite we never hear him talk in his emotive moments his face is always contorted in distorted maniacal expressions definetly over the top even for a silent movie.

* {{Ubermensch}}: Mabuse definitely believes himself to be one, gambling with people and destinies because of his twisted God-complex. He even mentions [[Creator/FredrickNietzsche "the Will to Power"]]

* PaintingTheMedium: This occurs both times that Mabuse hypnotizes Wenk. In the first instance, Mabuse tells Wenk that his glasses are "Chinese, from Tsi-Nan-Fu", and Wenk sees the words appear on his cards and on the table. The second time, Mabuse orders Wenk to drive his car off a cliff, and we see the name of his destination (Melior) superimposed on his car and in the night shy.

* MasterOfDisguise: Mabuse; however, Lang intentionally makes these [[PaperThinDisguise Paper-Thin Disguises]] for the benefit of the audience.

%%* DrivenToMadness: Mabuse, at the end.

%%* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Wenk.

* VillainousBreakdown: After realizing that he is trapped in the counterfeiting room and will be caught, Mabuse has a complete meltdown. He hallucinates the ghosts of all the people he's ordered to die over the course of the movie, including Cara. By the time the cops finally enter the room Mabuse is in a catatonic trance.

%%* TheChessmaster: Mabuse.

* CounterfeitCash: Just one of Mabuse's many criminal businesses.

%%* DrivenToSuicide: Many times within the film.

** Cara Carozza refuses to talk to the police as she is Mabuse's LoveMartyr, but better safe than sorry, so he has poison smuggled into the prison with instructions to take it. Because she's an idiot, she does.

* MasterOfDisguise: Mabuse; however, Lang intentionally makes these [[PaperThinDisguise Paper Thin Disguises]] for the benefit of the audience.

* ScreamDiscretionShot: A silent example. After one offscreen instance of the aforementioned driven-to-suicide, one character walks in to discover the body. Cue titlecard: "BLOOD!"

* TooDumbToLive: Von Wenk is told that somebody forced Count Told to cheat at cards using hypnotic force, and that Dr. Mabuse was the only party guest who Countess Told didn't already know. Then he agrees that Count Told go to Dr. Mabuse for therapy...

* CrapsackWorld: Well, this is a TruthInTelevision, UsefulNotes/WeimarGermany wasn't a nice place.

The film was a major hit in Germany that helped elevate Fritz Lang's directorial career (enabling him to produce big-budget projects like ''Die Nibelungen'' and ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'') and turned lead actor Rudolf Klein-Rogge into a popular stock villain star. It is remembered today for its innovative narrative techniques, Expressionist imagery, complex commentary on the Weimar Republic, and for codifying many of the tropes associated with organized crime films.

* TooDumbToLive: Von Wenk is told that somebody forced Count Told to cheat at cards using hypnotic force, and that Dr. Mabuse was the only party guest who Countess Told didn't already know. Then he suggests that Count Told go to Dr. Mabuse for therapy...

* MilkingTheGiantCow: Dr. Mabuse does it at least in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQqiwIgTUHA#t=2m30s once scene]].

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Mabuse, who has a wide-ranging criminal empire and orders murders without a second thought, says "I'm no pickpocket" when presented with the contents of Wenk's wallet and pockets. He orders them returned to Wenk.

[[quoteright:300:http://300.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mabuse_9.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:312:The many faces of Doctor Mabuse]]

[[quoteright:312:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mabuse_9.jpg]]

* TheChessmaster: Mabuse

* DiabolicalMastermind: An early example and one of the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifiers]]
* DrivenToMadness: Mabuse, at the end.
* DrivenToSuicide: Many times within the film

* ShadowDictator: Mabuse again, though he runs a criminal network, not a government.
* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Wenk.

* VillainProtagonist

''Dr. Mabuse the Gambler''/''Dr. Mabuse, King of Crime'' is a two-part German silent film from 1922 directed by Creator/FritzLang. It was adapted by the novel of the same name by Norbert Jacques, which was written to [[FollowTheLeader deliberately mimic and cash in on]] the popularity of FuManchu and Literature/{{Fantomas}} while delivering political commentary about UsefulNotes/WeimarGermany. It follows psychoanalyst and criminal mastermind Doctor Mabuse, who has gained wealth and control of Berlin through a vast and elaborate crime network that he uses for everything from counterfeiting and sabotage to manipulating the stock market through complex means. Eventually, State Prosecutor Norbert von Wenk begins to unravel the complex defenses surrounding Mabuse's identity and becomes determined to take him down.

Lang followed with the belated but highly acclaimed sequel ''Film/TheLastWillOfDrMabuse'' in 1933, and the less well-regarded ''[[Film/Die1000AugenDesDrMabuse The Thousand Eyes of Doctor Mabuse]]'' in 1960. A series of inferior films was spun off from there in the 1960's and 70's, and a new Mabuse film is listed as "in development" on the Website/IMDb.

[[quoteright:312:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mabuse_7517.jpg]]

-->--'''Dr. Mabuse'''

Lang followed with the belated but highly acclaimed sequel ''[[Film/DasTestamentDesDoktorMabuse The Testament of Doctor Mabuse]]'' in 1933, and the less well-regarded ''[[Film/Die1000AugenDesDrMabuse The Thousand Eyes of Doctor Mabuse]]'' in 1960. A series of inferior films was spun off from there in the 1960's and 70's, and a new Mabuse film is listed as "in development" on the Website/IMDb.