Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.0

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 1, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Mabuse Lives! set from Eureka! Entertainment.

The infamous Dr. Mabuse made his literary debut in 1921, one which made such a considerable impact that barely a year later the inimitable Fritz Lang offered a (silent) film adaptation with Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler. That film actually presaged such later blockbuster efforts like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, or alternatively The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, by unspooling in two parts (unlike the foregoing more contemporary features, Lang's two related 1922 Mabuse entries were released only a month apart). The film was such a sensation that Lang revisited the source property in 1933 for a sound film called The Testament of Dr. Mabuse*. Lang, who had famously become an expat due to the rise of Hitler (some aver the 1933 Mabuse is a thinly veiled commentary about Hitler), was coaxed back to his native Germany in the late fifties by producer Arthur Brauner, for whom Lang made his last three films, The Tiger of Eschnapur, The Indian Tomb (another "diptych" from Lang available on Blu-ray as part of the Film Movement release Fritz Lang's Indian Epic), and The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, which saw Lang wrapping up his career by returning to arguably the most redolent character (and/or characters) of his filmography, and in so doing launching a whole new series of Mabuse films (albeit without Lang's continued involvement). This new "franchise" was fashioned to compete with or at least appeal to the same demographic as first Rialto Films' krimi productions, and then the somewhat later Wallace Krimi at CCC films, itself rather interesting since CCC produced these films. (The link points to a nice looking upcoming release from Eureka that may well serve as a companion piece to the Dr. Mabuse set). Also kind of interestingly just as this Dr. Mabuse cycle was close to coming to an end, another property which is mentioned in some of the supplements in this collection as featuring a sort of companion character to Mabuse resurfaced as part of a resurgent Fantomas series which began in 1964, almost exactly as the Mabuse films were ending (Jess Franco took up the veritable mantle in 1970 for The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse, but for purposes of this review, the "official" original reboot series was over by 1964).

*Note: The link points to a Region B release.

Audiences at the time of the kind of mad rush of Dr. Mabuse films between 1960 and 1964 simply had to deal with the fact that Gert Fröbe just kind of magically morphed from being Inspector Kras in The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse to being Inspector Lohmann in the next three outings. Somewhat similarly, with those with decent memories, Peter van Eyck might have been remembered as Henry Travers from Lang's 1960 opus, and at least a bit like Fröbe himself, he returns under an alternate alias but arguably playing more or less the same character. Here he's Major Bill Tern, another quasi-official who's really an inspector in all but name, looking into a mysterious mind control device that seems to be attracting attention from a certain character who was rather comically once again pronounced dead at the end of the preceding film.

As some of the supplements in this set get into, you can definitely feel the dual influences of both krimi and maybe especially the then nascent James Bond franchise on this film, though the use of gadgetry and gimmicks may actually deflate some of our favorite mad doctor's supposed inherent powers. There's a somewhat slapdash element to the screenplay that on more than one occasion seems to be willfully evading logic.

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. For all of its general excellence with its releases, Eureka tends not to provide much technical information, and in that regard the only real mention is some J card verbiage which states "1080p presentations of all six films from 2K restoration of the original film elements undertaken by CCC". I find it maybe just a bit passingly curious that the first four films in this series have a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, while this film and the final film in the series are offered in 1.37:1, but unfortunately the IMDb doesn't list an original exhibition aspect ratio. I will say though it may mean nothing Alice Brauner in her interview included in this set talks about digitizing "prints" (as opposed to something closer to a negative), for whatever that's worth. One way or the other, despite a more small screen friendly aspect ratio, this is another appealing looking presentation that features generally solid detail levels, along with a good accounting of grayscale tones. Despite its gimmickry, this film may not have the same midcentury design ethos some of the other films display, but even given that lack fine detail levels on production design elements tend to be very good. Once again some interstitial composited optical effects alluding to Mabuse's "possessive" tendencies offer brief downturns in image quality.

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse offers LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in either German or English. In toggling between these two tracks, I frankly heard no really discernable differences, unlike some of the other dual language offerings. Both tracks offer secure support for sometimes goofy sound effects and bombastic underscore. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Eureka! Entertainment has packaged The Testament of Dr. Mabuse and Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse together on one disc with the following supplements:

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

• Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 7:58) is accessible as either a standalone supplement or under the disc's Play Menu for this feature, where it's authored to lead directly into the film.


• Audio Commentary by David Kalat

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse

• Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 8:37) is accessible as either a standalone supplement or under the disc's Play Menu for this feature, where it's authored to lead directly into the film.


• Audio Commentary by David Kalat

(General)

• Kriminology (HD; 30:17) is a fun video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson looking at the series within the context of other trends in German cinema at the time.


• The Testament of Dr. Mabuse German Trailer (HD; 3:25)


• The Testament of Dr. Mabuse US Release Trailer (HD; 00:53)

Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's some unintended humor that accompanies some probably more planned comedic elements in this kind of silly effort, including about the most Germanic England you're likely to witness. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements appealing and informative, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.