The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

The Death Ray of 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.

This last of the original cycle of sixties Dr. Mabuse films may frankly not have a bunch to offer, but it maybe provides a little unexpected humor by having star Peter van Eyck assume his third role in the series, though as was discussed in the Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray review, character names basically came and went in this franchise, with actors more or less still playing the same type. Here van Eyck is Major Bob Anders, even more clearly modeled on James Bond than van Eyck's part in the previous outing.

As some of the supplements get into, there are some interesting parallels between this film and various 007 outings, and rather interestingly in at least one way, this film actually presages a later Bond effort, 1965's Thunderball, but that may be implying the film has more to offer than it actually does. Mabuse is almost an afterthought to this enterprise obviously attempting to meld an existing franchise onto what was then a worldwide cinematic phenomenon. Suffice it to say in this particular instance the Frankenstein monster isn't especially "alive".

The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Death Ray of 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". As I mentioned in the Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray review, it's a little curious that this film and its immediate predecessor are presented in a narrower aspect ratio than the first four films, something that's all the more curious given the fact that, unlike Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse, the IMDb does list an exhibition aspect ratio of 1.66:1 for this film. Putting that particular (sorry, pun incoming) aspect aside, this last Mabuse film shows the same generally excellent quality that offers secure contrast, some appealing grayscale, and typically commendable detail levels throughout. Once again a probably miniscule budget shows up in production design that is not especially ambitious, but fine detail on props and costumes is still often appealing. Grain resolves naturally. Age related wear and tear is minimal.

The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in either German and English. As with its immediate predecessor, and unlike some of the other earlier films in the set, I really heard no differences of any import as I toggled between the two tracks, other than of course the language being spoken. Both have the same general amplitude, overall mix levels, and same reverb. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly in both languages. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 14:00) 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


• I Raggi Mortali del Dr. Mabuse (HD; 1:49:09) is a significantly longer (17 minutes) Italian language version of the film. Some SD inserts were utilized for this version as no other source was available. Aside from additional content, this also features a completely different score.

The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In some ways the Italian version of the film included on this disc as a supplement actually clarifies some of what's going on, though even that may ultimately not help all that much. For all the mind control the titular doctor is famous for, some may jokingly assert that a lobotomy was performed somewhere along the line before this film was released. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements appealing, including the alternate language version of the film, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.