Dr. Mabuse the Gambler German Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler is the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series, about the character Doctor Mabuse who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques. It was directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1922. The film is silent and would be followed by sound films The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 1933 and The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse 1960.
Dr. Mabuse is a criminal mastermind, doctor of psychology, and master of disguise, armed with the powers of hypnosis and mind control, who oversees the counterfeiting and gambling rackets of the Berlin underworld. He visits gambling dens by night under various guises and aliases, using the power of suggestion to win at cards and finance his plans. Among his many henchmen are Spoerri, his cocaineaddicted manservant Georg, his chauffeur and sometime assassin Pesch, an inept goon Hawasch, who employs a gang of blind men in a counterfeiting operation Fine, a woman who serves as a lookout and Folies Bergre dancer Cara Carozza, who loves him.As the film opens, Mabuse orchestrates the theft of a commercial contract in order to create a temporary panic in the stock market, which he exploits to make huge profits. ........
Source: Wikipedia