The Great Mystery

... In 1935, he was granted citizenship as a German refuge, and left his mark in Hollywood as an émigré. He made over 20 films, including a trilogy called "Rage" (1936), "Bullet Holes in the Dark" (1937), and "A True Man" (1938), which denounced the contradictions and cruelty of American society, focusing on the issue of lynching, a stain on American democracy, as well as westerns ("The Return of the Inferno" 1940, "The Western Spirit" 1941, and "The Valley of the Scoundrels" 1952) and thrillers ("The Executioner Also Dies" 1942, "Woman in the Window" 1944, "Coat and Dagger" 1946, "Leave Vengeance to Me" 1953, etc.), and even "Lipstick Murder" (1956). Although he was often forced to make "compromises," he left his mark in Hollywood as an émigré filmmaker. In 1958, he returned to Europe and made the two-part adventure spectacle The Great Mystery (1959), consisting of the first part The Rules of the Castle and the second part The Desert of Passion. The West German-French-Italian co-production The Mystery of Doctor Mabuse (1960) was his last directorial work. After appearing as Fritz Lang in Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963), he returned to the United States and spent the rest of his life in Beverly Hills.

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "The Great Mystery" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…　35年，ドイツ人亡命者として市民権をあたえられ，アメリカ民主主義の汚点である私刑(リンチ)の問題を中心に，アメリカ社会の矛盾や非情さを告発した三部作，《激怒》(1936)，《暗黒街の弾痕》(1937)，《真人間》(1938)をはじめ，西部劇(《地獄への逆襲》1940，《西部魂》1941，《無頼の谷》1952)やスリラー(《死刑執行人もまた死す》1942，《飾窓の女》1944，《外套と短剣》1946，《復讐は俺に任せろ》1953，等々)をふくめて《口紅殺人事件》(1956)にいたるまで，しばしば〈妥協〉をしいられながらも20本あまりの映画を撮って，〈亡命映画人〉としてハリウッドに足跡を残した。58年にヨーロッパへもどり，第1部《王城の掟》と第2部《情炎の砂漠》からなる二部作の冒険スペクタクル《大いなる神秘》(1959)を撮るが，それにつづく西独･仏･伊合作映画《怪人マブゼ博士》(1960)が最後の監督作品となった。ジャン･リュック･ゴダール監督《軽蔑》(1963)に〈フリッツ･ラング監督〉の役で出演したのちアメリカへ帰り，ビバリー･ヒルズで余生を送った。…

※「《大いなる神秘》」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報