a chemical plant that night. Lohmann and Kent go to the exploding plant, where they discover Baum watching from afar. Baum flees to the asylum with Lohmann and Kent pursuing. Mabuse's spirit leads Baum to Hofmeister in his cell where he introduces himself as Dr. Mabuse, ending Hofmeister's shock. Baum tries to kill Hofmeister but is stopped by guards, just as Lohmann and Kent arrive. The final scene shows the insane Baum in the cell, tearing Mabuse's writings to shreds. Cast Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Dr. Mabuse Otto Wernicke as Inspector Lohmann Karl Meixner as Detective Hofmeister Oscar Beregi Sr. as Professor Baum Theodor Loos as Dr. Kramm Gustav Diessl as Thomas Kent Wera Liessem as Lilli Rudolf Schündler as Hardy Oskar Höcker as Bredow Theo Lingen as Karetzki Hadrian Maria Netto as Nicolai Griforiew Camilla Spira as Juwelen-Anna Georg John as Baum's servant Klaus Pohl as Müller, Lohmann's assistant Cast notes: Wernicke reprises the character Inspector Lohman, a role he first played a year earlier in Lang's film, M. Production Development Norbert Jacques wrote the original Dr. Mabuse books in the style of other popular thrillers in Europe at the time, such as Nick Carter, Fantomas, and Fu Manchu. Jacques expanded the traits of these books to include critiques on Weimar Germany. In 1930, Jacques was approached by a film producer to develop a story for a new Dr. Mabuse film with a female villain. This caused Jacques to start writing a new novel called Mabuse's Colony. In the novel, a character named Frau Kristine obtains a copy of Mabuse's testament which outlines plans for a future world of terrorism and crime that she uses. At this time, Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou were developing the film M. Von Harbou and Lang were friends with Jacques since creating the first Mabuse film Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, and they went on vacation with each other. Lang asked Jacques for help with the screenplay for M and asked for suggestions for a new Mabuse project. Jacques sent Lang his unfinished work for Mabuse's Colony. Lang used the idea of Mabuse's will from the story and began working on an outline to what would become The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Using the outline that Lang proposed, Jacques signed a contract in July 1931 for the movie to be written by von Harbou and directed by Lang based on Lang's own outline.